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

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OUR PRINCIPAL During these years when new discoveries are made in rapid succession, when that which is practical and in vogue today will be obsolete tomorrow, it is difficult to decide which subject should be given precedence in the curricula for our various schools. It is an age when electronic devices are able to register opinions and solve complicated problems more rapidly and more accurately than the human mind. It is an age during which our social standards are changing and in many instances deteriorating. The gap between that which is socially acceptable and that which is morally right has widened into a vast abyss. Under these conditions what should be the function of our schools? What is the proper place of the teacher in our society of today? Let us not lose sight of the fact that there are certain fundamental truths which out lasts all forms of so-called progress. The question still needs to be asked, What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? The teacher is still the most influential factor in the development of the character of children. It is still written into the Statutes of this province that one of the duties of a teacher is to inculcate by precept and ex- ample the highest regard for religion .... for truth, justice, loyalty, love of country, industry, sobriety . . . and other virtues. To state this more plainly, the character of a teacher is of greater importance than his teach- ing ability and academic qualifications. The latter two factors are extremely important but are rendered inef- fective unless enhanced by the inspiring personal influence of the right type of teacher. L. B. HYDE Acting Principal 4

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SPECTRUM HONOURS MR. BIEHL Dear Graduate of 1964: You don ' t know me, and I am sorry that I don ' t know you. You are the first class in fourteen years at London Teachers ' College with whom I have not been in daily con- tact. But you and I both work at the same job, in some ways the greatest job on earth: that of teaching. I am away from it for a year, in order to see how people in other parts of the world work at it; and to catch up on my reading, and more important, upon my thinking. You see, the number one occupational hazard of your work and mine is that we tend to get into a rut. Be- cause we give out every day, we tend with the years to cease to take in. And in our work we can give out to others only so long as we ourselves continue to take in. That is why I am taking a year away from teaching, the work that I like best in the world. You remember the drought throughout our part of Ontario last fall. Farm wells that had served their owners faithfully through the years gradually began to run dry. Daily they had to quench the thirsty, but for weeks on end no fresh springs had flowed into them. That, I am afraid, is what happens many times to people in your work and mine; especially, incidentally, to teachers like myself who find themselves caught up in administration. The well gradually runs dry. Unfor- tunately, before it finally dries up, the water in it tastes more and more flat and stale, so that it ceases to slake the thirst of those who come to it to drink. So you and I in our very special kind of work need to remember the well that, constantly dipped into and never replenished, grows stale and eventually runs dry. We need to keep running into our wells those springs of new books, of fresh contacts with adult minds, and of ways of living in other parts of the world. If, in spite of this, we find our mental water level gradually dropping- -then we need to close the well down for a year. Of course, that works some hardship. But after a year of reading and travel and thinking, how much more satisfying will be these waters to those who come to them to drink. As you teach, take time to learn; if necessary, stop teaching awhile to learn anew. Methods of teaching, and the philosophies that shape these methods, keep altering from year to year. Some- times, and to some of us, these alterations seem to be in names rather than in ideas. As the French say, the more things change the more they are the same. But the personal equipment of a great teacher has never changed through the ages. It consists of three things. The first is a zeal to help others learn: the second is an insight into those who learn; and the third is a richly stored mind from which to feed the learner a diet worth learning. It is this third thing I have been talking about. Keep learning yourself. There is no better way of helping others to learn. F. C. BIEHL (Principal) 3

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Sow an action and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny. How sharply these few lines of William James bring into focus the responsibility of teachers! We must constantly guard against submerging our talents, our training, and our energies in a sea of trivia. Such short-sightedness will blind us to the challenging, vital task of developing citizens whose personalities glow , whose characters are strong and whose minds are keen. The chief goal of early education is the un- conscious moulding of the mind and character, said Plato. So did Sir Richard Livingstone when he maintained that the teacher ' s major aim should be to kindle the inquiring mind and not to build storehouses of knowledge. The most precious fruits of a good teacher ' s work, said Livingstone, are those that he is never likely to see. Our effect upon a child ' s quest for his potential, though immeasurable in part, nevertheless is most signifi- cant. To have a share in this search makes ours a truly, noble profession. We must, therefore, continually strive to be worthy of the responsibility which is ours. The magnitude of our opportunity is emphasized in William Wordsworth ' s immortal line, The child is father to the man, and in Alexander Pope ' s verse, ' Tis education that forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent the tree ' s inclined. To accept these thoughts is surely to accept the responsibility to prepare youths for abundant living . Is this not the chief role of education? Let us resolve to look upon those we teach as individuals striving for fulfillment, deserving of our under- standing, and needing our trust. Let us believe in their worth and let us respect the dignity of each as a fellow man. By such a course, we can help to create the good in which we believe. W.T. TOWNSHEND Acting Vice -Principal 5