Montclair State College - La Campana Yearbook (Upper Montclair, NJ)

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mer ' s class room savoir faire and World Lit where the ancient Creek plays became part of the daily grind. Underneath the outward pressures which made us despair of all that homework we were becoming new people. The laughter, the fun was still there, but a new seriousness of purpose had instilled itself. There were three more years to go before we became teachers. There were military exercises with Miss Duke in the gym, and daily sessions talking art with Dr. Cayley in the amphitheatre. The narrow horizon of two hundred ex-high school seniors was begin- ning to widen ever so little. There are a thousand things to recall about the freshman year: brisk campus walks, the first cig- arette, term papers, the frankness of long talks about Life; but these were little things. Bigger things were shaking the world, and we began to feel the reverberations . . . there was the War. Men came and went, but gradually they mostly went ; until Montclair became completely fem- inine in its outlook. Social life began to limit itself to the Clairmont on Friday night and a special de- livery letter on Monday. But we began to realize the fact that the freshman year was the most event- ful, the most important. We were brought in con- tact with a whole new world. We had already become a part of the teaching profession. Every moment of our school life, every class, every hour whiled away in conversation was poured into the mold of our personality . . . the kind of teacher we would be. THE SECOND YEAR September brought us back as sophomores, blase and wise. We knew our way around, and for once there were people who knew less than we — the freshmen. And like all good sophomores we made their life miserable. The flurry of registration, the changed courses, little conferences with the Dean, and we soon settle down to a rather placid existence occasionally in- terrupted by oral reports in Speech class or heated arguments over Contemporary Political Life. The areas of education — professional, background, and major became intensified. We began to delve into new fields in quest of a minor. Learning became more important, and the more we learned the more vital education and teaching became for us. Freshman reticence banished, we flung our- selves with enthusiasm into all phases of extra- curricular activities. For some students this meant work as an apprentice in PLAYERS, carrying scen- ery, holding props, watching others act. For others this meant writing for QUARTERLY or the MONT- 27 •

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TEMER mil PROLOGUE Who of us will ever forget our first day at Montclair? We entered the famed portals a little timid and bewildered, yet eager and enthusiastic. Freshmen not looking too far into the future when we were to emerge as Sally Jones, A.B., certified to teach in the secondary schools of the sovereign state of New Jersey. It was an impressing goal, but as freshmen we thought little about goals or ideals. We were much too concerned with the troublesome present. We were the raw material, but we needed a good deal of processing before the final product could be stamped Perfect. We entered as students, and now, we are leaving as teachers. The transformation of four years is complete. It is the story of our metamorphosis that we here propose to tell. THE YEAR ONE Hazing: a word that recalls bright and some- times bitter memories of squaw blankets, air-raid pails, and lost shoes. The first week of college had a magical sound, and when we read of it in books it was still enchanting. But we ' re all disen- chanted ' was soon the signature of the weary freshmen, in spite of the hectic, slightly mad first week, in spite of the sudden and painful bump as we fell from our high-school senior perches, we managed to survive. And as we put the week be- hind us we began to realize that the first rough spot had been passed with success. We came out of it knowing each other ' s names, understanding each other ' s problems. We learned that hazing brings you closer together. In short we learned the value of organization, cooperation, and above all, good sportsmanship. Think back to your freshman year. Remember those courses in integration? We learned about the three categories of Montclair educational existence: professional, background, and major. For back- ground courses we had Civ and Cit where we were alternately fascinated and amazed at Dr. Witt- • 26

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CLARION, But wherever we found satisfaction for our social outlets we found something new to learn. And in spite of the fact that we had resolutely vowed never to become school-teachers, inside we knew that learning how to act or write or build would help to make us the better teachers we really wanted to become. By the end of the year we began to survey ourselves in a more objective light. We began to think seriously of the future and of ideals and the real Truth. Vacation is always welcome because it is a break in the long winter of routine; but we were anxious to get back, to get to work again. THE YEAR OF PREPARATION As juniors registration day has little novelty to it. Greeting friends and professors, quickly filling schedule cards, and it ' s over. With the junior year there came a certain poise, the ability to get things done — and quickly. True, we entered into the first week ' s fun, but juniors have become adults, and while we protected the freshmen when the path got too thorny it was with a certain patronizing smile. The junior year was the year of preparation. The major field no longer loomed all-import- ant. There was a minor and second minor. Interests became more diversified and less narrow. Back- ground and educational courses became important and worthwhile. As juniors we could see the rea- son behind Dr. Sperle ' s discussions on class routine and discipline. It was along about the middle of the junior year that the terrifying fear of being caught unprepared for practice-teaching came. There was a flurry of activity and busyness. College life became more and more complicated, and we were caught in a web of endless assignments and new responsiblities. At this stage in our training it had become fashionable to stoutly declare we would have none of the teaching profession. But under- neath the outward cynicism we felt an impatience and an eagerness to try our hand at it. The junior year flew. It was over so quickly we scarcely realized the time was spent cramming a thousand activities into every shallow twenty- four hours. But there we were, seniors, safely de- livered, after an exciting and world-staggering sum- mer. College and war had always been synonymous for us, but now we were in school and the war was over. The whole aspect of our social attitude • 28