Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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graphic mind who can memorize whole pages by just reading them through. How- ever I cannot see how a person who in this way accumulates facts in his mind, can be said to be a person of high education. If this was the sort of kno-wledge we were seeking then the fiuictions of our brain could be replaced by a huge file with a calculating machine attached to it, which, upon the push of a button, gives us the required information within a split second. This certainty could not be the purpose of education. It is much more the development of our faculties, the attainment of maximum scholastic achievement and the establishment of firm prin- ciples according to which we shape the conduct of our lives. It lies in the nature of our democratic form of society that the destiny of our nation lies in the hands of each individual. That means that each one of us has a responsibility which, if neglected, is the first symptom of decline and ulitimate downfall. Similarly fatal would be a condition where this responsibility rested in the hands of individuals who are incapable of recognizing the dangers which are constantly threatening to destroy our ideals. There is a tendency in our wealthy democracies to allow shal- low minded business leaders and generals to exert an ever-increasing pressure upon our governments. They draw their support from people who content themselves with a mere -extension of their material possessions. In despising spiritual ideals they act like a cancerous tumour which slowly but surely destroys the sound struc- ture of our society. As demonstrated by the fall of the Roman Empire, wealth and luxury invite vice and drive culture underground. I wonder if the fall of Rome had anything to do with the fact that 2000 years elapsed before a man like Descartes or Berkeley was produced who in their way of thinking matched the thinkers of ancient Greece. It was a time of utter spiritual lbarrenness which followed the flourishing culture of the Roman Empire. If the western world was going to suffer a similar fate there would not only follow a time of spiritual barren- ness but we would also be living under a system -of bolshevistic terror which leaves no room for the so-called Rights of Manf, To prevent such a thing happening is what I think should be part of the purpose of education. VVe do not want to accumulate a great deal of factual knowledge in our mindsg we rather want educa- tion to create in us. an outlook on life which will make us live up to our ideals in spite of wealth and prosperity. ROBERT LANG tolerance E HAVE ALL HEARD THE PARABLE of the good Samaritan, yet each time we hear it I think wc can derive more from it. The main thought I would like to take to-night is the fact that the Samaritan, a man who was not tolerated by the people of the land he was travelling in, had enough tolerance himself to help one of these people. Many of you may be thinking to yourselves now that, had you been in the Samaritairs position, you too would have helped the man lying in the ditch. But I don't think many of you would if you had gone through what he had as an outcast in society. We would expect most men to become very hurt and angry at such deeds for it is a very hard thing sometimes to be shunned and dis- liked for no action of your own. Yet the Samaritan had the wonderful quality of tolerance and he stopped and helped the poor fellow lying in the ditch and gave of his own time and money to help him. Twenty

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A community is much like a team and the same teamwork is required on it as in our sports. NVe must remember our community is like a. chain and is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore, if we all do our task, whether it is being a strong leader or a faithful follower, with the best of our ability we will be like a strong team-and all of us will be on the winning team,-our community. My third point is the need of responsible citizens. A community is made up of people and before people can become a success they must become responsible, therefore, a connnunity needs responsible citizens if it is to be a success. Here one of the most important responsibilities is to master our academics. NVe do not do this only to please our teachers or parents, but for our own benefit. VVe can very easily compare our minds to soil. It doesnt matter how rich soil is, only weeds will grow, choking out the fruitful plants, unless it be cultivated. There- fore, if we want our minds to be fruitful, we must cultivate them by exercising them with academics. My fourth point is the need of a democracy. Here again at I ickering we have this, at least as close as school can be to a democracy. NVe have an open assembly in which everyone of us is free to stand up and give his suggestions or complaints in. front of the Whole student body without fear of it being held against him. The school committee listens to these complaints and then holds a. meeting with the staff representatives. The suggestions are thoroughly discussed, with an open mind on both sides and a fair decision or compromise is usually attained. My fifth and final belief is the need for understanding and tolerance of others, and we are given a chance to practise this at Pickering. Here we live very close together so We must learn to get along with -others if we are to have a happy com- munity. NVe should all try to be understanding, sympathetic and tolerant. Never should we persecute other boys physically, or worse, mentally. If we practise tolerance at Pickering we will create a more successful community and also the most valuable thing a person can have - Friends. I feel that if We follow these five basic beliefs of mine--leadership,-team- Work,-responsible citizenship-the use of a democracy-and the understanding and tolerance of others, We will be able to leave Pickering College feeling that it is a better place to live in because we were here and that we are prepared to be of service in our next community. I DAVE KING purpose of education S A MEMBER or OUR STUDENT BODY I do not pretend to present you with a. phil- osophical outline on the purpose of education. XVhat. I intend to talk about is merely what I think should be part of the motive which prompts you and me to be a member of this community. I am sure that most of you have thought a lot about this question. Wliat, is the point of getting an education? Does education merely serve you as a jumping- off board into a money-making profession or is it worthwhile to seek knowledge for its own sake? By knowledge I do not mean only factual knowledge. True knowledge is what you can make use ot' without looking at a model, without turn- ing your eyes to the book. There are supposed to be people with a so-called photo- Nineteen

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We too can become fine men in this respect and there is no better place to learn and practice tolerance than right here in Pickering Collge. In order for a community to function smoothly its citizens must be tolerant of one another. Very few of us will ever be confronted with the same situation as the good Samaritan, yet we will come up against every day situations in which we may be tolerant. There is an old saying that no one is perfect and if we could keep this thought in mind we would find it much easier to be tolerant of the mistakes of others. Perhaps one of the best places to pract.ice, and in many cases observe toler- ance, is on a school team. As all of you know one of the essential requirements for a successful team, that is, one that wins and in which the players are happy, is to keep your criticisms to yourself and to keep the team spirit up. There are bound to be members of your team that won't be as good as others or who will have an off-day , but be tolerant of these people. You probably know yourself how it feels to be criticized during a game and you know how it lowers your spirit. Therefore if you criticize someone else it is bound to lower his spirit and, since he is part of the team, it is bound to lower the team spirit. This hurts a team very greatly for a team with skill and spirit is a top team. a team with spirit alone is a very good team and a team with skill alone is only a. mediocre team. Another place where tolerance is needed is the classroom. Classes are like teams and they 'too must have the proper spirit. If a member of the class asks what we might consider to be rather foolish and time wasting question we must realize that he is only trying to learn. We should give him and we should give others the opportunity to l-earn by being tolerant ourselves and not pushing the tolerance of others. Of course the most important place for tolerance to be practiced at Pickering is in the corridors, for it is the corridors with the work and bull-sessions that go on there that are the very heart of Pickering. Again we may consider Pick- ering as being a large team and ift must have the proper team spirit in order to become a good school. And surely we all want a good school for we the students are Pickering. If this building were 'to burn to the ground right now Pickering would still exist for we, the students would still exist. But if every member of the student body left this school right now Pickering would cease to exist because the students are Pickering. Therefore the best way to improve Pickering and thus improve ourselves is to keep up a high spirit and to do this we must all practice tolerance. WVe must be tolerant of people making rash statements, perhaps in the heat of an argumentt or without too much thought. If we disagree with a person we can very easily keep it to ourselves and try to understand his point of view. There is no need to start a row in the corridor by talking behind his back or get- ting the boys together to give him a hard time. All our lives we are going to have someone over us-no matter how high you rise in this world you will always have to answer to somebody and it is a good idea to learn proper respect and tolerance for authority now while you are still young. If we can develop a good sense of tolerance now we should have one of the greatest human assets with us for the rest of our lives. DAVID BIILNE Twenty--one