Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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HARRY M. BEER, B.A, I'vI.I'P

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Four .1--v-pgv f I TO HARRY M. BEER ' Devoted Member of The Pickering College Family Strom 1927 to 1963 as student tutor teacher Housemaster and Assistant Headmaster at the conclusion of , his tenth year as Headmaster' this edition of the Voyageur is gratefully dedicated R -- -Ai.Lt

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A Personal Word To The Students THE KEY to my feelings after ten years as Headmaster of Pickering College is that I still feel ready and eager to continue what might be termed a responsibility, but which I cannot help but regard personally as a privilege. As a young student in the late twenties I remember my fascination with what we students considered the Pickering experiment, but which in reality was the old Quaker concern for stressing the basic value of each individual human being. To the students of that era this meant a recognition of the right to think for themselves and to share in the develop- ment of the beloved community . When I became a tutor and after university days a young member of the staff, my eyes were opened wide by the thoughtful, time- consuming care devoted to every aspect of school life. This was indeed education in depth and I determined to become as closely committed as possible to such a grand and challenging venture. Today more than ever I believe that our founders in 1842 were right for their day as well as for ours ir1 basing their educational philosophy on a deep belief in the potential good or Cod-given quality of each individual. This of course stemmed from their trust in the teaching of George Fox that there is Uthat of God in every man and it is difiicult to understand the spirit of our school unless this fundamental principle is grasped. Without it there is no reason for the existence of Pickering College, but with it there is hope that each student may be led towards his true fulfihnent. Surely this is the purpose of education for each one of us, providing that our human talents and abilities are placed at the service of our fellow man. I know that Pickering students must at times wonder why so much concern is shown about their attitudes towards others and towards their basic responsibilities. The welfare of a group of people whether it be in a class ,on a team or in a corridor depends wholly on whether our propensity for good or for evil is dominant. This is why education, and particularly education with a religious motivation, is so vital during the formative, adolescent years. And so at Pickering it has often been stated that education is the creation of attitudesw. The expresion of the above concerns is of course familiar to you, but it is their neglect that keeps man from solving his problems of poverty, suffering and war. Since your generation must be better than the last, you will therefore find yourselves faced with greater demands to develop your potential. If there has been a change during the past ten years in the application of our philosophy, it lies in this area. Students of today realize that greater effort and greater self-discipline are required of them, not merely to meet the more stringent University requirements, but rather to face the more complex and crucial threats of the world in which they live. Pickering College must and will continue to train its students to face their present and future tasks with a feeling of responsibility for their neighbours here and throughout the world. The years ahead will therefore be even more challenging than the decade just past, but within the Pickering context I look forward to them with confidence. Harry M. Beer Six