Plainfield High School - Hermiad Yearbook (Central Village, CT)

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THE HERMIAD 9 The nouns of old Latin would not be declined And Minerva refused to give aid to my mind. A skeleton jumped from a corner at me And all of his bones were as mixed as could be. In one bony hand some numbers he held, Which twisted and squirmed and suddenly yelled: Don't forget the equation, and quickly they turned Into horrible snakes which crawled and squirmed. The skeleton moved and maybe he spoke, But the scenes were too much! I screamed-and awoke! No matter how hard the exams prove to be, They'll ne'er be as bad as that night was to me. siege UNE DECISION F ORCEE CLouis Lafrance-1930D L Y A quelques annees j'ai eu l'honneur d'assister a une seanee dans la Chambre des Representants at Hartford. Vous ne sauriez croire le plaisir que cette seance me fournit. C'etait un debat entre des femmes. La resolu- tion ressemblait fi ceeig les femmes doivent prendre part du jury dans l'Etat de Connecticut. Je suis sur que le plus grand pessimiste clue monde aurait joui de cette occasion. L'audience etait honoree par la presence de deux femmes juristes d'etats voisins. Elles ont donne leurs opinions favorablement. Les appaludissements resonnerent comme des coups de canon dans la chambre et on dirait que la victoire etait inevitable pour l'aHirmative. Voila qu'une femme, jusqu'ici restee inerte, se leve: Mesdan1es et messieurs, par la loi naturelle les femmes sont feminines et non feministesf' suivi d'un dis- cours plein de dedain pour la resolution. Ces seules parc-les suffirent pour donner aux negatives l'occasion de defendre leurs principes et de rendre inferieures ceux de leurs adversaires. A qui donnerait-on la victoire? La salle devenait de plus en plus reson- nante avec Yenthousiasme des deux parties, manifeste d'une manniere qui me paraissait extraordinaire pour des femmes. Le president des juges se leva et annonca que la decision serait remise au lendemam. Un peu vexees, les deux qui soutenaient la resolution, insisterent qu'on donna la decision immediate- ment. Alors les pauvres vieux, ne voulant pas etre la cause d'une confusion, se retirerent et apres une demi-heurei revinrent prendre leurs places tres solennellement. Tout etait tranquille. Personne ne bougeait et une deuxieme fois la voix du president se Ht entendre. Les femmes de Connecticut ne doivent pas prendre part du jury. -

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8 THE HERMIAD Thi y exams or the stu- dents who were lcastuharmed by them. High average students, Sir, have their ranks lowered by fallllig to pass exams but this lower rank is not detrimental. I plead for the pupils who would not beneht by my schoolmates plan, those whose average would be too low to enable them to escape the exams. Their failures would lower the year's rank d ' - ' ' ' 1 ' an It would be exceedingly detrimental, for it would mean their failure for the year. s refined policy of my schoolmate would do awa with f Excuse me, Sir, if I continue my remarks on the same line. Exams should he entirely eliminated by my plan rather than partially eliminated by my school- mate's plan and will now endeavor, without, I hope appearing to you to be too his flunking an exam will mean Hunking for the year, grows exceedingly nervous and does much worseg while the high average pupil consoles himself with the thought that if he flunk th ' ' g s e exam he can stlll pass for the year, remains calm and does lns best. I am sensible, Sir, that all that I have said proves the absurdit of m h I- I . y y sc oo mate's plan and will now endeavor, without, I hope appearing to you to be too nervy, to prove that exams should be entirely abolished. There are three main reasons why examinations should be abolished. First, they are not a test of the subject as a whole, certain parts only are touched upon it lies, Sir, entirely with luck whether or not the pupil is more and better prepared on these certain few questions than on the rest of the subject. Second, they do not represent the pupil at his best, they represent the pupil at his worstg the reason is, if I may have the right to present it, that so much hinges on the results of this exam, that the pupil's future itself hinges on it-which is indeed a terrifying fact to the pupil. Third, they take up too much of the pupiI's and the teacher's time. If the time thus taken up were spent in further study by the pupils and in further teaching by the teachers it would indeed be much more wisely spent. I pray, Sir, that if this plea displeases you, the austerity of your position will prevent you from kicking me from your genteel presence: I further pray, Sir, that if you approve of this plan you may execute it immediately in order that I and the others of my class may derive from it our due benefit. S? +35 THE NIGHT BEFORE EXAMS CLove Fleisher-19325 'Twas the eve of exams and all through that night, I lay groaning in bed in fear of my plight, The ghosts of the lessons I did not prepare Came trooping in line to enjoy my despair. , The history dates danced a jig on my pillow T ' Till I'm sure I cried more than a large weeping willow. French verbs that I most surely ought to have known For some reason or other from my mem'ry had flown.

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THE HERMIAD ADVICE FROM SEN1ORS-A HORTATORY ' qoonaid C. Gallup-19305 Schoolmates, when you're tired of Latin, And you hate old Cicero, And you're sick with learnin', learnin' When there's nothing else to know. VVhen you wish that that nut, Milton, And his friends had never been, And you're out of sorts with Drayton, Condemning literary men. VVhen you've studied Burke, Cand sufferedll 'Till your brains are in a whirl, With the words o'er which he stuttered, VVhen he that peaceful UD speech did hurl. VVhen you labor with the poetry, For which Palgrave gave his worst, When you feel all hot and sultry, And you'd quit it, if you durst. There's the time for perseveringg Time to showbjust how you're made, Can you stand up under scolding, And prove you're worthy of the grade? For if you fail to do this also, And shirk duty in this test, You won't stand, as those before you Good examples to the rest. Then when Shakespeare starts to vex you, And you feel your grapplers slip, Remember those who went before you, And stick steadfast to the ship. EPILOGUE So, in the midst of tribulation, NVhen there comes an awful day, Let this be your consolation, O shucks! they're all gone anyway.