Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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28 SOMANHIS EVENTS During the first years of our country, the Pilgrims believed that women were inferior to men and therefore did not need an education. Schools were start- ed twenty years after the founding of Plymouth, but there were no girls as pupils until a hundred and fifty years later when the Boston public schools opened their doors to girls for half a year’s instruction in spelling, reading, and composition. In the meantime the girls went to dame schools, neighbor- hood schools taught by women, or had private instruction. Two hundred years went by before girls enjoyed the same rights and privileges as boys in this country. The pioneer work for the higher edu- cation of women in America was done by Mrs. Emma Willard, who establish- ed Troy Seminary for Girls 1821, and Mary Lyons, who established Holyoke Seminary in 1837. There the girls com- bined housework with their studies. Later this seminary was developed, and Mt. Holyoke College took its place with the other big colleges for women—Vas- sar, Wellesley, Smith, Bryn) Mawr— which have made it forever impossible to exclude American women from college life. When the states of the Middle West and Far West took up the problem of education for women, they promptly solved it by admitting them on an equal footing with men in their state univer- sities. Today all types of education and all professions are open to women. What- ever the high school graduate of today decides to adopt as her life’s work, she finds ample opportunities awaiting her. The last and most thrilling develop- ment of the education of women is the right to vote. This means that many college senior girls are voters as well as students. They not only study about improvements, but they can actually vote for them. There are enough women voters in this country to change the course of education. It has been a long and difficult struggle to prove that woman has a part in the community and state affairs, but at last she has been ac- cepted as man’s equal in every respect. Thus as the years have gone by, democracy, education, and the increasing freedom for women have developed the woman college graduate of today, the best equipped woman that. civilization has as yet produced, THE VALUE OF HI-Y The professed purpose of the [li-Y is “to create, maintain, and extend through- out the school and community high standards of Christian character.” Since the activities of the organization are concerned chiefly with school life, it is best that we consider here the Hi-Y in connection with the school. High Standards of Christian character are instilled in the members of the Hi-Y by various means. Through the med- ium of sports and other activities Hi-Y men learn to play the game “on the square’, to play it hard, and to play it through. ‘They learn not to alibi and not to shirk. They learn in a word the code of the good sportsman, which is in itself a very complete standard of Chris- tian ideals. Having learned this in Ili- Y activities is not all. Through contact with the members and leaders, Hi-Y men are brought to the realization that this standard applies in every day life. Thus it is brought about that “high standards of Christian character” are created with- in one small group, the club proper. How these ideals can be diffused through the school and thereby through the whole community can be easily un- derstood if we recognize the fact that the members of the Hi-Y are not taken from any one group, but that they come from the three upper classes of the school; that they belong to no one of the artificial strata of our so-called social life, but that they are sons of rich men, of men not so rich, and of poor men, of law- yers and farmers, of doctors and sales- men, and of politicians and factory- hands; that they have no common reli- gion, but that they are of all creeds; that, in short, they have nothing in com- mon except that they all are Hi-Y men. Being thus representative of the whole community and having in them high ideals, is it not natural that these ideals

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 27 SALUTATORY EVOLUTION OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN The Class of 1927 extends a hearty welcome to you—school officials, teach- ers, parents, friends, and underclassmen. We hope that you may enjoy these pre- cious rites which remain to us as Sen- iors. It is our desire that our high school may mean more to you than just a name. Perhaps our exercises tonight will help you to understand our student life better. During our four years as students here, we have learned to broad- cen our minds, to increase our knowledge of the outside world, to cooperate with our classmates and our teachers, and to appreciate the great advantages of a high school education. We wish to thank you, parents and friends, for giv- ing us such splendid opportunities, and we are glad that you may share in our commencement ceremonies. 2? The production of the educated twen- ticth century girl covers the whole story of the education of women. From the meager training of the Grecian girl who had only a primary education at the time of her marriage, which usually occurred at the age wher American girls are in high school, to the college grad- uate of 1927, is a change so great that hundreds of years have been necessary to bring it about. The ideal educational career of an Athenian girl as expressed by Xenophon was to see as little as possible, to hear as little as possible, and to ask as few questions as possible. There were no girls in the Athenian schools. For cen- turies the boy alone, as the future citi- zen, was given the opportunities of his generation. The girl was taught by her mother to spin, weave, and manage a household. Domestic science courses began in the home. In contrast to the Grecian woman, who was regarded by her husband as a housewife or a superior slave, was the Roman matron, who was the companion of her husband. She was the only teach- er of her children until they