Rocky Mountain College - Yellowstone / Poly Yearbook (Billings, MT)

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THE POLY of all, coming finally to live as they lived, uplifted into a high realm of feeling and emotion combined with an ability to give that feeling beautiful expression. Though we cannot all be Brownings or Shakespeares. yet life's scope is enlarged when we follow the trail of thought left by eminent writers in their most approved works. As soon as one knows a member of a family who pleases him, he is only too glad to make the acquaintance of the other members of that family. And having made that acquaintance. the second and later friendship is sealed and made a permanent source of joy for its own merits and for its relation to the source of that first freindship. So it is with work in the languages. Let us, as all must necessarily do. become familiar with the English language. Then if our love for our own tongue be sufficiently well developed, we shall wish to take another step-to learn its parent-Latin. At first that parent seems to be cold and reserved. and to repulse advances toward familiarity, but that is merely, we learn later, to test the worthiness of the stranger. XVhen anyone has learned to under- stand and appreciate Latin, its charm and value is patent: no longer do we'say, VVhat is the use of studying anything so hard, especially as it is a dead language ? Then it is, that we realize that it is not a dead language, but it is living today, and always will live, a perennial fountain of pleasure. XYe must not forget, however, the close relation existing between Latin and Ancient History. .PX close study of Latin gives us an idea of the private and public life of the Romans such as we could End nowhere else. Then there is, too. in that way, la bond of sympathy and understanding established which makes the Latin authors seem a living personality rather than a mere historical figurehead. To this benefit is added the thought that thus our vocabulary is increased. and as the history and derivation of various words is understood. so is there a nicer appreciation of the comparative value of different words realized. Latin always has demanded a keen mind and always will demand one as entrance fee. Hut in return, it gives to the student the power of penetration, perception. and judg- ment-these three-and the greatest of these is-hard to select. But powerful as the Romans have been in the past, there is a people today who interest us, whose thoughts and ideals are contemporaneous with ours-and they are our friends across the big pond-the Germans. There was once a man who shot an apple off from a boy's head and until you know that fact and his reason for so doing. your education has been neglected. Hut to be serious, let us remember how this language is to be catalogued. ft, too, is a descendant of Latin, and so must be a cousin of English. And when we have mastered this language, we know that it is a worthy cousin. German has another advantage. In all but nationality. you can become German. You can learn to speak it fluently, to write it in the good German way, and even to think in it. To this add the acquirement of a liking for 'kraut and you are really German, tho the census taken puts you in the category of Americans. In short, you will feel at home in the German settlement, or at the Passion Play 'at Oberammergau. Speaking of German recalls to mind the fact that there is another germ here which will, before we are cognizant of its existence,urst forth, a full grown demand for other modern languages, Spanish and French will soon become a crying need in our school. Already we have had calls for these subjects and evidently the day of their teaching is not far off. Japanese is taught in the kitchen to all who beg an extra lunch, and in- formal classes in Norwegian and Scandinavian were organized some time ago among the foreign element. Some of the more advanced students in these courses were able to ask or answer at least three questions in the languages just named. The language department is happy over the number of students it has enrolled in its classes, and the day is near at hand when a greater corps of department teachers will be needed to meet the demands of our language students. -20-

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Language Section LANGUAGE GROUP One must talk. And so, one might as well learn to speak correctly as to make mis- takes and use poorly chosen words every time he wants to utter a thought. It has been said that girls, especially, are happiest when talking. Possibly that is why so many girls avail themselves of the opportunity of learning to substitute English for the jargon with which their verbal gunneries are loaded when they come to us. Aye, verily, they can hurl slang and colloquial English at one until he gives in to them just to save his ears. Ain't chu fyouj awful lonesome and He clone that pretty good, are really mild in comparison with some that we hear. You boys who have been reading this are congratulating yourselves that the girls caught it this time and not you. But to be perfectly frank, they, in their English, are but an example of you in yours. And so, while the girls with their perfectly good excuse, for they must live up to their reputation, always flock eagerly to the English rooms, yet the girls are not there alone. They must share class room work with the boys. And it is well that it is so, for here they all begin to gain at least a vague and hazy idea of what English really is. lYords seem capable of classification, sentences stand out in their minds as indicative of complete thoughts. case uses and verb forms take on a new significance and adjust themselves to certain logical principles, and all this, too, not without reason. But when, later on, the possibilities in choice of words appeal to them, and the use of slang and Campus English begins to grate upon their ears and nervous sensibilities, then do the in- structors seem pleased and lean back in their chairs with complacent smiles of satisfaction, as they contemplate the young hopefuls who have been so diligently studious. But we are curtailing our opportunities to advance if we expect or even hope to be able to perfect our own speech without studying carefully, and assimilating into our own mentality, the best usage of English as illustrated by the artists of thought expression. -Xnfl for this reason it is that we offer extended work in Literature. Everyone, except possibly the self-assured Senior, admits that there have been greater minds and capabilities than his: therefore, we toil over the masterpieces of literature, thinking after them the words of authors, learning some of their most excellent and attractive passages, and, best -191

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U Reading and Public Speaking One of the most important departments of the Polytechnic, and one upon which much emphasis is placed, is the Department of Reading and Speaking. Few people have learned how to read. Almost any one can speak words, but the aim of the Polytechnic Reading department is to train the student to give thought and not merely words. In order to be able to give thought, it is necessary for a speaker first to gain the thought for hirnself from the printed page. True reading is to speak in a natural way so that the hearers forget that a person is reading and imagine he is speaking his own words. Une of the purposes of the Reading department is to train the future teachers of this region to be able to teach the pupil, from the time he begins school until he has iinished this branch, to read properlyg that is to say, T see a cat, really seeing the cat in his mind and then telling about it, rather than for him to say, T-see-a-c-a-t-cat. If every teacher could but have the conception of what reading really is, and its importance, this country would be nlled with good readers. The student is taught to study the words of a sentence and to get a thorough con- ception of the meaning of words as used in different ways. He studies selections in a. way that makes the thought his thought: and the words used, his words: thereby increasing his vocabulary and ameliorating his use of English. By studying the works of various authors. the student is able to receive the best and highest thoughts of the greatest men of all literary ages. Since reading is the basis of all other subjects, all stu- T 'f dents are required to take at least one year's work in this if ii department. The second and third year's work is elec- g :E , 6 tive. A suflicient number of classes is maintained to Rfk '59 meet the needs of the students in any stage of advance- gi ,Z :Q 4.2: lila W ment. Those who wish may specialize in this work. 5 1 ,KL 5, inlet ? Many take the entire three-year course in connection with f other courses in the Institute T iiii if It is a rare art to be able to speak well and with perfect composure and control of one's self in public. Yet it is an accomplishment nearly every one wishes and needs a great many times. For this reason the students of the Reading department are required to give readings, first before their own class and when they have thoroughly mastered the selection. they appear on a public program, sometimes before large audiences Along with the other high grade work done in the Reading department, classic dramas are studied and presented. This year members of the reading classes have given two classic plays: Milton's Samson Agonistesu and Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. These plays were deeply studied and then presented in such a way that the audience could grasp the full meaning of the author and not merely the plot and incidents of the dramas. Another feature of the Reading department is the training in story-telling. Noth- ing is more entertaining than a good story, and one is often in a position where he is looked to as a leader in entertainment. For this reason, students are trained to tell stories and myths in an interesting way. This training can add much to the culture and refine- ment of the student. Through its Reading department the Polytechnic has been able to reach out to the surrounding towns and assit them in special meetings and services by sending readers and speakers to them. This is one way of interesting people who have before perused only the books and reading of the hour, in the highest and best literature.