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

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THE CHRONICLE 5 he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1838 he went abroad to meet people who were well acquainted with the social and educational conditions of the countries he visited. At the age of twenty-six he was elected representative to the Connecticut legislature, where he introduced a bill to organize a board “to provide for better supervision of the common schools.” He gave so convincing a speech that the bill was passed, and he was appointed Secretary of the Board. He then collected facts, questioned teachers and school visitors, and used the data obtained in a report to the legislature. The facts presented about the schools were startling and depressing. In an attempt to improve educational conditions he often used his own money. Soon a new political party came into power and Barnard was swept from office, and the laws he had been influential in making were repealed. He then turned to work on his Common School Journal. In 1843 he became state superintendent of schools in Rhode Island, where he was given great freedom. He established normal schools and better public schools, providing more capable teachers. When his Connecticut friends were again in power, he returned to our state as state superintendent and also principal of the new State Normal School in New Britain. In 1854 he was appointed sole delegate from America to London to the great International Exposition on Educational Methods. It was there that he saw a model kindergarten and brought back the idea to America. He continued to revise the school laws of Connecticut to such an extent that his influence is felt today. In the field of educational literature, Henry Barnard has left much of value. Besides his Journal of Education he wrote a History of Education in the United States, Common Schools and Education in Europe, and Normal Schools, all of these volumes presenting information that has been influential and helpful in the betterment of our schools. Henry Barnard is considered one of the foremost American educators of the nineteenth century, a man who organized his educational philosophy from actual experience and prolonged study. Charlotte Germain, ’39 — o — To the Students of Lyman Hall I have a plan that will help you get to your classes more quickly. I merely suggest that when passing through the halls, we walk two abreast and move along as if we were going somewhere. I do not mean that we should run but that we should move along, not stopping to gossip, letting that delightful pastime wait until after school. In going up or down stairs I think we should try to walk single file, thus helping the students who have long distances to cover. Don’t forget that the student coming from the “gym” has some “stepping” to do. Let’s all cooperate and make our passing between classes pleasanter and more effective for all. Charles Burghart, ’38

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4 THE CHRONICLE The Child Welfare Exhibit The Child Welfare Exhibit, the first of its kind in Connecticut, was held in the Armory on Friday, January 14. It was sponsored by the Woman’s Club and proved to be a great success, presenting to the public just what is being done for the youth of our town and state. This exhibit showed the various needs still felt in this work. The exhibit itself consisted of displays from both state and local institutions and was divided into three groups—Education, Health, and Recre-aton. Booths were arranged by the local public schools, the parochial school, the public library, the community nurses, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, the 4-H Club, the Shaw-Sinon Post and Auxiliary, the playgrounds, and the local Parent-Teacher Associations. The state exhibits consisted of the Children’s Center, the American School for the Deaf, the Mystic Oral School for the Deaf, the Connecticut School for Boys, the Connecticut Congress of Parents and Teachers, Long Lane Farm, and several other such groups. There were booths showing the work in dental hygiene and tuberculosis. Our high school had a very fine exhibit of its work and activities. On display were many history and civics notebooks, the best examples of art work,, and handiwork in sewing and knitting. The Daubers, Home-Eckers, Discussion, Debating and College Clubs, the Girls’ and Boys’ Bowling Teams, and the Student Council were all represented by snapshots, attractively mounted by the Art Department. There were programs in both the afternoon and evening. The afternoon program featured music by the high-school band, demonstrations by the deaf and the blind, a speech by Mr. Tracy Redding, a Y. M. C. A. worker, and music by the band of the Meriden State School for Boys. In the evening the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps played; the choir of the Newington Home for Crippled Children sang; then Doctor Arnold Gesell of Yale spoke and showed moving pictures of his work with young children. The high-school band again played in the evening, concluding the program. It is hoped that this will be the beginning of other exhibits to be held in the state, creating a greater public interest in the activities and needs of the youth of today. Roberta Bingham, ’38 — o — Henry Barnard Last year we celebrated the centennial of Horace Mann’s valuable work in the field of education in Massachusetts and his influence upon our schools; this year we pay tribute to Henry Barnard, who in 1838 became the first secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Common Schools in Connecticut. Henry Barnard was born in Hartford, Connecticut on January 24, 1811. As a small boy he thoroughly disliked school. In 1838 he publicly called himself “a victim of a miserable district school” and stated that it took half his life to to get rid of the bad mental habits acquired there. Even though his earliest school years were unpleasant, he enjoyed his work at Monson Academy in Massachusetts. During his four years at Yale he won many prizes in English, I atin, and oratory. After teaching a year in Pennsylvania,

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6 THE CHRONICLE An Appreciation We believe that our auditorium programs are quite superior to those held in many schools. Here the educational entertainments are provided by the money that comes from the candy bought by the students. Our principal arranges these programs with an eye to their educational value as well as to their entertaining qualities. Many of the people who take part are famous throughout the United States. We have had explorers, men interested in natural history, musicians, poets, and dancers. It is little wonder that the heads of other schools consult our principal in regard to their auditorium programs. May Pogmore, ’40 A Musical Treat Much credit is due the North Main Street Parent-Teacher Association for giving the general public a program of the best of the classic type of music. On January 15, this organization sponsored a concert presented by a forty piece ensemble from the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. While the orchestra was tuning, Mr. Frank Foti, the conductor, entered amid great applause. After greeting the audience with a few words of introduction about the various instruments of the orchestra, Mr. Foti lifted his baton to begin the concert by playing Mozart’s overture, Eine Kleinenacht-musik. The concert continued with the Allegro Moderato (first movement) of the Unfinished Symphony and Symphony in B Minor, by Schubert, followed by Tschaikowsky’s Nutcracker Suite. After a brief breathing spell, as Mr. Foti called it, the program continued with Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the opera Oberon. The next selection was a novel overture of the Three Bears by Eric Coates, and then came Johann Strauss II’s Roses from the South, which was beautifully presented. The program was concluded with the playing of Reinhold Gliere’s Russian Sailors’ Dance from the Red Poppy. All of us who attended felt that we had been given a most enjoyable afternoon of symphonic music. Now we are looking forward to the operetta Hansel and Gretel, also to be given under the auspices of the North Main Street Parent-Teacher Association. Alex Sabo, ’39 — o — Fog Fog that fills the air we breathe, That makes clear vision fade Is just the steam from mother earth And all her river’s aid. Kenneth Buongirno, ’38