Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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An obligation to fulfil From an address by Mr. J. E. Sfruthers, in Chapel, March 2, 1958 URELY, Mosr OF You, EVEN You PEOPLE who just entered this school for the first time last. September-have grasped the ideas that give reason to the existence of Pickering College. There are many terms we can use to try to explain it . . . Tolerance, responsibility to the group, trust and faith in the individual. But I am not here to describe what the school is doing and what you are doing. I am concerned about what happens when you walk out that front door for the last time, into a. life some people call the jungle , where it is going to be very difficult to apply this experience you are having at Pickering. Out there is the greatest challenge you will ever have in relation to Pickering. You can ignore it if you want. Perhaps the greater percentage of Pickering gradu- ates do ignore it. But as an old boy of this school, I believe that each one of you has an obligation to fulfil when you leave. I think you must try to apply the ideas you are beginning to understand here, to life out there. In attempting to explain what I mean, it is necessary to talk about my own experiences when I left school. I have no misgivings about talking of myself tonight because it is my duty as an old boy to do so. Through a series of circumstances, unimportant to you, I became the Editor of a weekly newspaper. One of the biggest challenges I met was not the one where I was to try to be a responsible newspaperman. It was in managing a business which employed a full time staff of about sixteen people and a number of other part time workers. An old boy of this school, who came on the newspaper staff last fall, noticed that personnel relationships, attitudes towards the business and the employer were different from those in establishments where he had worked before. He noticed that employees in the plant did not punch time clocks. An em- ployee did his job without a foreman breathing down his neck. People started work at eight. o'clock in the morning without the boss being around to see exactly what time they started. Yet the work was being done. Production was maintained at a high level. In fact I am of the opinion that production is higher in our plant than if time clocks were punched and we had a system that called fer overseers and stool pigeons. There may be one or two critics among you who will say, Oh, that's just good psychology and there is just a. selfish motive behind it to get more work out of the men. One can find a number of answers to that. Under which system would you prefer to work? Isn't that one good reply? When our old boy came on the staff, he was somewhat amazed at this system being used in our business. My answer to him was, Why is it so surprising to you? You went to Pickering. You should know what the connection is ! As a matter of fact, the importance of that connection had not occurred to me with any great impact. Subconsciously, what I had learned about living at Picker- ing was bemg carried on in the so-called jungle world of dog-eat-dog living. Twenty

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During the winter term, we were happy to welcome three Old Boys to lead our Sunday evening reflections: XVard Cornell, programme director of London's radio-TV station, Jack Struthers, editor of the Newmarket Era and Express , whose address in part is printed elsewhere in this magazine, and Craege McQuarrie, who shared with his Reflections on Returning . Old Boys Gordon Hay and Bob Moffat joined us for two evenings during the spring term, Gordon is principal of NViarton High School, Bob showed us slides which he made during his stay in Pakistan where he taught the children of Canadians engaged in engineering projects there. Current students contributed much to our services during the winter term. The members of Grade Ten Latin class arranged a service of readings, and eight members of the School Committee spoke on two successive Sundays. Chairman Jamie Murray's text was Sow a Thought to Reap a Destiny g Skip Gilcln-ist's theme was Appreciation g Addie Blankestijn was inspired by a phrase from Ulysses - -and not to yield g Arch Leitch offered us 'tThe Silver Rule g Al VVhite spoke on f'Energy and Tony Allen on Honesty g Charles Beeris topic was Spirit and Determination , and Bruce Andrews expounded Donne's theme, No Man is an Island . NVe are very grateful to these young men for the effort they made to share their highest thoughts with their fellowsg they have further strengthened a well-established tradition. Rev. Duncan VVhite, of the United Church, Newmarket, was a welcome guest speaker during the spring term. His good humour and air of deep conviction drew a response both happy and thoughtful from his audience. Mr. Veale and Mr. McLaren were other members of the staff who spoke to the school, the former on Faith , and the latter, appropriately, on Mathematical Morality . Our thoughts at Christmas time were guided by the Headmaster at our tra- ditional candlelight service. A lovely backdrop showing the triumphant angels had been designed by Mr. Jewell, Mrs. Beer sang for us, and Mr. Peers led his Firth House Choir in Christmas selections. Special music was also provided at Easter-time by these artists. At the final service of the school year Mr. Beer, speaking especially to the graduating class, reminded us that we must hold our talents and skills In Trust for Mankindng we must learn in order that we may teachg we must acquire in order to contribute, we must grow strong in order to serve. He thus provided a kind of summing-up of the Christian thinking which we had been exploring throughout the year. Nineteen

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Too many old boys leave this school, meet the rough and tumble experiences of life outside and too soon, conclude that life at Pickering has no bearing on them in a business or a profession. I am afraid that they have not examined closely enough the possibilities of applying the sehool's ideas to their own lives. To get back to the system in our business. I am not trying to tell you that it works 100 per cent. of the time. Itis a never-ending effort to try to make it work. One hundred per cent. of the employees do not agree with the system at all times. For instance, a skilled worker, a compositor on our staff, not long ago criticized our operation. He said to me, Woi1ldn't it be better if you had a hard-hearted foreman around here telling people what to do all the time and keeping their noses to the grindstone? How am I supposed to know if I'm doing the right kind of job? NVell, it's pretty obvious that that man found it difficult to accept responsibility. Perhaps he was afraid to act on his own initiative for fear of being criticized. To him, it was easier to be told what to do. And arent the critics of the Pickering system thinking the same way as that compositor in our plant? Of course, I know there is no person here tonight who thinks of Pickering in that way. But there have been students in the past and likely staff members too, who were afraid to accept their full responsibilities and maintain their faith in the individual person. Those people always will present problems. You can't have the system working 100 per cent. all the time. And it's not only the critics. NVe too allow our faith to slip. NVe have second thoughts about ourselves and begin to question the principles which we have held for so long. At times like these, we need courage and the help of others to bolster that faith. You senior students will be leaving this school soon. Already each one of You is thinking about a career. Perhaps in the corridor discussions you are talking about how sensational you will be as an Engineer or a Doctor of a Television Pro- ducer. Did it ever occur to you that the glamour in a career is the least. im- portant aspect of it? The only dependable critic will be yourself. XVill you be a good journalist, a flood general manager or perhaps, a good teacher in your own assessment of yourself? That reminds me of a Pickering College old boy whom I met socially in Toronto a few weeks ago. It seems to me that he has been at half a dozen places of higher learning in the several years since he has left Pickering-having difficulty in finding his place in society. He practically lifted me oft' my feet. He asked, What are you going to do, J ake?'l What do you mean, what am I going to do? I asked. NVell, he said, When you leave the newspaper up there in Nevvinarketfi I suppose he thought I should definitely be after Larry Hendersoirs job or producing the great Canadian novel any day now. . Perhaps it would not occur to him that I might not yet have satisfied myself with becoming a good country editor. Perhaps it is time that old boy stopped Twenty-one