Santa Cruz High School - Cardinal Yearbook (Santa Cruz, CA)

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THE CARDINAL-1931 . .iElE ElEiE E EZi'Sl.i'S E ElE, W X PAG E ELEVEN

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THE CARDINAL-1931 lElEZSlElElEZEiEZEiElEZE. Our Principal Speaks By W. E. ELMER School spirit-the illusive-the much abused-the little understood-the panacea for all school ills-perhaps. A thing that exists can be defined, the essentials can be uncov- ered and understood, the value of its functions can be determined, methods of retaining what we have and reaching out for more can be established. Our desires, wishes, and hopes, important as they are in a matter of this kind, will never measure up in importance to clear thinking and hard work. School spirit is a state of mind and results in either automatic reactions or thought- ful, calculated reactions. It means a common devotion to a cause. It involves courage, confidence, ardor, fire, animation. In an army, morale is the important word. Napoleon's armies had it at first to an unusual degree. When they lost their spirit they were easily defeated. In large well organized corporations Esprit de Corps is frequently used to express the devotion to the cause. False incentives, meaningless noise and blare of trum- pets, loafing, dawdling, laziness, shifting responsibilities, break down and destroy school spirit. The most important essential of school spirit is a unified and socialized teaching staff. Cooperative effort must always be uppermost. Individual differences in teachers must be recognized and accepted. Needs of pupils should come before all else. Teachers must not only work well together, they must also learn the trick of playing together.-It is also essential that pupils work together in peace and harmony and fine accomplishment. A school is a little city unto itself. Here pupils can learn their first real lesson in demo- cratic government.-It is likewise essential that the teacher-pupil relationship be of the highest order. Teachers should recognize at all times individual differences in pupils and care for these differences in an intelligent and effective fashion. Pupils in turn should also not only recognize differences in teachers but be grateful to Providence that their teachers are different. If all pupils were exactly alike, and if all teachers were exactly alike, school life would become humdrum and inane. Teacher-pupil relationships should be replete with service, courtesy and understanding.-Community interest is also a highly essential part of school spirit. That interest reaches out further than the financial support that the public gives to schools. If a community possesses fine school facilities, it points to them with just pride. If the product of their schools is also fine, the rejoicing is even greater. If weaknesses exist and faults are in evidence, the community is anxious for corrections. If correctionscome slowly the public is patient and long suffering in the matter. Administrators, teachers, and pupils should bend every effort toward keeping strong, a fine working partnership between the public and the schools. The functions of school spirit are clear cut and easily definable. Justification is not difficult.-That school spirit stimulates more and better work cannot be denied. Teachers resort, and rightly so, to emulation, shame, competition, pride, and ambition to stimulate more and better school work. When school spirit runs high and fine, a teacher can resort to such stimuli in a wonderful effective fashion.-Another function of school spirit is an emotional refinement. Our emotions are sacred things, they should not be repressed neither should they be unduly stimulated. A balance, a control, a refinement should be striven for. When a school is keyed intelligently to a common devotion to a cause, emotional refinement is sure to result.-The highly important matter of order is a function of school spirit. Pride in one's school will not permit a pupil to be discourteous and unruly. It will not permit marring of walls and equipment. It will not sanction a disre- gard of the rights of others. How can school spirit be retained if strong, or built up if weak? Hopes and desires lead the way. Clear thinking, hard work, persistent effort, must follow. All the organiza- tions must be concerned. Love, faith, belief, loyalty, pride in your school, genuine in quality, and unstinted in measure must always be strongly in evidence.-The appeal of art and music is far reaching. This means the -cultivation of a love for the beautiful, an appeal to our asthetic sense. Our environment should be charged and surcharged with beauty in balance.-Comfort and orderliness should be a part of our surroundings.- Worthy school enterprises in which the entire school group is concerned must be carried on. Group enterprises rightly proportioned and carefully distributed are of the first importance in building up school spirit. A most significant outcome of small group loyalty is large group loyalty. Once one senses and lives in group loyalty and responsi- bilities, one is just beginning to live.-Let no one make the mistake of relegating to second place the matter of school yells and songs. There is here a fundamental instinct that we were born with. It has come to us from our fore-fathers. History is replete and crowded with incidents in which this vital principle has over topped all else. There is something truly wrong with the person in which this elemental thing is entirely absent. Most of us CContinued on Page 325 PAGE TEN

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THE CARDINAL-1931 E ZEZEZE?':1E2Z1E2 Z. E224 525. E2':.EL PAGE TWELVE The Cry Of Youth We stand upon the threshold, young and eager, Expecting something-what, we do not know. Delighted that our student days are over, And yet-we somehow hate to see them go. Sympathy for youth no longer shields us From the things that life can do to men. No longer can we hide from truth, but face it, The world will find our weaknesses, and then We will be tested, and perhaps, found wanting We may be failures, or achieve success, Or we may spend our life in endless searching And never find our object, Happiness. But life itself is here, and we shall meet it, There is no turning back, the road leads on. The carefree days of youth and play are over, The joyous day of childhood dreams are gone. But better things are just around the corner, And bigger things are waiting to be made. ' We're glad the problems of the world confront us Pray God that we may meet them unafraid. Vivian Rostron