Providence Technical High School - Review Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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1030 43 T II E TECH REVIEW School Spirit 'I he success of a school as well as of any other institution is due largely to the spirit and co-operation of those connected with it. School spirit has already been emphasized on several occasions at I echni- cal High School relative to social and ath- letic activities. What is real school spirit? In answer I should say it is the co-operation of every student to make school activites a success. No matter how small a part an individual has played in any activity, the result would have been far from successful without that co-operation and support. When you selected this institution of learning, you had some feeling of admira- tion and respect for it. Why not keep this thought fresh in your mind during your remaining school years? When your class organizes a committee to make plans for any social event, that committee does the actual work. But that does not exonerate us from responsibility. We must all do our utmost to make the event a success by attending and also arousing class spirit among our fellow students. We have rea- son to be proud of the records established in athletic events. Do not leave it entirely to the various teams to make these records. Our duty in this case is to attend and sup- port all games. The activities of dramatic and debating societies reach outside of our school circles. Here, there is a duty for us to perform, just as there was one to perform in social and athletic activities. It is our school spirit that makes successful these school interests. During your remaining school years keep this idea foremost in your mind. Help and support in school everything with which you are connected. Kathleen M. Kelley. “Farewell Tech” By Esther L. Devine, '30. hour years we’ve spent within these walls, ’Mid study and laughter and friends; But now our sojourn here is o’er. And each on his own journey wends. What may the future hold for us? Our several destinies be? For no one knows the whims of Fate, A fanciful lady is she! The friends we’ve made—the fun we’ve had, I he lessons we’ve learned, day by day. Have all become a part of life; For each of us, now, come what may! And oft in years to come we’ll find A memory, tender and dear. Will take us back to l ech once more, 1 o the good times we’ve known here.

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42 THE TECH REVIEW 1930 that every bit of wasted time is a bit of wasted life. Not many years will pass before you will regret the time which you wasted in your youth. There is one thing, however, that you will never regret, namely, the time you spent in study and with books, and the attention which you gave to your teachers. Men grow rich by using or in- vesting their money so that it pays them a good interest, but there is nothing which will pay a better interest than the time which is invested in the real things of life, so that later on memories of wasted time and lost opportunities will not return as haunting phantoms. Think of a minute, and see all it may mean! In that moment you may make yourself famous or even immortal; you might give to the world some idea, invent something new, even discover some great piece of scientific knowledge, or—you may just discard that precious moment as if it were nothing, or you may use it meanly and ignobly making lives miserable or even ruining them. l ime’s hands scatter treasures generously to us all. We may pick them up or leave them. Thus we mold our lives according to our choice in the use of I ime. Muriel H. Smira, '30. A Comparison The other day we happened to pass an old abandoned house. Its faded paint and boards were mute testimonials of the ravages of time and weather. Its streaked windows seemed to look forth with an air filled with a poignant sadness and melan- choly. The place fairly radiated gloom and downheartedness. Our interest was aroused. On an adjoining lot a new cottage was being erected. Stepping up to a man who seemed to be some sort of foreman, we asked. Could you tell us the cause of the dilapi- dated state of that house?” 1 he man gave the relic a disdainful glance. “That?” he inquired scornfully, “well, you see when it was built the carpenters thought more of the outside appearance than of the founda- tion. As a result, the cellar sank, causing the whole structure to warp and rendering it practically untenantable.” With this information he walked off. • But his words reminded us of a man we know, whom we found ourselves comparing with the house. Like the house, his face bears traces of former outer finery. But on close observance the finery becomes blemished by hardness, and grim lines about the mouth silently testify to the toll of the years. His eyes, like the windows, look forth with a certain futile desperateness, a grim knowledge of his inevitable fate. He is regarded with silent pity by those who know his history. School he had regarded as a necessary evil. How he graduated he never quite knew himself. Instead of laying a firm founda- tion during his scholastic sojourn he under- mined his character. After graduation he somehow obtained a job, but the house had already begun to crumble. Evil influences took their toll; he finally awoke too late, as the haunted look in his eyes testifies, to complete the work of reconstruction. 1 he foundation of life is laid in one’s youth, and the schools are the workshops in which it is patterned. There, experienced instructors stand, to assist in the construc- tion and to guard against the flaws which all encounter. There, staunch friends and loyal comrades labor side by side, helping and influencing. And the final result is a fine foundation upon which is built the tow- ering superstructure of later years, which arises with the traverse of the broad road of life. Kenneth L. Godfrey, '30.

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THE TECTI REVIEW 1030 44 Everything Done in a School Should Educate— Do Socials Educate? By Esther Devine, '30. [Awarded Girls' Prize in Anthony Medal Contest.] Schools and institutions are for the sole purpose of education. 1 he student attends school to acquire knowledge of the world about him and of life in general. Every- thing which is taken up in school should educate the pupils along some line. By this statement, I do not mean that a school should not have activities and functions which do not pertain to book learning. We cannot receive education from books alone. The education which we obtain from friendships and co-operation with other students is exceedingly necessary to every boy and girl. Apart from the extra-curricular activities which are organized under the familiar titles of Athletic Association, Glee Club, Debating Club and others, there are those events of a purely social nature which must be considered in a well-rounded program in the high school. Ordinarily, we call these affairs socials, parties, or “proms.” Whether these be enjoyed by boys and girls together or separately is a matter which may be given special attention when the question arises. Certainly the former plan is nearer to the natural way of living and is to be emphasized. Social affairs teach a pupil the correct way to do the desirable things he will do anyway. Extra-curricular activities have a distinct moral value, and also give the pupil an equalization of opportunity. The color of one’s thoughts changes, as an escape is made from the routine business of a school program to the lively anticipa- tion of being one’s friends socially. The social training many students get in the high school is the only social training they do get. Boys and girls should know to some extent, how to carry on a conver- sation, how to please people, how to come and go without awkwardness. I o meet older men and women as well as people of their own age; to learn important, con- ventional social customs and to have respect for them, is in perfect harmony with the natural desire of the adolescent, who, be- cause of his expanding personality is sustained by the social medium in which he is placed. This means that social train- ing, which in the last analysis includes moral training, can only be given by means of concrete situations, and these are sure to arise. Dr. Royce once said: “Social conformity gives us social power. Such power brings to us a consciousness of who and what we are, hence we begin to have a will of our own. We may discover this will to be in sharp conflict with the will of society. This is what naturally happens to most of us for a time at least in youth.” It may seem a little thing to call after one has been invited to dinner, to rise when a lady enters the room, to eliminate such terms as “say” or listen” when beginning a conversation, but it is these little things which distinguish a trained from an un- trained individual. Dancing is a very favorable participa- tion at social functions. It gives poise, courteousness, democracy, sense of rhythm, and good taste of mind. Social functions should be held in every school. My answer to the question as to whether socials educate is strongly in the affirmative.