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

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VICE-PRINCIPAL OF TEACHERS ' COLLEGE To the Graduates of 1965-66. The time comes to each of us, whether he be musically inclined or not, to sing his swan song. This being my forty- fifth year in the teaching profession it might naturally be expected that I should have formed some definite opinions regarding both teaching and teachers. May I state most sincerely that teaching can be and should be a most satisfying experience. It is satisfying to realize at the end of the trail that some pupil, student or teacher may, at some time along the way, have been pleased to have had your guidance, advice or even your sympathy and may have benefitted therefrom. It is also satisfying to feel that you may have been present at some critical moment when a student was in need of the encouragement which may have made the difference between his abandoning the profession or going on to success. Imparting academic knowledge and the development of the proper attitudes toward the various subjects and even to work itself are among the duties of any teacher. However, other aspects of your teaching will be remembered long after much of the academic knowledge you tried to impart has been forgotten or has become obsolete. It is important that the pupils should have learned to accept the challenges of the classroom and to have learned how to solve problems with which they were confronted. Each individual teacher in whose care a child has been placed has a very important influence in the development of the child ' s philosophy of life and his attitudes towards his fellow pupils, which will be tranferred in later life to the society in which he must live. May I urge you not to forget this human side of the learning experience. Mark Twain summed up these ideas very effectively when he stated, I never let my schooling interfere with my education. A teacher must like people, especially children. A teacher must have an abundant supply of patience and understanding. A teacher must believe that religion is a way of life and must be willing to exemplify his religion in his daily contacts with pupils and his fellow teachers. I have enjoyed all the phases of teaching; teacher, principal, and inspector in the public schools; master, vice- principal and acting- principal in the Teachers ' College. It is with many fond memories that I now leave the College and the profession. But I must also say that I leave with regret. I believe that any teacher who can leave the profession without some regrets, should never have been a member of it. May I wish each of you the best of luck in the years ahead, but also remind you that there is no such word as luck without ' U ' ; and that . . . If you think you ' ll lose, you ' ve lost, For out in this world you ' ll find, Success begins with a fellow ' s will It ' s all in your state of mind. 6

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PRINCIPAL OF J TEACHERS ' ••COLLEGE Message To The Graduating Class Of 1966 This is the year when you leave our college to begin your career in ed- ucation; it is also the year when two of our oldest and most honoured staff mem- bers leave to end this part of their pro- fessional career. Those of us who remain, hope that both you and they will remember to come back to see us, for we shall greatly miss you and Mr. L.B. Hyde and Mr. F.W. Walker. In my usual Yearbook message I try to cap your load of instruction, which is surely heavy enough already, with one last piece of advice. This time, how could I give you a better start on your road than to suggest that you follow in the footsteps of these two men who have travelled every inch of it? Different as they are in many ways, Mr. Hyde and Mr. Walker share three qualities, each of which is a necessary one for you if you too wish to become a great teacher. Both men have always believed in the worthiness of their calling; they have been proud of their work. In the years I have known them I have never seen nor heard either of them apologetic of the role of the teacher in our society, whatever the business or professional group among whom they appeared. Since the road of teaching has its dusty patches, indeed its rough and stony ones, this faith in the value of the job they were doing has often helped them through again to the pleasant and rewarding vistas. Each has always known that what he did each day counted for something. Nevertheless, neither man has ever let his enthusiasm for his task make him take himself too seriously. Both have a saving grace of humor. Through the years the laughter that surged through their classrooms has often penetrated even to this office of mine. You who shared their courses have savoured their wit as much as I who am their colleague. And there was always a third thing these men had in common: their way of reaching you as individual human beings. Neither of them was ever content to teach a collective noun called a form. Both were always concerned with John and Mary — and with you too; they taught separate persons. In neither case did their contact with you end at the classroom door with the period bell. All of you know that much of the good they did came to you after classroom hours — strolling the corridors, holed up in some corner of a practice school, over the telephone — and across the years. Many of our graduates well along in their own careers still share their problems and their triumphs with Mr. Walker and Mr. Hyde. Here, then, you have two living examples of how to teach: have a missionary zeal for your job, but don ' t let it blot out your sense of humor, and value each of those you teach as a human being who is worth knowing as a person. Do these three things throughout the years, and some day you too will not be unworthy of the Master Teacher ' s Well done, thou good and faithful servant. - F.C. Biehl - 5

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At the conclusion of a lesson, you have been advised to ask yourself, If I were to teach the lesson over again, what would I do differently? Such reflection, if constructive, is likely to cause the in- dividual; first, to recognize his strengths and weaknesses; second, to make the most of his strengths; and third, to attempt to correct or compensate for his weaknesses. At the close of this year of professional training which may have seemed the busiest, swiftest year in your life, I recommend the same personal appraisal, If I were to live this year over again, what would I do differently? Such stock-taking would be well advised at the end of each year of your teaching career. Have I made the most of my strengths? Have I taken steps to correct my weaknesses? Have I striven stead- fastly for the goals worthy of my profession? Have I kept the child ' s needs first and my personal interests second? Have I been deserving of the respect of my fellow teachers? Have I been true to the trust placed upon me by parents, by my students, and by my superiors? Honest answers to such questions should help you to clarify your vision and to strengthen your determination as you continue your education as a teacher, the first phase of which you will have completed on the receipt of your certificate. With my best wishes for your success and happiness, may I close with the very common, but significant quotation, Actions speak louder than words . Your worth as a teacher of children will be determined by what you are, far more than by what you say. The Master Teacher demonstrated this truth throughout His life, and expressed the same sentiment when he said, By their fruits, ye shall know them . 7