Lynn Classical High School - Classical Yearbook (Lynn, MA)

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ity, alert to fluctuations of thought, critical of trends and sincere in iudge- ment. And who is responsible for these ob- iectives which I have set forth? Most authorities agree that the responsibili- ty of educating the hearts and minds of American youth lies with the home, with the school, and with the church. Since the child is for the greater part of his life under the influence of the home, it is in this en- vironment that he must learn to re- spect and value education. The par- ents are responsible for instilling into the mind of the child, the value of knowledge, thus giving him an incen- tive to learn. To achieve this objective, the parents should require high stand- ards of accomplishments which they will achieve by exacting from the child good habits of study. Every child should have a pattern for his homework, a pattern that follows him throughout his school days. In the relative rigidity of this plan, the child will learn good work habits and will feel that he must respond to the stimulation of his parents' require- ments. He unconsciously will estab- lish his own standards of accomplish- ments and will be less liable to en- gage in intellectual laziness and in- tellectual dishonesty than is the child whose parents are indifferent to his school progress. Moreover, in Amer- ica today there is close contact be- tween the home and the school if parents will but avail themselves of this advantage. Every school system welcomes an honest interest in its ef- fectiveness. Every school system rec- ognizes the fact that if parents are interested in the school, this concern will be reflected in the men and women they elect to the board of education. Dr. Conant, in his report on high schools, emphasizes the signi- ficance of this board, for from this group stems the educational philoso- phy basic to a good system. This group implements its philosophy through long-range plans for flexi- ble growth so that every child will have an opportunity to prepare him- self for the future, either on the voca- tional or college level. Thus it follows that citizens may be stimulated to fruitful civic activity to maintain a genuine and continuing desire to keep their schools of the highest or- der. And what of the church in its relation to education? Its part, all authorities agree, is to teach that the really good life is a happy combination of the in- tellectual andthe spiritual. The world today is highly competi- tive. Unless America keeps its intel- lectual and moral standards high our nation can easily become materialistic with the emphasis on the superficial, the meretricious values in life. His- torically, such emphasis has always spelled mediocrity and eventual na- tional distaste. We, as a nation, have a sense of history. This sense will teach us that the nation which is edu- cated on all levels, I repeat, on all levels, is the nation which remains free. yzrbfaefygeafrzbe

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. 0 Q . ivy 4,51 W F., a 4 X - W I F s ' 0' 0 6,1 ' Qs d I 'ii CLASS ORATICN I 22 ' f Z w M1 3 ' Q 4 Since Russian space achievements, educators and laymen alike have been preoccupied with proficiency of education on the secondary level. Yet long before Sputnik, education of excellent quality had characterized the American school. However, since the world is rapidly changing, every- one must realize that education, too, must lend itself to the needs of the time. Education must be flexible, it must strive constantly to improve, and to develop the abilities of the young to their full potential, it must strive constantly to challenge a pupil's intellect to the end that he may be a good citizen, whether he works in the field of direct vocational effort or studies in a higher institution of learning. ln today's fluid society, therefore, it behooves everyone to realize that the success of our democracy de- pends upon an informed citizenry, a citizenry the character of which has its beginnings on the very first day that a child enters school and pro- gresses ,steadily until' diplomas on various levels mark the achievement of an individual as being in accord with the standards and norms of a good school system. Emerson said that without educational ideals, with- out philosophical continuity, there could be no such thing as a free de- mocracy. Such an interdependence has characterized America from its early beginnings. In the opinion of Thomas Jefferson: By far the most important bill in our democratic code is the one that provides for the diffu sion of knowledge among all the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and universal happiness Historically, education in America has always been experimental, al ways seeking new and more effica cious methods of training both the mind and the heart. Today more than ever this dual concept is the motivating force in all good school systems. lf democracy is to be dy namic and forward looking, as it must be to survive, it must constantly ex ert every effort to make certain that all its citizens are as informed as mor al and wise as they are capable of be ing. The school must emphasize not only intellectual growth, it must also point out the worthy aims of life. It must teach boys and girls to develop their abilities. ln this growth they will inevitably learn self-discipline, self- respect, and respect for others. ln the process of acquiring these char- acteristics, they will learn to evaluate, to make decisions. To the degree that a school awakens in its pupils perception and sensitivity to great moral and civic values, in the same measure will it produce good leaders in every branch of effort, leaders with their fingers on the pulse of human- 9 2 ' v h V Il .I

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M ZS :O - Q 4 r I g CLASS HISTCRY I Upon graduaTing from Classical mosT of us will go our separaTe ways. BuT as we leave, we hold fond remembrances of The Three years we have spenT here. Who can forgeT The many wonderful Times ThaT we, The Class of '61, have had wiThin The walls of Classical. We will always remember ThaT firsT horrible day of school in our sophomore year. We waTched in dismay as The seniors ripped up program cards of innocenT newcomers. Our fears were somewhaf lessened, when under The direcTion of Uncle Tom Todd, we chose Charlie VeradT To be our firsT presidenT. One year rolled along and before we knew iT, iT was April. Realizing ThaT The class Treasury was empTy, Mr. Todd decided we should run a record hop. We finally made our mark, as The dance was a huge success. The feafure of The dance was The beauTiful, lifelike carica- Tures of The class officers. Many nice remarks were made abouT These works of arT, which, by The way, were done by one of The class' mosT accomplished arTisTs, Hank Lewandow- ski. ln order To geT even wiTh The seniors before They graduaTed, we puT on a Talem' show for Them. Then came The sad day when we losT some of our classmaTes. We received our reporT cards for The lasT quarfer. WiTh The sophomore year under our belts, we dashed off madly in all direcTions. We will always remember ThaT firsT wonder- ful day of school in our junior year. We waTched wiTh glee as our classmaTes ripped up program cards of innocenT newcomers. AlThough The fooTball season wasn'T Too suc- cessful, The Rams, wiTh gre-aT help from our iunior players ended English's nine-year vic- Tory sTreak by compleTely immobilizing Their offense To The Tune of 8-O. The following week John LeBrasseur was elecTed To cap- Tain The fooTball Team nexT year. ThaT same year we decided To geT some money fasT and we held anoTher dance. All The sTudenTs came To sTomp aT The Reindeer Romp, and our Treasury grew. Abouf This Time, Mr. Buckley announced ThaT we would have a ParenT-Pupil Ba-nqueT. This evening was iniTiaTed To beTTer acquainT The parenTs wiTh The Teachers. AlThough we were fearful of The indirecT consequences of an affair of This Type, The weighT of worry upon us was considerably lessened, when Mr. Buckley announced ThaT The Teachers could speak no evil of us. Then came The Washingfon Trip. Many of our classmaTes packed Their bags and Took off for a glorious week of fun and frolic aT The naTion's capiTal. Upon reTurning, The Tra- velers celebraTed aT a parTy wiTh Their parenTs in aTTendance. As The year drew To a close, iT