Proctor High School - Proctorian Yearbook (Proctor, VT)

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34 THE SPOTLIGHT if one can only help the cause along, and raise the standard of church music one notch higher before he leaves his work for someone else to continue. Perhaps I have not made myself very clear as to “why” 1 like my chosen vocation, but as a summary, these are three reasons : — 1st. 1 love music in all forms. 2nd. The depths of musical literature can never be fathomed, and it ever leads me on to study more and more, each season proving more alluring and beneficial than the preceding one. 3rd. 1 have a very definite goal which I hope to “ap- proach . at least, some day, and it is an exciting, if ' at times discouraging game to play, in order to reach that goal which 1 know is worth while, FLORENCE MEAD, ' 10. 23 COMMERCIALS THE SPOTLIGHT WHY 1 LIKE MY COLLEGE. My own answer to the question, “Why I Like the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology” would be that I don’t (or at least didn’t.) 1 remember standing in line at the Bursar’s office last year and overhearing a conversation between two Seniors. It ran something like this: “Well, Bill, I suppose you will be sorry to go away from the old ’State?” asked the one. “Sorry? Where do you get that stuff? I never was so glad to get away from any place in my life,” answered the other. This opinion would be heartily endorsed by a good many of the fellows. Any normal young man doesn ' t like to be forced to work. Any school which demands as much work as Tech does, isn’t praised to the skies (by the students.) After the student graduates, he may realize what he owes to the school. He usually does, but the point is, that while he is in the midst of the work, he often does not appreciate the fact that he does owe loyalty to his school. I like my school because of the friendships 1 have made within its walls. Tech attracts some of the most brilliant minds in the country. (So it seems to me as I have tried to work both with and against them) but seriously, these friends seem to have remarkable ability. All Tech students seem to have outside interests. These interests and abilities range all the way from singing and composition of music to track and ballet dancing. These interests, as 1 said before, are numerous and varied. Track is perhaps the most popular interest in the realm of sport. It is surprising to see how many fellows try out for the team, and that the successful ones are good is evidenced by the fact that Tech has one of the best track teams in the East. How so many fellows can find time to practice four or five times a week, go on the trips, engage probably in some other activity, and still get their lessons is still a mystery to me. (And the answer isn’t that they don’t get their lessons.) Tech has reason to be proud of its track team and every one can share in that pride . We take pride, also, in the Tech Show. The Tech Show was given this year at the Waldorf-

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32 THE SPOTLIGHT ALUMNI NOTES WHY I LIKE MY VOCATION. “Only one life to live! That is what confronts us all when we leave High School, and are forced to consider how we can best spend that life. Shall we go to college and take a general course, waiting for more light on the subject, or shall we choose our profession now, and specialize in it immediately ? We are so apt to be misled, because of lack of competent counsel, or the failure on our part to “know ourselves,” that before we realize it we are like square pegs trying to fit in round holes. Fortunate indeed is the person who knows what he likes, and aims for a definite goal without any preliminary or un- necessary move in the wrong direction ! Very often there are “Acres of Diamonds” right in our own backyards, only waiting to be mined, but we think suc- cess lies waiting for us in some remote comer of the earth. The chief reason why I like my chosen profession as a teacher of music and as an organist is because I’ve loved music passionately ever since I was a little child. Nothing else in life held the same lure for me, or made the same appeal. Music aroused a definite desire to master the technicalities of the art, and to understand the subtle and wonderful inter- pretations of the masterpieces. THE SPOTLIGHT 33 The great trouble in being a “specialist” in any line, is the danger of becoming one-sided and narrow-minded, and forcing other equally important things out of one’s life at the expense of just one subject or hobby, A general college education does much to lessen this dan- ger, but I went to a purely musical college where we ate music, slept on music, and danced to music, morning, noon and night. After graduating from this institution I thought I was through but my piano teacher told me the foundation only was laid. One of the main reasons why I enjoy my work so much is the very fact that the more one studies, the broader the field for further study. (I knew more at eighteen than I ever shall again). Yes, the foundation only was laid. Ever since graduat- ing there has been a constant struggle to study, practice, establish a piano class, train choirs, and play the organ. It is thrilling to watch over and help others along the same thorny pathway over which one has so recently plodded, and a true teacher lives all her experiences over again as she guides the steps of her pupils. One learns more by teach- ing than all the theoretical knowledge he gets in college, I like to see my pupils develop, and always rejoice with them over each little victory won. The organ is really the instrument I love best of all be- cause it can never be cheapened.” It seems almost as ridic- ulous and incongruous to play jazz on a pipe-organ as it would be for a minister or priest to get up in church with his clerical garb on, and do a clog dance. Some cheap movie theatre organists attempt to misuse the organ in this respect, but all the better class of theatres have competent organists who play a very good class of music. All worthwhile professions must have a definite aim, and an ultimate goal so far ahead that the end of the trail is hidden in a cloud. There is such a great work to be clone in re- deeming the music of Protestant Churches and eliminating the trash which has sifted into the church service during the last century, that this goal alone is worth more than a fortune,

