Sauquoit Valley Central High School - Saghdaquadah Yearbook (Sauquoit, NY)

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fI'V-C+ va ,cz ag e sazma IN RECENT YEARS the centralizing of schools has become a very common under- taking. Various schools everywhere have been combined under one organization, and many improvements have thus been made possible. This centralization of schools has proved very advantageous. To realize fully the advantages of cen- tralized schools, let us see a comparison between the modern school and the school of thirty years ago. In the first place, how were pupils conveyed to the schools of thirty years ago? To answer this question completely would be an endless task because the methods of going to and from school were so many. As a rule, most of the pupils who lived within a reasonable distance walked to school while others were taken by their parents or by someone of the neighborhood. In some cases, the pupils who resided a few miles from the schools, were conveyed to school by train. But now all has changed, and pupils ride on buses to and from school. Another noticeable difference between the schools is in connection with the heating and lighting systems. In the schools of thirty years ago there were no electric lights to turn on when the days were dark and dreary. Many valuable hours of school were consequently lost. When it was cold, the pupils usually huddled about the huge wood-burning stove. How could pupils have studied under such conditions? Steam heat and electric lights now replace these old methods of heating and lighting. There are many other advantages of centralized schools. Some of these are the varied courses for pupils to select from, the building of libraries right in the schools, and the building of gymnasiums and auditoriums for the pupils to use. A few years ago the pupils didn't have any of these facilities. Now, which school would you prefer to go to, the one of thirty years ago or a modern centralized school? I'm sure that I am entirely satisfied with the school which I now attend. -Doius SMITH. - +66 page twenty-nine

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55555 page twenty-eight PI'V-C +5 25001 ,a School Zcfucalion pay? EIGHTEEN DECADES AGO, on account of the general lack of an ordinary educa- tion, the query as to whether a high school pays would have required much more consideration than it requires today. In the days of Benjamin Franklin, few were receiving a high school education, and, of course, the feasibility of procuring a secondary education was questioned extensively because so few people were interested in such an opportunity. The majority of the people thought of little except the necessity of securing their livelihood by tilling the soil or by laboring in some other unskilled fashion. Today, every individual must make his decision as to the course by which he intends to earn his living. Will he become a member of that group known as professionals, in which case a high school education is a prerequisite to the course which he selects? Will he enter the business class where a high school diploma is almost synonymous to success? Or will he labor and work with or without a secondary education? In considering these three classifications we find that the first group, in order to become professionals, positively must have a high school education, and that the second class certainly should have such an education if success is desired. The third class, which embraces farmers, mill hands, et cetem, will find that a high school education will stand them in good stead-for instance-the youth who has chosen an agricultural career obtains through education many prelimi- nary fundamental truths guiding him to success. 5 Besides giving people better ways of earning their living, a high school edu- cation does more. It removes from its recipients in a small degree a certain awkwardness and self-consciousness and gives them at least a surface polish and veneer of refinement so that they are better able to take their places in society and thus fulfill one of the primary purposes of their existence. A consideration of the foregoing shows us that no matter what our station in life-a high school education pays large dividends.

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