Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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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.

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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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SOMANHIS' EVENTS But there are others, just as important, which must not be overlooked. es bhoys and girls say, “Latin is all right for anybody who wants to be rhaps, but I’m going to be a doctor or an engineer. It certainly uo me any good.” It is valuable in all professions and all walks of ute. Doctors use Latin every day in their prescriptions and formulas. Medical terminology is a complicated combination of Latin and Greek. It has been said that the use of this terminology is pure affectation and should be discontinued, but there is nothing else that could take its place for there is no other language exact enough for this science. If he has not learned Latin in his preparatory school, a medical student will have to spend half his time looking up words in the dictionary. A prominent surgeon tells us that he can hardly recall a technical term which, as a student, he had to look up in the dictionary, because he knew Latin and Greek. The legal profes- sion also finds great value in the study of Latin, in that it trains those facul- ties of the mind which a lawyer needs so much. It makes him ready for the hard and uninteresting study which he must undergo and gives him a taste of what work really is. To broaden and enlarge the scope of one’s thinking is one of the many things that an education is supposed to do. The technical courses and purely scientific work of an engineer tend to do just the opposite if they are not balanced by the classics. Since physics and other scientific subjects are filled with Latin terms, it is much easier to understand and remember them if one knows Latin first. Boys and girls in high school are just at the age when they are forming habits that will be theirs for life. Latin, which is commonly considered the hardest subject in the school program is avoided by the majority if possible. Yet, if we go to school to learn how to live, why should we dodge the hard things? They are just what we need most. No one who plugs away night after night on Cicero or Virgil can help but be stronger and better able to stand up against life’s hard knocks. In every lesson there are passages which can most easily be translated something like this: “She turned her eyes around,” or “He marched his feet along the ground.” Of course this makes fun for the class but the effort necessary to put these into idiomatic English also teaches one patience and preciseness. Its disciplinary value cannot be surpassed or even equalled by any other study with the possible exceptions of Greek and Mathematics. Many teachers aflirm that the mental training which comes through the work is the most important thing that Latin can do, 3ut even more important is the fact that Latin gives one a general cul- ture that cannot be obtained in any other way. By culture, we do not mean, in this case, polish or finishing school mannerisms, but we refer to refine- ment, the ability to appreciate and understand the beauty of art and litera- ture and a deeper respect and reverence for the finer things in life. There are many people who do not care for poetry, and who say there is no sense in it. In nine cases out of ten, these people do not understand the classical refer- ences that the finest poetry is so full of. Old Greek and Roman mythology is the source of many a wonderful poem or exquisite bit of prose. The mas- ter poets from the time of Chaucer to modern days have been students of the classics, and it is natural that their works should be full of allusions to them How are we to learn what these allusions mean without the study of Latin? Some m ay answer that it is just as good to read English translations; but isn’t that just a makeshift? Which do you enjoy more: hearing your favor- ite singer on the Victrola or in person? And yet, except in a few cases, there is about the same difference in viyidness between the translation and the Latin original. The more one studies it, the easier it is to realize this. We can read English translations and books of mythology quickly and for- get just as quickly what we have read, but stories that are picked out line by line and word by word will be written indelibly on the brain, a book of references ready for use whenever a classical allusion is encountered. Sevy- —