North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL interests we have. We cannot be interested in anything- that we do not un¬ derstand. Take for instance sixteen year old Jimmy who is listening to a ball game on the radio. His mother wants the radio shut off. She can’t tolerate ball games— and why not? Simply because she doesn’t understand them. It is apparent that an educated man has many more diversified interests than one who is uninformed. You might ask, of what value are these various interests? What of it if one is informed on a variety of subjects? My answer to these questions is that its greatest value is the acquaintances and friends it enables one to make. For what is a friend? Usually a person, with whom, among other things, of course, you have mutual interests. It is not necessary to go to college in order to be educated. Surely you would call those ancient Greek and Roman mathematicians, philosophers and astronomers educated. Yet, they did not attend college. Now, you may ask, how may I develop my intellect? The answer to this lies in our motto; that is, by being determined constantly to improve your¬ self. Frequent your libraries. Make it a habit to have always a worthwhile book on hand to which you may refer in your spare moments. John Kieran, the authority on anything and everything, whom you have heard on “Inform¬ ation Please,” said, when asked how he managed to put and keep in his mind such an amazing amount of facts, “It is so elementary, it surprises me. All I ever did was to read extensively.” So read Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley and all the rest of them. Become in¬ timately familiar with their works. It is literature such as theirs that will act as the guiding light for you along the treacherous path to success. Actually what does this phrase which we have chosen for our motto, sig¬ nify? There is an old adage that says, “You get out of life only what you put into it.” If we apply this motto, and if we are determined to rise higher, then it is inevitable that we shall enjoy a maximum of this world’s gifts. So like that indomitable character in the poem “Excelsior,” let us carry our banner over the topmost crag because,— the higher we rise, the broader the view. ROBERT J. CUNNINGHAM CLASS ESSAY Horace Mann— “Father of Our Common Schools’ —r|S you look upon the stage this evening you see the product of twelve S 1 years of school life and education. Looking back it seems incredible WfhfA that at one time in our history the great institution of education was practically non-existent. Tonight, on graduation, let us pay tribute to a man who gave himself and all he had to the advancement of education. The time allotted me is insufficient to deal adequately with the life of Horace Mann but we shall recall the high-lights of his career together with his ac¬ complishments and successes which resulted in the firm and traditional establishment of the school system. His was the American ideal— free education for all. To him education was a fundamental necessity, not only for intellectual freedom, but for the build¬ ing and perpetuation of our democracy. He once ably expressed his ideals in these words: “The object of the common school system is to give to every child a free, straight, solid pathway by which he can walk directly up from the ignorance of an infant to the knowledge of the primary duties of man.” The life of Horace Mann was not one of excitement and fame, but one of 18

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1940 YEAR BOOK It is often said that a broad education is useless, and that vocational teach¬ ing is useful. A technical education is useful. What one is taught can be applied directly in the work in which the person is engaged. He might ask himself, “What good would a wide knowledge of the fine arts do me?” And how would it• Help him to build a bridge, or whatever he was doing? Some employers do not like to have to break in a person who has not specialized, and hence, employ people already trained in the work. There are also employers, as I mentioned before, who consider it worth their while to break in a person who has had a broad education, on the belief that he will do better once he learns the work. When a person attends a specialized school, he gets a chance to practice his work, and thus when he goes out and gets a job, he will know better what is expected of him. This is an advantage that he holds over the graduate of a liberal school. In conclusion I wish to quote I. W. Studebaker, of the United States Com¬ mission of Education. “Broad but definite training for some occupation is necessary for a very large proportion of our college graduates, and it is my contention that colleges of arts and sciences may with perfect propriety incor¬ porate a wide variety of these occupational training courses as a part of their college curricula. “In short, there are many important positions in the world which call for intellectual maturity, wide information, and specialized training. Into these positions, college graduates do now go, and will continue to go. At present, however, college graduates are often seriously handicapped by the