Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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The Voyageur gcfucaiianwf P ' in pail'-wad eanacfa Synopsis of an address delivered by Joseph Mcffulley, MA.. Headmaster of Pickering College. - to the Urban Section, Trustees' and Ratepayers' Department. Untario Educational Association, Easter 1.9H. Reprinted from the Canadian School Journal. May. 1944. i HE AXIS NATIONS prepared for war for at least a ten-year period. Simi- larly, if peace is to be permanent, and just, it must be prepared for. Many people, already tired by the strain of the war years, are becoming equally tired by so much talk of post-war planning. It is imperative how- ever, to think of the responsibilities of education in the post-war period. The more clearly we see our goals, the more effectively will the struggle be waged. Perhaps it is part of our weakness-that millions of people in the United Nations are being asked to sacrifice, to struggle and to die for purposes unsure. MHow valid are the aims expressed in the Atlantic Charter?,' asks the common man. HWhat about DeCaulle and Giraud? '6Have we made mistakes in ltaly?', uHow truly unitedare the GBig Four, in our war aims? Are we giving China as much help as we can and should? and so on. Even though we may ask some of those questions, there need be no ques- tion about the broad nature of the post-war settlement. When we talk of the post-war world we can visualize only one such world-a world in which the Axis Nations have' been decisively defeated. One hundred years from now, historians may argue about ucauses, events and results of World War ll, but for us there is only one possible answer. We are lighting for survival-but for more than physical survival-for the survival of those values in which we believe and for the privilege of transmitting those values to posterity. No matter what our political differences, no matter what our criticism of the incidentals and details of government programme in the last five years, no one can deny that by her effort and achievement in this period. Canada has earned an honoured place among the Nations of the post-war world. What kind of a world will it be in which Canada will find herself? VVhat are the values, so important, that we believe them to be worth the incalcul- able cost of these war years? lt must be a world in which the principles of democracy have full sway. 13

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The Voyageur of a modern and wealthy nation, to live up to our democratic belief that every man is born equal, and to aid these backward people in the field of economics and of learning. ' These ideals are fundamental, they are intangible, but far more per- manent and much more valuable than the mere accumulation of factual knowledge. If we sincerely believe in these ideals, and live them in our lives, we shall leave these portals at the beginning of that Second Mile, determined to leave this world, GfNot only less, but greater. better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to usf, 11 Qiuen la flecfeem Me dlfuman Mini ham Zum . . . THE SCHOOL is very grateful to Mr. J. lVl. Walton of Aurora lfclass of 18831, who presented to us a very rare edition of the Bible. The six beautifully engraved, 18 inches by 15 inches volumes were subscribed for in 1791 by eight hundred subscribers, among whom were the King and Queen and many members of the Royal family. It is the request of the donor that they should be used at each Christmas season for the reading of the Nativity lesson, and also during the annual meeting of the Society of Friends. Mr. Walton also gave us other volumes of equal interest. These in- clude a combined Bible and prayer book, printed in 1736, and a New Testa- ment published in 1598. The donations were made Has a tribute and memorial to the Society of Friends, founders of the Yonge Street Quaker settlement in York County, Upper Canada, in 1880, their first undertaking being to ensure that there was a Bible in every Quaker home. We also acknowledge with sincere thanks the uVl7allace Bequest which consists of three to four hundred books from the private library of Edward Wilson Wallace Jr., who was a student here from 1927 to 1930. E. W. Wfallace was reported missing over Malta in October 1942. The late Mrs. Burnside of Toronto left the school two very valuable sets of reference books:-MAmericana, f and the HBook of Knowledgefi Wie are very appreciative of this donation. HWere half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsenals and fortsf, 12

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The Voyageur But what is udemocracyw? It must be more than a perpetuation of the ustatus quow. It must be better than the world we knew between 1919-1939, of boom and depression, of maladjustments, economic and political. Dem- ocracy must mean more than a slogan such as Hitler's New Order or ,lapanis Co-Prosperity Sphere. Democracy has meaning. Five basic minimum essentials are: . General Welfare M'Democracy prizes a broad humanitarianism, an interest in the other fellow, a feeling of kinship to other people more or less fortunate than one- self. One who lives in accordance with democracy is interested, not only in his own welfare but in the welfare of others-the general welfare. Civil Liberty Democratic behavior observes and accords to every individual certain 'funalienablew rights and certain inescapable corollary responsibilities. One who lives in a democratic way respects himself. And to self-respect he adds respect for the moral rights and feelings of others, for the sanctity of each individual personality. The Consent of the Coverned Democratic processes also involve the assent of the people in matters of social control and the participation of all concerned in arriving at im- portant decisions. This implies that all the people must have access to the facts which will help them to reach wise decisions. The Appeal to Reason Peaceful and orderly methods of settling controversial questions are applied by a democracy to matters of national and international policy as well as to private disputes. The callous use of force and violence is rejected as unworthy of a civilized people. The Pursuit of Happiness Finally, democracy sets high value upon the attainment of human happi- ness as a basis for judging the effectivenes of social lifef, These values are the basic values which must be preserved for the post- war world. If not, the gains of many generations will be lost and the present struggle will be ultimately meaningless. The school, or to put it more broadly, education is the means by which these values are to be realized. What are the educational objectives by which these purposes must be realized? Educational objectives are many and varied-for example, to get ahead in the world, to improve on the position of parents, to improve social status. The parental wish is often as follows:-'fthe noble wish to save all earnings to the uttermost and give his child a better bringing up than his had beenf, 'K Purposes of Education in American Democracy --National Education Association, U.S.A. 14