Medina High School - Mirror Yearbook (Medina, NY)

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QM THE MIRROR A Background for Lite IFE requires of edueation three things: a working knowledge I of praetieal faets, praetieal experience, and the refinenient of the natural forees of the individual, which ineludes his physical, inental and outward abilities. And the last nanied include speech, poise, and personality. lf, when education has played its part it has given to the student these things, has become a baekground for life, 'hen it is tluly an edueation, otherwise, it is little better than waste. 'llhe present day high sehool is, I believe, doing' a great deal to fulfill this purpose, although many eritieive its methods and belittle its re- sults. Mueh of the t'lltll'lSl11 is basefl on the eharge of a lark of praetif eality in the sehool training, Init in spite of the faet that edueatiou is, in niany respeets. far from pei-feet, l do not believe that sueh fault- finding' is justified. For example the student works in a eheniieal lab- oratory, of what good is that? lf he has the right stuff in hini, he ean lieeoire a t'llQ1lllSt in any one of a hun'lred different branehes of the art, anl there he will need just this experience that he is getting in the Iaboratoi y. Ur let us say he is eoing to take up wool worlqizigq in sehool he gets the fundamentals of the eraft in the wood working shop. 'l'lius, lilfewise, it is with niet-hanies, in art and design, and in printing. Turning then to another braneh of the sehool, let us say the student has studied languagesg he goes on to prepare for diploniatie anl foreign oftiee or for travel in foreign lancfsg and the result neels no further proof. Fontewhat similar, though ofa niueh wider and more important s' ope, is the study of English. The study of English is invaluable not alone in business life, but also in soeial and private life. Letters must sometimes lie written-often letters of the utmost iniportanee. Anl, in the ease ot' one who must nieet and tall: daily vonnnune with great and talented minds, a good knowledge of anl a diseriniinating' taste in literature will prove by no means a small essential. Again, turning from these subjeets to the eorninereial studies, it will Ive readily seen of what great use they are in the business worlfl, either as a IVQEUIS of earning money by working for large eoneerns. or as a ireans of eondueting' one's own business affairs. There are, lastly, two other means of practical training that are most apparent to other eyes-assembly training and physical culture. When a student eonduets an assembly he is not only learning the more eonnnon rules of parliamentary proeedure, but he is also having a fine opportunity to learn how to earry on under the weight of public re- sponsibility. ln the physical edueation field the student learns, first of all, to eooperate with others and then to obey orders promptly. Next, let us take up the development of the natural abilities of the student. Every man or woman has some partieular ability that stands Page Thirty-two

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T H E M I R R 0 R complex. Appearing in public and doing something to entertain an audience and win its approval increase a student's belief in his own ability, and give him poise and self-confidence. And underneath these other purposes of student conducted meetings, lies the very important purpose of preparing the student for life with his fellow citizens, as he will have to meet it after high school. The students who get the most benefit out of these assemblies, We believe, are those who have to con- duct the meetingfnamely, the chairmen. The success of the meetings rests upon them, and thereby they gain valuable experience and in- creased poise and confidence. VVhen enumerating the musical performers, We are sorry to say that We neglected two of the most praiseworthy, the Medina High School Orchestra and the M. H. S. Band. The orchestra, single handed, has put on several worthwhile assemblies, besides playing for the student sing- ing and in the general assemblies. In closing, let us say that we are pleased not only with this idea of student assemblies and yvish them to continue, but alsothat we owe a big debt of thanks and praise to the leaders who have made them pos- sible. another success on the evening of Bebruary 11 and 12, 1929. Second Childhood went ovcr big both nights. The crowds were in an uproar so continuously that the players had to Wait often- times before continuing their lines. In the small town, Cohocton, Indiana, a Doctor of Science, Clyde Dillon, discovered what he thought to be the t'EliXir of Youth. 'i Through a comical turn of circumstances, the professor, his assistant, Arthur Raymond, his sister, Annabel Iiindke, and his daughter, Marcia Munson, were all led to believe that a Wealthy old gentleman, IYill Blackburn, had been turned into a baby. The play rushed uproariously on to a ludicrous climax. The other major actress was Anna Spiller, daughter-in-law of General Blackburn. Second Childhood NDER the able direction of Miss Ames, the Dramatic Club scored 4 4 AN 11 , , D The majors were well-supported by the minors: Judge Grinnell, Florence Boyle, a gossipy neighbor, Mary Morgan, a neighbor, Mar- jorie Hill, the aged mother of Florence Boyle, and Sheriff Carl Cald- well. There have been numerous favorable comments on the play, and Miss Ames is to be congratulated on her good work. -Carl Caldwell. Page Thirty-one

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T H E M I R R 0 R M out above the rest, and it is the purpose of the school to perfect that natural bent to the furthest point possible. At the same time, however, training must not neglect to refine all the lesser abilities, so that the result may be a well-balanced, wellfproportioned work. School physical training does a great deal to round out tl1c raw, un- trained student, correct his little physical faults, and train him in the scientific methods of exercise and sport, but I believe mental training in school shows greater results. l' do not mean by this that physical culture is of little importanceg indeed, it is even more important, in many respects, than is the extreme culture of the mind. But, be that as it may, school has a fine influence in training the mind. For instance, geometry and all the other mathematical studies train the mind to be exact, alert, and comprehensive. English and the mathematics teach it to 1'eason, both thoroughly and independently. As to the outward abilities, one of the most important of these is speech. English and the assembly are among the best promoters of good speech, for they develop it in its three most fundamental aspects: correctness, effectiveness. and pleasantness, each of which helps to com- mand attention. Another important development is poise. Poise comes from class, assembly and outside social workg from the daily encounter with all types of people, and from the resultant self-confidence. And the last is personality, the final result of training, the fine balance of abilities, and the improvement of inherent talents. Since it docs these things, school is, of necessity, a background for Life. lt supplies practical experience and a store of facts with which to work and brings out the best in the natural forces. It is only up to the student to take and use these things, and, if he fails to make school useful in preparing himself for life, the blame must rest on his should- ers, and his alone. -f-iff -Ellis James. The Buffalo Evening Newsn Oratorlcal Contest FTER the preliminary local contest at which Ellis James was chosen to represent Medina in the Orleans County battle, the excitement began. Friday evening. April 12, at the Albion High School, the champion was to be selected. The competitors were William B. Hart of Albion and Ellis James of Medina. Mr, Carl l. Bergerson, Superintendent of Albion Schools, opened the program by explaining the purpose of the contest. Then, Ellis James of Medina spoke on Lincoln and the tfonstitutionj' and im- pressed l1is audience by the enthusiastic method by which he threw himself into its delivery. XVilliam B. Hart of Albion followed with a splendid eration on the topic, 'tServing Our Constitutionf' The students from both schools applauded their representatives With vigor. Then came the judges' decision. Of course, the Chairman created much suspense by landing the sponsor of the contest, The Buffalo Evening News , before he gave the name of the county cham- pion. It was certainly an uproarious time when Ellis carried home the bacon 77 Page Thirty-three 2