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

Page 12 text:

The past eight months of work with Student Parliament have been most enjoyable for me. Looking back I can honestly say that each of my nineteen fellow students in parliament was willing to do his share, indeed more than his share, of the work required. We talked, argued, cajoled, complained, took a stand on issues, compromised, and finally worked out what we thought were the best solutions to the problems facing us, attempting to make student affairs run smoothly and run well. Most important we continuously tried to improve our own efforts and to improve the structure under which we were working. Now the class of ' 67 at London Teachers ' College is looking forward to its first year of teaching. We are about to enter one of the most essential professions in our society. Thus there are four things I hope each of us will keep in mind in the years to come. First, we must remember to be ourselves. Children have a way of sensing when a teacher is putting on a false front and is trying to be someone he isn ' t. Second, we must remember that as teachers our efforts at teaching will never become perfect. We must continuously self-critically examine what we are doing and try our best to improve. We owe this to ourselves, to the teaching profession and most of all to our students. Third, we are working in a system which, because it is administered and operated by humans, can never of itself become perfect. We must always be prepared to seek ways to do our part to improve that system, even if it means speaking out to the peril of our jobs, when we feel we are right. Fourth, and most important, we must remember that the group of children in front of us is made up of individuals, each with his own abilities, his own potentials. We are the young, the idealists, the generation which would set the world on fire. Let us make certain that we can justifiably be proud of our successors. Lawrence Daub Prime Minister 8