London Normal School - Spectrum Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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INORMAL SCHOOL LONDON ONTARIO] MESSAGE TO THE TEACHERS-IN-TRAINING AT THE LONDON NORMAL SCHOOL THE enrolment in the Normal Schools and in the Ontario College of Education continues to be very large. The presence of so many teachers-in-training in these training schools is ample proof that there is one group of citizens who are imbued with a strong faith in their prospects in their own Province. With zealous application, the members of the teaching profession continue their efforts frcm year to year in the direction of self-improvement and advancement. Whether in urban or in rural schools the teacher ' s field of service may be, ycu will find that there is ever before you the pleasant task and duty of training the men and women of the rising generation for their various places in the life of the Province. It is in no small degree that we depend upon your efforts for the standard of our citizenship. Both as a private citizen and as Minister of Education, I continue to place a high estimate on the standards and work of the teacher. That you will continue to maintain those standards and be an inspiration to the youth, and that in future years you will experience a peculiar and a personal pride in your achieve- ments, is my sincere wish. Geo. S. Henry, Minister cf Education. Toronto, May 2nd, 1933. Page Eight

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Words are things, and a small drop of ink. Falling H e dew upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think,- OF all the objects for contemplation in this life of myriad interests, the most inherently fascinating is words — little dark, exciting words, as some poet has called them. Their value is measureless, their importance can never be accurately judged. They might be termed the keys to successful living, the talismans whereby we attain happiness, the Open Sesames to all the locked doors found in the corridors of life. Of course, we take them for granted. They seem so common, just like the dandelion — a really beautiful flower unappreciated because of its ubiquity. But consider how we depend on words! They form the foundation of friendship, they are essential in all careers, they serve to measure our edu- cational growth, and they constitute the links that join each generation to the preceding one and thus forge the whole chain we call Progress. It was through the exchange of ideas that the world emerged from the clouds of primitiveness into the sun of civilization. The transmission of these ideas from one fellow being to another may be effected through the spoken or written word. The former was the earliest means of communi- cation and by many is held as most important, evolving as it did from mere signs or grunts of prehistoric men to highly intelligent drawing-room or political conversations. The latter is an achievement of later generations and began with crude symbols on parchment from which developed our printed pages. All down through the ages can be traced the eager desire for contact, the desire to express ourselves to others and in so doing to form friendships. We accomplish this through the mysterious instrumentality of speech, so subtle, so evasive, so intangible, so astonishingly effective yet so difficult to control. It is hard to say whether one is more overcome when one thinks of what words will do or of what they will not do. They will touch hearts; they will make over lives; they will lead men to heaven or to hell; yet when we try to convey our deepest feelings with them, we stammer and halt and too often have to give up in complete despair. Did you ever stop to consider that words are the source of our power in teaching? Through them we project our personalities on our little pupils and colour the canvas of the little minds, helping to form their early im- pressions and their outlook on life. Truly we might twist the words of Scripture, By our speech shall we be known. Words are the criterion of character. You remember the two sisters in the fairy-tale, one ugly and wicked, the other beautiful and virtuous. Every time the former spoke, toads came tumbling frcm her mouth; but whenever words issued from Page Ten the mouth of the other, pearls fell in a glittering cascade. Of course the story is fantastic, but the allegory still holds in modern life. Unkind or untrue words can poison the whole stream of humanity, whereas kindly, sincere words fall like pearls and are scattered wide. How important to watch our speech since it reveals our character to the world ! Then there are the printed words, also agents of power beyond esti- mate. There have always been the great authors, and the long line of journalists, probably headed by Addison, who make our language, mould our habits, link our thoughts and from behind their screen of anonymity exercise an influence all the greater because it is undiscerned. The magic of written words is strange. These little symbols made up of fleeting sounds and insignificant impressions on the printed page can flood the human spirit with the richest ecstasy of hope and the deepest horror of despair. They can flit forth over the world with a glory of colour and a splendour of passion and again, ineptly used, can afflict us with the pall of boredom that nothing else can equal. Their power lies not only in plain, direct meanings, but in subtle, remote associations. They carry a dancing joy and glitter even in their mere rhythmic vibration, so that ordered, as the true artist knows how to order them, they make our souls vibrate and quiver with celestial energy — and again melt away with an enervation as enchanting as it is obscure. Of late in some of the newspapers and over the radio, a great contro- versy has waged over the choice of the ten most beautiful words in the language. People of every clime have ventured replies but it is all futile. Answers vary widely from mere lists of words to quotations and beautiful passages of scripture. Some materialist has even submitted these ten words which apparently ring like music in his ears: I am certainly going to raise your salary next month. There is only one obvious conclusion to draw. Words cannot be judged by their intrinsic beauty, but by their associations with what they represent. As we are taught in Grammar, words only represent things. What an impossible task to choose the ten most beautiful things in the world! It would naturally revert to individual opinion. Here in these pages following, you will find a mass of words — words that form a mirror of our year at Normal School, reflecting what we did and thought during the year — in fact, constituting the very spirit of our sojourn here. May they each prove a little pearl to slip on your string of Normal School associations. To the masters for their kindly help and criticism in compiling this book of ours, we proffer the simple but sincere words: We thank you. Margaret Thornton.