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36 THE SPOTLIGHT Astoria ballroom in New York city, at a theatre in Hartford, Conn. and at Boston and Northampton. An outsider is usual- ly surprised that Tech fellows have time and ability to learn to sing ,to dance, and to act well. The Tech Show, I might add, like every other activity at Tech is managed entirely by the students. The Show ranks as high as any college pro- duction in the United States. A third interest is the official newspaper of the school The Tech ' which gives us the news of the school three times a week. Reporters on the Tech are supposed to visit the news-room at least once a day to receive assignments About once in ten days, they are sent to the printers to set up the paper and proof-read it. One night, perhaps in the middle of the week, devoted to such work in a school where every night during the week is needed for study, might be expected to work havoc with studies but men on “The Tech” are among the best students. The fourth interest is the school government. Tech is unique among schools in the amount of power it delegates to the students themselves. Few schools in the United States have so demo- cratic a system. The Committee which controls the affairs of the students is elected by the students and has supreme control over the undergraduate activities. No discussion of the question of loyalty to Tech would be complete without mention of the professors. If Tech is better than any other scientific school in the country, it is due to the work of the teachers and organizers. We have, I believe, a very friendly spirit between student and teacher. We know that most of the teachers are still studying. One of the professors especially, is interested in any subject you may mention. I personally have heard him discussing typewrit- ing, music, plays, and old-fashioned dancing. He is a noted Professor of Chemistry, Tech has a background, a past history, which is illustri- ous and inspirational. The great figures of the past have built well. We do well to honor them. From the Past, we have drawn an inspiration to better the Present. This in- spiration, this essence of the Past, working through the Pres- ent (friendship, social life, government) produces in us the reaction we call love of our school. It rests mainly on the achievements of the school and of the student body, past and present. We do love our school although we sometimes don’t realize it until we graduate. PHILIP S, GLASSON, ’21. THE SPOTLIGHT 37 EXCHANGES We acknowledge the following exchanges: — “The Castle-Ton” — Teachers’ Training School, Castleton, Vt “The Cycle”— Woodsvilje, N. H. “The Clarion” — Fair Haven High School. “The Clarion” — Essex Junction High School. “Chips”— Richmond High School. “Blue and White’ ' — Danby High School. “The Reveille” — Waterbary High School. “The Unquity Echo” — Milton High School, Milton, Mass. “The Live Wire” — Newbury High School. “The Red and Black”- — Stevens High School, Claremont, N. H. “The Searchlight” — Kichford High School. The Standard”— Burlington J. H. S., Burlington, Vt “The Record” — Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vt, “High School Record” — Montpelier, Vt. “Apokeepian” — Poughkeepsie High School, Poughkeep- sie, N. Y. “The Academy Student” — St. Johnsbury High School. “The Cambridge Review” — Cambridge High School, Cam- bridge, Mass. “The Spotlight” — Chelsea High School. “The High Life” — Greensboro High School, Greensboro, N. C. “Hi-Spirit” — Enosburg Falls High School. “The Leavitt Angelus” — Levitt Institute, Turner Center, Maine. Academic Observer” — Utica Free Academy, Utica, N, Y,