Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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SOMANHIS EVENTS Today working hours have been shortened and wages increased and the worker is in possession of more time than formerly. But how shall he use his leisure hours? The unworthy use of leisure impairs health, disrupts home life, and destroys civic mindedness and therefore secondary education strives to show the individual how to secure from leisure the re-crea tion of body, mind, and spirit, and the enrichment and enlargement of personality, through the enjoyment of music, art, literature, drama, and social intercourse. Through the accomplishment of these aims is the thoughtful high school of today trying to adapt itself to the new situation. Its task is great. It has yet much to learn; but it is alert both to the demands and to the dangers. It begs your sympathy, for without your help it cannot be. Svea Lindberg THE VALUE OF A HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS COURSE Many people take the study of mathematics for granted, as though its presence on the curriculum of High Schools in the past justifies it at present. But the past does not always justify the present, therefore let us consider the value of mathematics in the High School today. The aims of education are two fold: the acquisition of knowledge, and the cultivation of intellectual activity. Then how does mathematics measure up to these standards? Mathematics, which in High School consists of arithmetic, algebra, plane and solid geometry and trigonometry, is a science of necessary conclusions. It is not isolated but connected with other sciences and is interwoven with them and our everyday life. It has a practical value for it is used by carpenters, plumbers, and craft- men, business men, and engineers, ship builders, astronomers, and all other scientific men. In its simplest forms it can be used in every day life, for as Prof. J. W. A. Young of the University of Chicago says, “There is no subject except the mother tongue which is so intimately connected with daily life.” To the student who has not yet decided upon his life work the study of math- ematics has a call, for he is sure to meet it in every field that he enters. But nine tenths of the pupils who study mathematics in its higher forms never use it for practical purposes.. What then, can be gained by these students? Is the time spent in this study wasted? It is not wasted for there is specific value in the training in higher mathematics which is on a level with that found in any other subject. The most outstanding lessons learned are neatness and accuracy in work, and reasoning, for without these mathe- matics is impossible. Then follows training in attention and concentration on which a pupil’s success is largely dependent. A student must also learn to analyze and to observe the smallest reasons and statements and to shape them into a com- plete proof. By axioms, laws, and propositions, simplicity of language is taught. Independence is also emphasized, for no pupil can get the best there is in this course if he is dependent on the work of others. The training in the use of symbols can be compared in a small way to the study of shorthand. In geometry there is a study of the fundamental types of reasoning by which a student may develop a logical mind, and appreciation for correct reasoning. It is in this branch of the course that many lawyers and ministers have had their start. ;

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c SOMANHIS EVENTS a By the middle of the eighteenth century the people realized that the classic curriculum was inadequate for the needs of the American youth and that a broader form of secondary education was needed. Thus, developed the academy which offered a larger range of subjects. Meantime the older education of home and community still continued. Children learned by taking part with their parents how to manage the daily routine of life; most of them receiving in the home the necessary preparation for the moral and practical side of life. Our growing industrialism, changing conditions in the community, the needs of society to be served, the character of the individuals to be educated, demanded a new form of institution and in answer to this demand has grown our modern high school which has three fundamental aims: first, the preparation of the student to become a good citizen of the community ; second, the preparation of the individual as a good worker and producer; and third, the preparation of the individual to utilize leisure and develop person- ality. These three aims taken together constitute the social aim of the high school. The high school realizes that the entire development of the student depends upon his physical well being and the establishment of good health habits. In former days students received exercise through manual labor or by walking long distances to and from school. Today, because of the changed social and economic conditions, the student has not the opportunity to receive indirect exercise and he must be provided with some sort of physical training; otherwise he will fail in health. The forms of this exer- cise vary with the school. It may be given by military drills, formal gym- nastic exercises, athletics, and games. In our own school the effort is made to establish good health ideals through gymnasium work and sports for all classes. We are well equipped with a good gymnasium and swimming pool, although the growth of the high school has been so rapid that already the gymnasium has proved inade- quate in size to meet all