Lyman Hall High school - Singer Chronicle Yearbook (Wallingford, CT)

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TIIE CHRONICLE 17 individual for citizenship. In the next fen years youth must do the things its elders failed to do; it must choose new leaders and open a path into the future. One of the main qualities of good citizenship is respect for others and an interest in the current happenings of the community and nation. Good citizenship is also founded upon a strong loyalty for the government. America is being handed down to us an illustrious nation, and we want to add as much more to it before we pass it on to those who follow. The nation can become like an old orchard fallen into utter ruin and decay because no one has given it the proper attention. Because young people are obligated in this way to their government, schools have added numerous history and citizenship courses and have organized student government by which they may more readily learn the duties of citizens. The working day has been greatly reduced during the past few years, and in all probability leisure time will increase with the future. It is very necessary that the school should teach the wise use of leisure time, for youth is the best time for the forming of right habits. A great number of individuals, their interests stimulated by extra-curricular activities and student clubs in the schools, have cultivated interesting and worth while hobbies. Music, which is more and more being recognized as highly beneficial, may awaken a responsive chord, while there are endless individuals who are spending hours of their leisure time in exercising their artistic, dramatic, and constructive talents. The seventh objective of education may not be thought of by everyone as concerned with the school. It is the development of character. The American public school has always been interested in character education, and this has recently come into greater prominence. Since the World War the more thoughtful people have had an interest in the strengthening of moral character, and there has been a steady struggle against low ideals and corrupt practices. Progress can only come through character improvement in the individual. Everyone of us has some sort of character, and every character is different from all the others just as every face is different. But as we go through life, the various qualities that make up character are constantly changing. There have been countless definitions of what character is, but the simplest is that character is you. A man who has character is independent; he follows his own standards regardless of his associates or environment. Just as a bridge is built to sustain weight from one piece of solid ground to another, so a person with character is dependable in the time of emergency and does not give way beneath the strain. In every school there are people who would not think of handing in a stolen composition, nor at the time of examination of cheating just for the sake of a passing grade. What is meant by the phrase, “to lose well is not losing?” Do we not believe that an honorable defeat is better than a disgraceful victory? This belief goes to prove that there is nothing higher than character, or in other words, that to lose well is not losing. All persons w ho have yielded to temptation regard a man of character with envy. They are slaves to others who have them in their power. It may be said then that the greatest reward of character is that feeling of freedom which enables a man to face another man or any situation with the utmost serenity. As Milton has said:

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16 THE CHRONICLE and to the community than health. To the average person ill health is like a stone about his neck dragging him to the depths of inefficiency and despair. In view of this the school aims to establish permanent habits of healthful activity. Today classrooms are properly heated, lighted, and ventilated. It goes without saying that an individual in the right environment will be more likely to acquire correct habits and knowledge of health. The school also strives to correct the personal defects of its pupils by physical examinations at regular intervals, and physical education courses now help to develop the pupil’s body. The mastery of the fundamental subjects is the second aim of education. The fundamentals are the “tools by which the individual gains one or all of the educational purposes. If he knows how to read, he will no doubt be a better citizen; he will be able to preserve his own health and solve more intelligently the social health problems; and he will learn of and be in a belter position to solve the great economic problems of his day. Hence, secondary schools strongly stress the ability to use the library, books, and newspapers to gain information. Everyone needs the fundamentals of mathematics, reading, and writing in order to carry on the necessary duties of later life. Schools are now training young people for intelligent use of scientific apparatus and for skill in everyday household appliances. By these tool subjects we gain a broader understanding of the world about us, and if we are educated, we do not walk blindly through life, wondering what it is all about. After the middle of the eighteenth century mechanical inventions began to replace hand appliances; old trades have been reduced by the machine. Because of the countless divisions of labor, it is now impossible for a youth to come in contact with all the varied lines of work. Nor is the task lightened by the fact that the percentage of people seeking positions is constantly increasing, and a young man can no more migrate to the West and set up a farm. The people of the United States are constantly looking to secondary schools for light and hope, and so the third aim of education is to prepare the individual for useful service. It would be impossible for the school to prepare each one to step from the schoolroom into a position, but it does give the basic training in various vocations and enables him to have a fair understanding of industry and its relation to the general public. One part of the vocational preparation is to discover one’s own abilities and aptitudes; the other is to give some practical knowledge and experience in one’s chosen field. The changes in social and economic conditions in the past few years have made many alterations in family life, the most serious being the unstable condition of the home. The fourth purpose of education is to train the individual for home life. This need not be thought of as a matter of future duties, but worthy home membership is a goal for both boys and girls, and one can learn much to help him take the right attitude toward his present family circle. The social studies taught give knowledge of the social importance of the home and the meaning of home in mankind’s progress. Most schools offer courses in home economics, which develop in girls the true virtue of home-making, while the manual arts courses prepare the boys for practical service in the upkeep of the home. The American public wants young people to be able to fulfill intelligently the duties of citizens in this democratic government of ours, and consequently the school has taken as its fifth objective the training of the

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18 THE CHRONICLE “lie that lias a light within his own clear breast May sit i' the center and enjoy bright day, But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the midday sun; Himself is his own dungeon.” Decade by decade the circle of education will widen until it encloses every youth in the country and the educational opportunity for the talents of each one. Our secondary schools show the great faith in education that is held by the American people. Classmates: We are going into a future of greater possibilities than any past has ever dreamed of. The country desperately needs new adjustments in our government, a more vital religion, and new ways of living. It is our duty to focus attention on a worthy task and build our lives around our work. We must have vision to carry us through. Let us not turn back, but strive to go ever onward. A poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox adds a lilting conclusion. “One ship sails east , And another sails west With the selfsame winds that blow. ’Tis the set of the sail And not the gale Which tells the way to go. Like the winds of the sea And the ways of fate , As we voyage along through life Tis the set of the soul That decides its goal And not the calm or the strife.” Sylvia Hall Helerences: Your School and You—Walton B. Bliss Secondary Education—Aubrey A. Douglass Delineator, August, 1934—Character—W. L. Phelps American Magazine, March, 1934—Character—Emil Ludwig American Magazine, May, 1934—Youth—Christian Gauss American Magazine, February, 1934—Vision—Will Durant School and Society, March. 1935—The Public and the Program of Secondary Education—Zook N. E. A. Journal. May, 1934—Secondary Education for the New Day— Lyle W. Ashby Research Bulletin of N. E. A.—March, 1934