Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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SOMEAN ELS EAVEN IES 29 The reason we find so many discourteous people in the world is that their efforts are not appreciated. They begin their work with high ideals; they intend to do all they can to please the public. For the first few weeks they are all that could be desired. But sooner or later they realize that only a very small fraction of the public appreciates their work. Then it becomes just a means of earning a livelihood, and finaliy they arrive at the stage where every man is an enemy, and the strongest man wins. Of course when one of these people dies, his friends and acquaintances shout his praises. How much brighter his life might have been if these praises had been given at a time when he could hear and enjoy them. Years ago, to praise a man to his face was almost a sin. The old adage, “Praise to the face is open disgrace,” has not been entirely blotted out with the passing years. People said that praise made a person egotistic—as though it were not good to be thus. Where will you find a virtue that is not egotistic, that is not the assertion of an abundant personality? Men would be frigid, mechanical things without a certain amount of egoism. The following poem, written by someone who understood the value of appreciation in the world, will, I believe, drive this point home: “Tf with pleasure you are viewing any work a man is doing, If you like him or you love him, tell him now. Don’t withhold the approbation till the parson makes oration, And he lies with snowy lilies o’er his brow; For no matter how you shout it, he won't really care about it. He won’t know how many teardrops you have shed, If you think some praise is due him, now’s the time to slip it to him, For he cannot read his tombstone when he’s dead. More than fame and more than money, is the comment kind and sunny, And the hearty, warm, approval of a friend. For it gives to life a savor, it makes you stronger, braver, And it gives you heart and courage to the end. If he earns your praise, bestow it, If you like him, let him know it, let the words of true encourazement be said, Do not wait till life is over, and he’s underneath the clover, For he cannot read his tombstone when he’s dead.” Ethel Robb ’23 THE MEANING OF “A GOOD SPORT” There is probably not a more common expression in the English lan- guage with more different shades of meaning than the term “Good Sport.” The most commen meaning is probably the one applied to the person who frequents a country club, or indulges in some sort of athletic games for which thousands of dollars are expended yearly in the United States. This sort of “Sport” however, is not the type about whom I am going to speak. The “Good Sport” to whom I refer is one who plays the game of life under strict compliance with the laws of sport. These laws are applicable not only to athletic sports but also to life, for there is little, if any difference between the two. In both there are opposing and aiding forces; the men in life like the men in the game, have their respective positions, and in both there must be a goal.

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bo 72) 2 OM AUNGEL TS» EVR NES THE VALUE OF APPRECIATION Have you ever spoken a word of appreciation to a tired person, and seen his face light up with gladness? Have you ever noticed how good you feel and how much brighter the world seems when you have either given or re- ceived a few words of deserved appreciation? There is great value in praise. Like mercy, it is a quality quick and keen to bless both giver and receiver, for the giver of praise is bound to feel a thrill when he sees how the other person responds to his words. Moreover, the power to praise is an indica- tion of true manhood. It is not possible for a criminal to praise—he may ap- plaud, but praise is something that the whole heart participates in, whereas a criminal is like a house divided against itself—his conscience against his purpose. But actually to praise, he must employ his whole being, and there- by he becomes no more a criminal, but a man of virtue. You may differen- tiate between the big man and the little man by their capacities for praise. The little man is the man who is not sure of himself, who is so little convinced of his own greatness that he is afraid to recognize that attribute in others for fear that they will out-shine him; the big man is not afraid to praise unhesitat- ingly and with his whole heart. Once a young man named Keats wrote a long poem which has since be- come famous. Unfortunately, he wrote it in an age of censors. He was told to go back to the shop and stay there. There has been much discussion since as to whether or not this criticism really harmed the poetry of Keats. But it must ever remain a matter of speculation as to what would have happened had he met with praise from other writers. It takes a man who can praise to blame. There is a deep principle in this, a principle of life. It is possible to save a soul by praise when no other method could avail. There is a belief, which is really the truth, that if you see a friend pale and ill, you may send him to the grave by advising him of the fact, whereas you may save him by proclaiming his robust appearance. Another and a very important phase of appreciation regards the praise bestowed upon children. A few words heard in childhood may remain in the mind forever. How necessary it is then for these words to be words of praise rather than of punishment. The most prevalent idea of training children is the idea of prohibition and punishment. You say to a child, “You are not to do that.” If he does, you punish him. If he doesn’t, you don’t notice it. The great mistake made is the heavy stress laid upon negative virtues, and the fact that punishment follows when one does not do a re- quired thing, but no reward is offered and no words of praise bestowed for refraining from doing it. A child may spend hours preparing some sur- prise for you; he may deck your room with flowers, or tie scarfs to the ban- ister to represent flags to greet you. “Very pretty, dear,” you say, and the child notices that you scarcely look, “and now clear it all away nicely, won't you?” The child clears it away, but loses confidence in your sense of jus- tice. In the world of men, the rewards for active virtue are money and praise. But there are deeds for which money cannot pay; these are rewarded by medals or paragraphs in the newspaper—not at all the same thing as being rewarded by the spontaneous praise of your fellow men. After all, apprecia- tion is what men work for, not gold. In Illinois, in 1906, a man named Backus formed a society to reward the courteous, pleasant public servant. When a member of the society came in contact with a person who impressed him as being courteous, pleasant, yet business-like. that person’s name was given to his employer as deserving of promotion. In this way Mr. Backus made courtesy pay. The creed of this society reads: “If your friend is a help, a joy, an inspiration to you. tell him so. There are so many discouraged hearts everywhere, just hungry for ap- preciation.”

