Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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A PERSONAL WORD FROM THE HEADMASTER The Purpose of Pickering The purpose of Pickering College is quite simple to state but very difficult to fulfill. It is the aim of our school to nurture what is good in each individual student and to guide his growth towards manhood so that he may be of help to his fellow human beings. This was the concern of our founders, the Society of Friends, in 1842 and it is our concern today. To achieve this purpose a student at Pickering College must have two goals, firstly, to develop a philosophy or a set of beliefs which will inspire him to live a useful life and secondly to cultivate his mind so that he will be able to be of use. This definition may sound too idealistic, for basically each of us must first of all earn his own livelihood, but it is the Quaker belief that-one can go beyond this step and contribute to the welfare of onels neighbour. Let us look at these two basic parts of our purpose - character develop- ment and academic training. Let us start with academic training. Most of our students plan to go on to university and our academic routines must therefore be set up in such a way that the student will have a good chance to reach his poten- tial. Basic to this is the building of good study habits. Through our evening study, as well as our weekly grad- ing system, practically all of you show gradual improvement in this aspect of your life here. lknow for a fact that many average students have begun to produce honour results under this system and that failing students have reached a pass standard. I therefore believe that we can conclude that we are, as a school, ful- filling this aspect of our purpose. Naturally students derive a deep satisfaction through the success they achieve in these mental exercises which we call education. The lucky ones are those who find real joy, not in the good marks attained, but in the intellectual exploration of knowledge. To us at Pickering, character development is even more significant than academic training, important as the latter is. Once the human mind is trained, the major question is what is the human being going to do with his skill. How does Pickering attempt to fulfill this part of its basic purpose? First of all, we have the milieu wherein we can live together closely and openly. This provides a challenging test of character, for we get to know one another so well that it is impossible to pretend for any length of time that we are some- thing we are not. Students develop strength of character first of all by learning from other students and their life in the corridors teaches them a great deal about human nature. They begin to understand why

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HARRY M. BEER, B.A Headmaster

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people behave as they do and they can guide their own character in the direction of the kind of person they want to be. They also learn from their discussions with their own counsellor and other adults in the com- munity who may help them to realize their real potential and to develop greater self-confidence. All these discussions and experiences take place against a background of the schoolls Quaker philosophy which asserts that we build ourselves so that we may serve mankind. The height of that ideal can make one feel dizzy, but in the challenges and crises of life it is the only ideal to w-hich we can resort with courage and humility. Ten- dencies both for good and for evil lie within each human being and Pickering's role is to inspire you to fight for what you know to be right rather than succumb to the temptations of selfishness. The purpose of Pickering College cannot be' attained by the Headmaster alone, by the staff alone or by the students alone. It necessitates the cooperation of all of us together in spirit and in fact. Let us dedi- cate ourselves to this end. Harry M. Beer Kal tu...