Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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The Voyageur I 5 If .1 Qt I VOL. 15 1942 PUBLISHED BY THE STAFF AND STUDENTS OF PICKERING COLIAEGE, NEXVNITSRKET ONTARIO, CANADA Editorial . no ACADEMICS INTERFERE WITH Enzgfcarzowa NE OF THE SIGNIFICANT TRENDS in modern educational practice is an appreciation of the great wealth of educational opportunities 'to be found outside the classroom. Clubs, interest groups, activity programmes, and enterprises of all kinds provide valid media in which young men and women can 'flearn by doingw. lt is not surprising that some extremists take the view that formal classroom academics have very little to offer by comparison as a preparation for life. This has led in some cases to a dilution in the content of courses and an unfortunate reduction in standards to a point Where the individual no longer faces a challenge worthy of his mettle. Without wishing in any Way to disparage the excellent educational pos- sibilities existing in informal situations, many teachers will affirm the fact that formal education, handled with understanding by trained minds, fur- nishes an indispensable complement to other types. It is true that one learns by doing, it is even truer that one learns by thinking. To deprive a youth of as much formal education as his abilities justify is to deprive him of his birthright. ln the education of free men, it is of first im- portance that educators have Worthwhile objectives clearly in mind, such objectives may be classified as factual, personal, and social. The teacher in the classroom can make outstanding contributions in each of these cate- gories. The factual aspect of academics is a dual one. The citizen-in-training must be equipped with the specific facts with which to face the problems of his daily work, this is the utilitarian aspect. ln addition, he must be permitted to dip into the great storehouse of facts and culture that he has inherited from the past, this is the spiritual aspect. Utilitarianism in its purest for-m is animal trainingg it may provide food for the body, but it provides none for the spirit. Long after the specific facts of a subject are forgotten, there remain cultural residues which enrich the soul of man and increase his powers of appreciation. To have studied chemistry is to have some appreciation of the unselfish devotion that drives men in laboratories to tireless toil so that others may live. When the Hsuccessful man smugly 13

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FRIENDS, BOARDING SCHOOL, WEST LAKE, PRINCE EDWARD DISTRICT - - CANADA WEST 1841--1869 Ulla fggmk flfoyaggm ai cfscficafacf fo Dng Qhmlml 41456114 of 931091541 PICKERING COLLECE, NEVVMARKET, ONTARIO 1908-1917 - 1927-1942

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The Voyageur remarks that chemistry never did him any good, he is not criticising chem- istry but rather making a very damaging personal admission. . Along with the factual learnings of the classroom go other associated learningsg these contribute directly to the personal and social aims of edu- cation. Henry Ford has said: It doesn't matter much what you study, the important thing is, what is it doing to youw. Such a statement places a hand on the shoulder of every teacher. The challenge is to seize upon the opportunities for developing free men. An emphasis on ideas, rela- tionships, and general methods of thinking helps to produce straight think- ers, an awareness of the importance of attitudes helps to produce curiosity, open-mindedness, and tolerance. To guide oneis students to a respect for knowledge, to encourage them to finish the job no matter how unpleasant, to inculcate a respect for good workmanship-such things are not only possible in formal academic situations, they constitute an objective that far outweighs any puny strivings towards 5092 in June. The fact that these aims are diflicult of attainment should not blind us to the possibility ofat- taining them. It remains to re-emphasize the fact that objectives of education must always be viewed against the background of their social implications. The citizen must be prepared to accept his share of responsibility in co-operative living. It follows that the teacher must always be on the alert to bring life situations into the classroom, and to point the teachings of the class- room towards socially signiiicant ends. The practice of self-discipline fdiscipline from withinl and the voluntary acceptance of group discipline ldiscipline from without! are important to every citizen. Likewise the concept of freedom controlled by law forms a basic idea of a democratic system. The story of manis past offers many opportunities to drive home these great principles that are surely to shape his future. In conclusion, it seems prudent that we should be aware of the poten- tial values of academics before relegating them to an inferior place in the educational scheme. Under proper guidance, a course in algebra does something more than provide the student with an opportunity to dominate a system of ideas and test his skill against a fairly objective standard, it can also be used as a basis for the promotion of healthy growth-factual, personal, and social. R.E.K.R. END OF TERM NCE AGAIN school closes in the Spring and with our departure from Pick- ering we stop living in the present and start living in the past year. We think back upon opening day when we met old friends again and were introduced to new. We recall the early Hbull-sessionsi' where we told each other of our academic aims and our athletic hopes. We look back on the football season when we learned the skills of the game and, moreover, the 14