Portland High School - Totem Yearbook (Portland, ME)

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12 PORTLAND HIGH SCHOOL TOTEM SENIOR CLASS OFFICERS Clilford Lawson, Treasurerg William Walker, Vice-president: Vernon Loveitt, Secretary, Robert lvlulkern, President. President's Message By ROBERT T. MULKERN This is a century of Progress. Portland High School, when first opened in 1821, had 20 pupils. Now, one hun- dred and thirteen years later, it has more than igoo. This fact shows the rapid strides that education has taken along with the many discoveries and inventions of the past cen- tury. Our school has kept in harmony with these develop- ments and now offers each of her students a truly modern course. A question which has arisen and is the cause of much controversy is whether the pupils of the modein school re- tain the zealous attitude of those who gained their educa- tion in the smaller schools of the years past. I believe they ROBERT T. MUI,KERN do. Although the past century has brought many material changes, human nature has remained the same. We are often asked to consider the boy who did not have the educational advantages we enjoy, such as: public libraries, moving pictures, and radio. In most instances he had to walk miles to a poorly equipped schoolhouse and upon his return home was obliged to do chores, and in the evening continue his studying by candlelight. To many people this seems an excellent example of great sacrifice and zeal. But if we disregard our sympathies and attempt to answer the question more fairly, we find that this is neither zeal nor sacrifice. This mode of living was the result of en- vironment and was accepted by the people of the past generation as being perfectly

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SENIORS I

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NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR 1 3 SENIOR CLASS EXECUTIVE BOARD Donald Fowler, Arnold Brume, June Donovan, Mattie Robinson, Jean Clarke, june Hyberts, Ralph Aaskov, Edgar Striker. President's Message natural. They knew nothing of the modern conveniences that we consider neces- sities because our environment has always provided them. No, the students of the good old days were not consciously making any sacrifice. Their environment also gave them a greater opportunity to display their zeal than is afforded the modern student. Many persons believe that no zeal is required when a pupil is in a thoroughly equipped school under the instruction of capable teachers, but could not the fact that hundreds of pupils who are no longer re- quired to attend school do so in spite of strict discipline and long hours of study be regarded as zeal? A graduate of the old school may say that the school-boy of today could never succeed if he were obliged to battle for an education under the conditions which existed when he attended school. Possibly this statement is true, for the youth of today is accustomed to a more comfortable and convenient type of life. For the sake of argument we might ask this graduate if the student of his day could successfully compete in every respect with the students of the modern school. He could not, because he is unaccustomed to our great inventions and scientific discoveries and did DOI receive the proper training for such a technical era. However, it is futile to attempt to compare the student of the present day with the student of the past generation because the conditions which existed in the two ages are entirely different. The only responsibility of the student of today is to make the most of the op- portunities that are his and to live in the spirit of the time, which is Progress.