were seven years old, when both girls and boys at- tended school. “Up before dawn, with a lamp to light the way, and an attend- ant to carry her satchel, the little Roman maiden of seven years, or over, would trudge off to the portico, where the schoolmaster wielded his rod.” She learned to read, write, and cipher; then, being a girl, she stopped to learn her domestic duties. In the days of the Roman Empire the women of the wealthier class, as well as the men, began to receive what the world today would call a higher educa- tion. They became familiar with the Greek and Latin classics. These highly educated women were responsible for many changes in the government, since great Roman statesmen often asked and followed their advice. As the Roman Empire was breaking up, Christianity, the new religion in which all women were honored, spread rapidly over the known world. From the beginning, the Christians upheld education, combining it with their reli- gion. Later, monasteries and convents were established, which furnished the only schools of the Middle Ages. In the convents both rich and poor girls learned to speak and write Latin fluently, The founding of the university, one of the oldest institutions that we havs today, followed that of monasteries and convents. Early in the thirteenth cen- tury co-education was begun in the Ital- ian universities. It was only in Italy, however, that women demanded and gained the higher privileges accorded the men. Greek and Latin classics be- came very popular with the Italian wo- men during the time of the Renaissance. Many young girls could speak and write Latin easily and they were almost as familiar with Greek. This period was known in Italy as the “Golden Age for Women.” The English women quickly followed the example of their Italian — sisters. Queen Elizabeth was probably the best educated of all the queens of England. However, only girls of the nobility were well-educated. It was not until public elementary schools were organized that all girls could obtain a common school training. Even in the eighteenth cen- tury, Addison deplored the fact that an intelligent woman had no one to guide her reading.

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 29 should be extended throughout the com- munity? It is indeed so, and it is thus that high standards of character are created, maintained, and — extended throughout the school and community. THE VALUE OF THE LEADERS’ CLASS Is S. M. H. S. represented by girl ath- letes? For the past two years approni- mately twenty-five girls have met under the direction of Miss Hazel Worcester. They have formed what is known as the Leaders’ Class, an organization which has proved that S. M. H. S. has many able girls athletes. Every well regulat- ed school or business, to be successful, has certain definite standards for its guidance and certain definite aims for its goal. The aim of the Leaders’ Class is to educate its members in the theory and practice of physical education. All Leaders’ Class girls strive not only to be good athletes but also to be good sports. They learn the meaning of true and real sportsmanship. ‘Through their athletic work and leadership they hold their ideals before the pupils whom they supervise. May this worthy group con- tinue to meet with the many classes that will pass through this school, so that the true value of sportsmanship will never die. M. B. ’27 THE VALUE OF “SOCK AND BUSKIN” Just what is the value of Sock and Buskin? What do amateur dramatics do for the high school student? Do they afford some benefit, or are they merely a means of amusement? To the casual observer they may appear of little use— a passing fancy that will soon be forgot- ten. But to the more observing person they are of value. A casual observer may ask what? The parents of the aspir- ing voung actors or actresses may reply that they make nervous wrecks. But up- on further consideration we find that they afford the student of dramatics many different things chief among which is poise. Everyone is willing to admit that poise is a big asset both in the business and in the social world. A person ill at case cannot seem to “belong.” He is a mis- fit, a well meaning person who not only feels uneasy himself but makes those around him feel uneasy. The experience that a person gains on the stage in acquiring poise will naturally benefit him in the future when it is necessary to go out in the business world to earn his own living. In dramatics a person learns enuncia- tion, another thing that is always profit- able in other steps of life. Nothing is more annoying than a person who mum- bles his words and relates a long history that none can hear but himself. A per- son who cannot speak clearily is not wanted on the stage and he must cither learn to speak clearly or leave. Usually he learns to enunciate. Once he has learned how to speak plainly it is very improbable that he will fall into his old habit of muttering. Closely related to poise is self-con- fidence. Without self-confidence a per- son is lost. Many an intelligent and capable person has failed because he lacked that valuable asset, self-con- fidence. By self-confidence I do not mean conceit. Self-confidence is merely a belief in one’s self. If a person does not believe in himself, he will be a fail- ure. A person who does not believe in himself cannot hope to make others be lieve in him. Another thing of value that one meets in dramatics is effort. Flere, perhaps more than any other place could we use that old quotation “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” How many times a seemingly unimportant bit has to be done over. Every bit of energy and talent that a person has in him must be put into that piece of work. When a person practices a thing like that for about six weeks, it is sure to stay with him. Patience is another thing that is gain- ed during the long grueling rehearsals. Ilow many times it would be so much more pleasant to throw up the whole thing and enjoy yourself. But we stick to the task and in the end we usually are glad that we did. By the time the