Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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Not the ruler for me, but the ranher, the tramp of the road, The slave with the sack on his shoulders pricked on with the goad, The man with too weighty a burden, too weary a load. Others may sing of the wine and the wealth and the mirth, The portly presence of potentates goodly in girth- Mine be the dirt and the dross, the dust and scum of the earth. Theirs be the music, the colour, the glory, the gold: Mine be a handful of ashes, a mouthful of mould, Of the maimed, of the halt and the blind in the rain and the Cold- Of these shall my song.s be fashioned, my tales be told. It is not because he loves the Cdirt and dross' that he writes about them but because he sees a vision of butterflies and petals from an unseen world of beauty that continues to gleam ahead as a possible goal of achievement for all those whose lives are cast in drudgery and squalor, in the dust and scum of the earth. And because he is an authentic poet, and a poet of the common people, he not only brings honour to a purely honorary position but may be expected to express in music a programme which a government can at best express in terms of an economic idiom. To John Masefield, poet laureate, we look for a spiritual interpretation of those human values which are being so largely accepted in this day as most Worthy of consideration. y -H. M. Concerning Things Academic HE entire student body would join in thanking each master for working so earnestly in directing the various academic departments. VVe go to school primarily for the pursuit of knowledge and hence the masters are largely responsible for any success the school has had. Mr. Taylor Statten has also given untiring service as a counselor in guiding our character training a.nd vocational adjustments. As students, we find ourselves in a rather diflicult position in attempting to make any criticism of the educational system to which we are expected to apply the better part of our youthful years. We recognize quite well that our elders who have made an intelligent study of causes and effects are much more capable of judgment. However, regardless of our immaturity, there are many obvious faults which can be understood even by a first form student and in addition, fortunately or unfortunately, we are continually exposed to an increasing number of magazine articles criticizing the present methods of education. Not so very long ago school attendance was nothing more than torture to many a young lad mainly because of the harsh methods of a teacher possessing an entirely wrong type of personality and temperament. This has been largely done away With in recent years but still there are many pupils who will do work only when threatened with punishment or Hwatch-dog supervision. Surely the blame cannot be placed wholly upon the student. Why is it not possible by a few carefully planned changes in the subject material and in the method of presentation to arouse a keen interest in the mind of the most indifferent type of student? This would further take into consideration the - N27 ' f

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deavouring to express its ideas in partnership with all those, of any age, who are endeavouring to build the fairer future. To the graduating class of Pickering College, 1930, we wish f'God-speed. Claim for yourselves your heritage, demand the partnership that is rightfully yours, but do so with intelligence and above all, with tolerance. You will make mistakes but you will profit by your experience. Shun, above all things, a commonplace acceptance of things as they are and go forward, determined to do your share in building the new Jerusalem. Though the way may be difficult, accept it as your lot and as one, husbanding the spirit of eternal youth, be ready to cry, even with failing breath,- 'Learn, nor account the pang, dare, never grudge the three. J. M. C. The New Poet Laureate UST as we go to press the appointment is announced of Mr. John Mase- iield to the position of poet laureate, vacated by the recent death of Robert Bridges. Although we do not pose as a journal of literary criticism, this appointment seems to us to be of such significance that we cannot help but allow ourselves the privilege of saying a few words concerning it, even at the risk of being considered Hhigh-brow or trespassing in fields not properly our own. In the days of the court singers, from which position that of poet laureate is undoubtedly descended, it was both seemly and advisable that the triumphs of the 'Nation 's heroes, should be sung in verse, that might, or might not, last, but which would serve the purpose of keeping green the memory of national exploits in the minds of an almost wholly illiterate populace. With the spread of literacy this justification for the appointment of an official national bard has disappeared and unless the poet laureate is going to do more than, in the words of Gibbon 'ffurnish twice a year a measure of praise and verse such as may be sung in the presence of the sovereign there can be no further real reason for continuing a tradition that has lasted since the reign of Henry VII, twho appointed the first official laureate.j Certain it is that the new poet laureate is no singer of an outworn im- perialism, he sings of his own background and the people whom he knows- of Hall sorts and conditions of men -of the masses who have seldom had any lyrical voice to give articulation to their hopes and aspirations, their illusions and their disappointments. He has been described as 'a poet of the soil and the sea and of the men who dig and heave.' Although a Labour government can hardly expect re-election on the grounds of any such com- paratively minor appointment, it is almost dramatically appropriate that as the oiiicial singer of the nation, Ramsay Macdonald should have recommended to the King a truly great poet, whose career had its humble beginnings on the sea, as a saloon porter and a hand at a dollar a day in a carpet factory. The English language may have sweeter singers but certainly, in England, there is none who speaks more competently for the masses who are the nation than does Masefield. Listen to his 'fConsecration',:- Net of the princes and prelates with periwifgged eharioteers Ifzdzng trinmplzantly laurelled to lap the fat of the years-- Rather the scorned-the rejected-the men hemmed in with the spears. -. N26 .f

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all-important fact that because the make--up of each individual is entirely dif- ferent, a distinction should be made. If pupils have not yet learned how to work without being forced, surely someone should see that both time and money are spent in an endeavour to change the system. As it is now we are admitting a weakness in human nature and have so far only made clumsy attempts to improve it. Other countries have already made successful reforms and are carrying out further experiments. Due to the rapidly increasing number of students in the last few years, the courses are being made more difficult in order not to overcrowd the universities. This may be all very well, but on the other hand many of us feel that the specified courses in many subjects are already much too long to be properly studied in one or two years as the case may be. Usually we spend the whole year just storing up facts. At the end of the year we find that we possess only half of the true value of the course. Very little if any time can be taken for discussion and outside reading and as a rule absolutely no effort is made to teach pupils how to get out intelligently the material that is crammed into their heads. Training in expression should go hand in hand with the acquisition of knowledge. It is indeed unfortunate that under the present system we receive practically no encouragement to really think for ourselves. As a result, by the time we are ready to receive a diploma, in most cases creative thinking has been killed and very few retain questioning minds. Not nearly enough attention is paid to the stimulation of the imagination and all in all a sort of mass mind is developed so that those who do not attend university remain very susceptible to crowd appeal. Perhaps we should be more thankful for the opportunities that we have, but still we find it hard to be content when we feel that so much improvement can be made. It is our sincere hope that those responsible for the matricula- tion requirements will see fit to attempt new policies in the important task of giving the best possible educational training to Canadian youth. -MD. REGARDIN G EXCHANGES To whom it may concern we would offer a slight explanation of our policy or lack of policy in regard to exchange with publications from other schools. Magazines have been received from several schools in the province and we would thank those who have been so kind as to make some criticism of our former volumes. Because the enrollment of the school is still limited to about ninety-five students, the lion 's share of the work involved in printing a magazine is borne by a very limited group. The fact that this is so means that there is a definite lack of experience and the editors feel that as yet we are incapable of offering mature criticism. In the near future, however, it is expected that we will have more confidence in ourselves and an exchange department will be added. s. N28 -f