Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute - Spectrum Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Graduates — 1951-52 iufeld, F. Wieler, C. Fast, I. Rempel, E. Reimer, A. Friesen, A. Driediger,

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A Good Citizen What kind of citizens do you want your children to be? This question has an obvious urgency today when the civilized world is aware ' that the shape of things to come threat¬ ens to be a shapeless ruin. The answer to the above question, I believe, lies in the field of education and the problem of whether or not religion is a necessary complement of sound learning. It must be admitted that it is the business of thfe teacher to impart and interpret ‘secular’ information. I say ‘secular’ because there is no specifically Christian, Moslem or atheistic way of teaching German composition or solv¬ ing a quadratic equation. This type of know¬ ledge is the indispensable basis of education, a necessary condition of learning how to think. This ‘secularism’ is better known as science, in its widest meaning. One must however not lose sight of the close relationship between facts and values. For teachers and therefore their students may be roughly divided into two groups, the “good old grinders” and the “Primrosepathers”. That is, children may spend years in learning Latin and French grammar without being able to read either language when they leave school. On the other hand children must be taught to be exact, (really mastering the formulas etc.) or they will fall into the danger to which the primrose path is always exposed; “knowing a little about everything, but not very much about anything.” Since students are not spong¬ es which suck up information till they reach the saturation point, the facts must needs be selective, not as ends in themselves but as means to the true end of wisdom. Children must leave school with certain standards of reference which will be their abiding possession to provide a pattern for living and a meaning for life which no later experiences will be able to annihilate. Scientific knowledge is always a means to an end because it is not directly concerned with values. It leaves man to decide what he will do with discoveries which are vast in their potentiality for good or evil and this in turn depends on man’s scale of values. A fact sufficiently attested by two world wars in one generation is that there is something myster¬ iously, radically and permanently wrong with man. Every person is strangely corrupted at the centre of his moral being, that is, in his will. This is what Paul knew as the “mystery of iniquity”. He is in a sense unfree. Paul’s tesimony in Romans vn, “the evil that I would not,that I do” is a fitting testimonial to man’s behaviour. Man needs more than in¬ tellectual, aesthetic and moral development; he needs Redemption. Although it is not the function of the teacher to preach the mystery of grace to his pupils in so many words, as they fulfill their tasks in their note books or at the blackboard, still, the best teachers are nevertheless ministers of religion. The profound and silent influence which countless teachers exercise over their children long after they have left school makes the teacher far more of a spiritual shepherd than he knows, for his scale of values will be reflected, however inarticulately, in the lives and outlook of his students. Response to the redeeming love of God, which goes to the uttermost to save the fallen world, is the vocation which illumines and crowns every vocation—notably that of the teacher. This is faith. And the world urgently needs such a faith at once universal and authoritative, by which men may live together as men, and as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Frank Klassen, Pres. Alumni Assoc.

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The Graduates of 1951-52 We, the graduates of 1952, have barely crossed the threshold of the high school hours and already we see another class of enthusi¬ astic young people at the finishing stage of their training. Quietly, and perhaps also a wee bit reluct¬ antly, we have stepped into the “hinterland” of the M.B.C.I. activities. However, in our memories there still linger many vivid and picturesque experiences of our high school life. These recollections have all become history now. As a painter steps back and examines this piece of art he has completed, his task, so we have an opportunity to retreat into the background of all student activities and eval¬ uate that which we have learned during our stay at the M.B.C.I. The results of our evalu¬ ations and reminiscings indicate that opportun¬ ities to learn new things were never lacking. Thus we are the products of realized oppor¬ tunities. Among our members we have a wide variety of talents and interests and for this reason our class is represented in numerous walks of life to-day. Sixteen of our rank, which is more than one half of the class, have con¬ tinued their preparations for their specific fields of service in various institutes of learning. Of these sixteen, four spent the winter studying at the University of Manitoba, four studied at various Bible Schools, six studied at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College, one went into nurses training and only one studied at the Normal School. Two young ladies had already learned enough to impart of their knowledge unto others and have bravely filled their places as permit teachers in rural schools of Manitoba. Six other members of our class have found positions in various business firms of our cities and another six of our rank have remained at their respective homes to take up responsibilities there. Thus we see that our class has had an opportunity to widely diffuse that which it has learned at the M.B.C.I. At this time we would like to congratulate every member of the graduating class of this year, for accomplishing that which you set out to achieve, in as far as your high school education is concerned. We wish you God’s richest blessing upon your venture into the world. May that spirit which is found in the school linger with you and enfold within you, to make of you true and humble servants of our Master in whatever field of life you may be found. Peter Isaak. Tike Jiaple on the Mill Out on a hill Against the pale blue sky, There stands a maple So graceful and high. It has no cares, No earthly woes, It lives a life Nobody knows. In spring the leafy branches do unfold And are a beauty to behold; But then when autumn comes along the way It breaks your heart to see this beauty fade away. Even so a human life we can compare With that tall maple over there. The human grows and grows each day Then like this tree he’ll pass away. Mary Neufeld, Grade X. II