necessity of specialized training after they leave college. Many run the risk of a long period of unemployment before they can find jobs (if indeed they ever do) where they utilize their college education.” DORIS B. REA CLASS ORATION The Higher We Rise, the Broader the View (j T one time or another most of us, if not all of us, have climbed some great hill or mountain. About halfway up the hill we had a fairly good view of the surrounding country. But when we reached the summit and looked around, why, we could see for miles! And so it is on this little observation of nature that the class of nineteen hundred and forty has based its motto. We, of this class, have just completed a preliminary education; a very minute drop in the well of knowledge; a mere workout in preparation for our bout with the toils and problems of the future. We have only just commenced our arduous climb up the hill of life. Our view of life now is not unlike that of the mountain climber who is still in the early steps of his journey. Oftentimes mountain climbing parties are equipped with guides, and then, too, there are inns and hostelries which prove to be great aids to them in their struggle to the summit. In our struggle toward the better things in life, from what sources shall we derive assistance? To such a question, there is and can be but one, and only one answer. That is, from education. Therein lies one of the secrets of success. The higher we rise, the broader the view. The more we know, the more 17

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1 9 4 0 YEAR BOOK achievement and progress. He was born in a humble farmhouse at Franklin, Massachusetts. Here he was reared under the most poverty-stricken condi¬ tions. His youth was devoted to work and hardship, with little time for school. But with his ambition he worked his way through Brown University, where he was graduated at the head of the class in 1819. After leaving school he practiced law and later became a member of the Senate. It was here that he introduced the act creating the Massachusetts State Board of Education. On the day of its establishment Horace Mann abandoned a profitable law ’practice to become secretary of this board. Let us feel that when he accepted the secretaryship that a path of useful¬ ness was opened for American Education, for his struggles in this period re¬ sulted in the elevation of this institution. To fully understand the greatness of Mann’s work and accomplishments, let me draw a mental picture of the conditions that existed at that time. Education was of minor importance in the minds of the people. It long had been neglected as something which was trivial. Little did they realize the immensity of the relationship between a learned and cultured people and a strong and healthy democracy. Massachusetts public schools, although two centuries old, were sunk in physical disrepair. One third of the Common¬ wealth’s children had no educational opportunities whatever. Schools were not part of a unified central system, but were just a mass of district schools which were totally inadequate and often controlled by petty-minded and unscrupulous politicians. Jut-jawed Lawyer Mann, however, was a man of individual spirit and de¬ termination. In the eleven years of his secretaryship he crusaded tirelessly for better schoolhouses, more intelligent teachers, school libraries, adequate textbooks, and instruction free from sectarianism. This last item was a sore spot, for at that time women and negroes were denied the privilege of educa¬ tional opportunities. Mann strongly disapproved of this state of affairs. In his own words: “I would give to every human being the best opportunity I could to develop and cultivate the faculties which God has bestowed upon him, and which, therefore, he holds under a divine charter.” Although he had to work against poor health, selfish interests, religious intolerance, and lack of funds, he battled with wisdom and courage to raise education from its low ebb. Tirelessly he set about raising money, and de¬ livering speeches in order to spread universal education. So forcibly did he preach his ideals before the public that education has moved steadily forward to the goal which he designated. At the termination of twelve years he resigned as secretary of the board, but not without some measure of success. He had laid the foundation for education on which the people could build. The small district schools were replaced with a well-organized township unit. Newly created school libraries were used to good advantage. Sectarianism was losing ground. And lastly, through his influence, the first normal school was established at Lexington in 1839. Upon his resignation, Antioch College at Yellow Springs, Ohio, made him its president and there he set out to establish higher education on a non¬ sectarian basis. This college was at an experimental stage and Mann’s tasks were not easy. At Antioch his chief contribution sprang from his belief that education concerns, not the mind alone, but the body and moral nature as well. This conviction has been retained and has served as a spur for the ath¬ letic activities of our schools today. 19