the requirements of physical training. There is also a need for outdoor fields near at hand which can be easily reached by our athletic teams. With a larger gymnasium and outdoor fields near the school we would be equipped to give a splendid foundation of physical soundness to our high school boys and girls. With the establishment of physical requirements attention may be drawn to the social interests of high school. They are accomplished through var- ious studies, social activities, and the general environment of the school. Although all subjects should contribute to good citizenship, the social studies—geography, history, civics, and economics, have this as their domin- ant aim. History emphasizes the growth of institutions so that their pres- ent value may be appreciated. Geography shows the interdependence of men and their common dependence on nature. Civics directs attention to the informal activities of daily life that regard and seek the common good. Through clubs and social activities the student receives the actual experience in social intercourse. The preparation of the individual as a good worker and producer is accomplished through study and actual training in a chosen profession. The various curriculums are so planned as to equip the individual to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent on him; to serve society well through his vocation; to maintain the right relationship toward his fellow workers and society; and, as far as possible, to find in his vocation his own Hest development. The trade school and commercial courses are very good examples. In the trade school course the student goes half time to the high school and half t ime to trade school where he receives the actual experience in some trade. In the commercial course he receives his training in high school, pursuing such practical studies and actual practice in them as fit him for commercial and office work,

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SOMANHIS EVENTS Aside from the practical and cultural value of this study there is a thir. side. This is the aesthetic value. To mathematics there is a balance and pro- portion that is found in no other study. There are no unnecessary terms or phrases; everything is a direct means to an end; and this cannot help attract- ing admiration and respect. The imagination is also exercised in seeing two or three points in space or visualizing the possibilities of a given case and ordering reasons before the mind's eye. Today there are no elements but have yielded their truths to the science of mathematics. By its application great rivers have been bridged; huge mountains have been tunneled; Panama and Suez have connected mighty oceans; the aviator in his lofty flight can determine the exact position of the pole; the seaman his position on the deep; the geologist the weight of the earth; the astronomer the altitude of the stars; and the most humble mer- chant or workman must use it to carry out his daily task. There is no man or woman, boy or girl whose life will not be enriched by a study of mathe- matics, Roberts Burr THE VALUE OF THE STUDY OF LATIN A long time ago, in a country far away over the sea, there lived a people who were destined to give to modern civilization, a great inheritance. We owe to ancient Rome far more than we can estimate for its lasting gift to us. From her we have inherited the greater part of our language, our cul- ture and art, our laws, and our forms of government. Yet, in spite of this there has been, during the last few years, a very powerful element working to take Latin out of modern courses of education. Our foremost educators believe, however, that this element is made up of people who have not been trained in the classics themselves and whose greatest aim in life is the pure- ly comm ercial one of money-making. Most of our college graduates, if asked whether or not they wanted their sons to study Latin would answer “Yes”, but if asked “Why” they would not be able to answer so easily. There is so much that cannot be classified and defined to be derived from this study that this question is a hard one; yet there are convincing reasons that are very clear and easy to set forth. One of the greatest things which we get from the study of Latin is the ability to use our own English language well. We all know that many English words are derived from Latin, but do we know that over half of our whole language is borrowed from it, and that there are hundreds of words in everyday use which have not been changed at all from the original? For example, there are common words such as alumnus, referendum, radius, and datum. If we learn Latin words, we are enlarging our English vocabulary ; if we study rules of syntax we are just as surely helping ourselves to under- stand English grammar; and the more we translate Cicero and Virgil, the easier it will be for us'to shape our thoughts into definite and logical form. No architect would think of building a house without a firm foundation and similarly no one should expect to build up a true culture without this funda- mental background. Teachers of English and modern language in colleges are among the firmest advocates of classical studies. The head of the English department in one of our leading colleges for women recently said: “We like to have our girls trained in the classics. There is an observable fine- ness.of fiber and intellectual discrimination in students so trained.” Its direct value in the understanding and true knowledge of English is, then, a sufficient reason in itself for the study of Latin in our high schools.