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30 SOMANHIS EVENTS The “Good Sport” has always to ove:come the opposing force. He has to face it in an absolutely open “man to man” fashion. in a game it is ap- parent who the aiding and opposing forces are, but ottentimes in life this 1s not so. Many times when someone its really helping us we cannot see it. It is often hard to believe that someone or something 1s really helping us when they are working entirely against what we believe woulda most heip us. ‘he “Good Sport” is always ready to have faith in those who are trying to help him, and never draws hasty conclusicns as to who is reaily helping him and those who only appear to do so, ‘Lhat is, he does not argue falsely, trying to convince himself that the right way lies along the path ot least resistance; in- stead he faces the facts squarely and does not lead himself to believe that evil, covered with a thin veneer of good, is genuine. Many people, although they usually recognize that the opposing force has to be dealt with, believe that the aiding force can be taken as a matter of course. This, however, is far from true. First, consider it purely from the point of view of athletics. What becomes of the team whose players do not pull together? There is probably no other fault as disastrous to a team as lack of team work. It is the same in life; no person is entirely independent of his fellow men, for he who does not pull with his running mate is lost, and will never win in the game of life. Just as each man on a team is assigned his position in accordance with his ability to fulfill it, so in life does each man choose a position for himself, because of his ability in that particular work. Positions may be divided into two classes: Those appreciated by the general public, and those which are seldom appreciated. Just because a job is inconspicuous and not appreciat- ed is no sign that it is not important. For instance, think of the basketball team. Few, who do not thoroughly understand the game, appreciate the work of a guard. The forwards and center apparently make the score. The fate of the game appears to the casual onlooker to rest in their hands. Yet what happens to the score when the guard does not pass the ball to his own forward? Many a game is lost because of the guard’s failure to do this. It is the same in life. This world would not be half as fine if the only positions were those which are under the full glare of public appreciation. Thousands of jobs which are scarcely thought of are of great importance. To cite an example of this, think of the gateman at the railroad crossing. He is usually an old man dressed in shabby clothing. He is always at his post morning and night, and although his task seems simple, when we stop to think of it, how many lives does he save in a year? He is truly a silent guardian, yet he is seldom thought of except when he lowers the gates, thus stopping traf- fic when one is in a particular hurry. It is unnecessary to remind anyone that there is always a goal in an ath- letic game. There would otherwise be no incentive, no objective. But do people always recognize this fact in life? The goal that a man sets for him- self in life holds the same position in that man’s life that the goal in an ath- letic game holds for the players. The person may be compared with a vine. If a vine is allowed to climb on a trellis three feet high, it will do so, and any- one might think that it was at the height of its ability, wh ile it is only at the end of the goal set for it; whereas, if the trellis had been five or ten feet high, the vine would have grown to it. “Quit” is a word that can never be applied to a “Good Sport.” In ath- letics a man of the greatest ability is never considered a true athlete if he possesses this quality, for it is the essence of failure. This reminds us of the attitude one should take toward losing and winning. We all realize how much this counts in athletics, but do we realize that it is of equal importance in life? Many people are ruined because they are not good winners. They are successful in some undertaking, but instead of using this success as a rung of the ladder to climb higher, they rest contented, and the world loses another leader. On the other hand, there are those who are not good losers.