Paxton High School - Reflector Yearbook (Paxton, IL)

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9 vantages of our universities, they waste little time in other than the pursuit of their studies. Some days ago, these foreign students gave an entertainment which bade fair to rival some of the dramatis scenes staged in bygone days on old P. H. S. rostrum. As I think of some of those plays, I could almost wish to be back in them again. To me, they number among the most pleasant of my high school memories. I can only wish you good luck with them in the future. It must be almost time for another Reflector, and I am very anxious to receive it. The information which I have been receiving about the basketball team has been particularly meagre, and I want to get some firsthand news. Then, of course the Ads. are a source of interest to me, and I may say that I was glad to note their extent in the last edition. If everyone reads them as carefully as I do, you could conscientiously treble their price. Well, Mr. Bainum, the day has passed and I must close with the hope that you are in good health, and that your injured foot is strengthening rapidly. Sincerely yours, Dewey F. Fagerburg, ’16. A SPECIAL TALK TO THE GIRLS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL ON HOME-MAKING. (By Mrs. Dunlap at City Hall. Reported by Katharine Thompson.) On Thursday, Jan. 11th, Mrs. Dunlap. wife of Ex-Senator Dunlap of Savoy, 111., gave a talk to the girls of P. H. S. The girls were requested to go to the City Hall where Mrs. Dunlap gave her address on Home Making. She named four great habits which every person should possess. They ! were the Health Habit, the Work Habit, the Play Habit, and the Study Habit. With regard to the Work Habit, she said every high school girl should be able to get a good square meal and do other ordinary house work. She said that every person, young or old, should have a certain time each day especially for recreation, and that the Play ‘Habit was just as important as the Work Habit. Mrs. Dunlap said, regarding the Health Habit, that a person’s health depended largely upon the food he eats. She discouraged the eating of white bread and advocated whole wheat bread and vegetables instead. A person must be able to concentrate his mind so upon his lessons that he can study, no matter what is going on. She said that a person should be able to gain more than merely his or her lessons from the books which are studied, namely something which is practical in order to get the Study Habit. All of these accomplishments are necessary to make an ideal home maker. Prizes for Speed and Accuracy in Typewriting. The students of the Commercial Department are showing much enthusiasm over the Underwood Credential Typewriting tests which are being given every month. These tests are sent by the Underwood Typewriter Company and the student has no chance to practice them but is given time to read them over once. An “Initial Certificate of Proficiency” is awarded to the student writing 40 words net per minute according to the International Contest Rules .for ten minutes. Five words are deducted for each error as a penalty. After receiving the “Initial Certifi-

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8 A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF UNIVER-SITY OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPERIENCES (By Dewey Fagerburg, ’1C, P. H. S.) Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 21, 1917. Mr. O. J. Bainum, Paxton, 111. My Dear Mr. Bainum: I have been trying ever since my return from the Christmas vacation to find time to write to you, but, owing to the proximity of semester examinations, I have been too busy. These examinations begin on January 29th and last until February 9th, and as I have all of mine on the first three days, my time is well occupied at present trying to keep up in my daily work and at the same time do a little reviewing. This will be a new experience for me, and I cannot help quaking a little as the various professors enumerate a few (?) of the things for which we are held responsible. Even so, I am coming to like the university 'better every day I am here, and, with no nearing vacation to look forward to, I must now enjoy the earthly things, and there are plenty of them. Whenever studies permit, you can always find plenty of amusement in the winter sports, which abound in this climate and locality. 1 do not wish the University of Illinois any bad luck, but I certainly would like to see a few more Paxton High School students come to Michigan. They could make no mistake no matter what they intended to take up, for although Michigan does not lead the country in any particular department (unless it be Law), the whole institution is well balanced, and there is no part of it which could be termed weak. The student body. as in most other large universities, is composed of men from every state in the Union, along with the scattered representatives of many foreign nations. For example, the man to my left in rhetoric class is a refugee from Austria, whom I vouch could tell Secretary Lansing a few things about the Central Powers of which he is totally ignorant. Again, I am thrown into almost daily contact with a gentleman from British South Africa, who had given up a two hundred dollar a month position as a school teacher to come to this country to learn dentistry—a profession which he expects to net him between four and five thousand dollars a year. I have often thought, as I passed the various foreign students on the campus, what a wealth of information I could gain if I were able to have a heart-to-heart talk with each of these men. To date, besides my Austrian refugee and South African dentist, I have only had opportunity to try my scheme upon a Porto Rican Spaniard, but I learned more about Porto Rico from him in an hour than I could have absorbed from a geography or history of the island in a week. Although he was too young to remember much about the conditions of the island before the Spanish-Ameri-can war, he was capable of reproducing the narrations of his father well enough to cause my blood to tingle with admiration for my fellow-countrymen, and to shuder at the brutality with which the Spaniards treated their subjects in the last days of their control. Of course, he was smart enough to appeal to my emotions, and, in a sense to humor me, in the course of his narrations. He, like most of the other foreign students, has a very brilliant mind. They are undoubtedly some of the ‘brightest that their native land produces, and as they have come a long way to gain the ad-

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io cate” the candidate is entitled to write on each new monthly examination until he succeeds in writing at the rate of 60 words net per minute for ten minutes. He is then granted a “Special Credential Certificate” enclosed in a specially designed leather card case. Silver and gold medals are awarded for writing at the rate of 70 and 80 words net for the same length of time as necessary for the other awards. The names and rates of all successful candidates arer given credit upon the records of the Underwood Typewriter Company in New York City. Thus far IJndft Pearson has come the nearest to receiving the “Initial Certificate,” having written 36 words net for ten minutes. It is hoped that a number of the students will receive one or more of the awards before the close of the year. Prof. H. A. Hollister, High School Visitor for the University of Illinois, Inspects P. H. S. Prof. H. A. Hollister, the University of Illinois High School Visitor, spent the afternoon of January 11 inspecting the work of the various departments of the Paxton High School. Under the system of accrediting the high schools of the state by the University, a formal inspection is made by “The Visitor” at least once every three years—more frequently if conditions require. The credits granted Paxton at the last inspection, three years ago, expire in June, 1917. The subjects added to our courses of study since the former visit are pedagogy and teachers’ review subjects, household economics, manual training and mechanical drawing, commercial geography, commercial arithmetic, shorthand and typewriting. Of these, we have reason to believe that the commercial geography, manual training, mechanical drawing, and household economics will be accredited. The University does not grant entrance credit for commercial arithmetic, pedagogy, or for shorthand and typewriting. The only question raised in relation to the character of the work inspected was as to the crowded conditions under which so large a high school is being conducted. The number of units of credit held during the past 3 years......21 No. of new credits expected 2% Total .................24 units Of the above, 15 units are required for college entrance. Sixteen units are required for high school graduation. College preparatory students may therefore take one unit of high school work that is not accredited. Other students may select their studies with fewer restrictions. PAXTON HIGH SCHOOL RE-AC-CREDITED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Urbana, 111., Feb. 3, 1917. Mr. O. J. Bainum, Principal Township High School. Paxton, Illinois. My Dear Sir:—On my recommendation as a result of a recent visit the Council of Administration has approved the renewal of accrediting of your high school as fully accredited for a term of two years, or until June 30, 1919. This means that in our judgment you have an efficient high school. The enclosed card should be permanently filed in your office and also made a matter of record by your Board for future reference. With a sincere wish for the continued prosperity of your school, I am Very truly yours, H. A. Hollister, High School Visitor.