Shelburne High School - Buccaneer Yearbook (Shelburne, TX)

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THE SENIQRS' MESSAGE Oftenlwe hear, 'The youth of today is the future America, and the future of of America restslupon our youth. Let's wake up 'Youth' and accept our heri- tage and make this the Beginning, not the End. By each generation the torch of liberty and freedom must be kept burningg the responsibilities of citizenship must be discharged, and the opportunities of citizenship must be appreciated. lt is our responsibility to build a successful democratic society at home and to make America a leader for international ius- tice and peace. May we have a clear conception of our task and a greater cour- age and inspiration for its successful completion. Courage is not enough. We need the ability to see the facts and to see them in the perspective of their total relationship. We know that it is upon education that we depend for the development of good citizenship and social effectiveness. Education must give us citizens who can and will measure up to the responsibilities placed upon them by free institutions. Our institutions will live only as long as we make them work. Education with courage and insight to reach toward that goal can well serve to guarantee the future progress of our citizens. We as future citizens must be thoughtful about the problems that face it, be firm in our convictions, and courageous in our act- ions. lt is fundamental in our system that unless most of us do fulfill our duties, our obligations, our rights, and our freedoms as citizens, our way of lving will not long survive our failure. As we think of the rights, and the privileges of citi- zenship in our country, let us not forget the oblizations and duties which go with those same rights and privileges. ln this Atomic Age there is not any time to lose. The lowiest individual may have an influence and the extent of the contribution will be measured by how each one assumes responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of peace, It is not the statesmen to whom we must look for the desired peace, and miracle, but the education of our country. The heart and mind ofmind must be educated or else out of some subterranean cellar will come a far greater monster than the 'Atomic Bomb. lt is the duty of the educator to train the heart and mind. May it be sound and lasting! Education in America has fallen on evil days, not evil in the wicked sense, but evil in the sense of lost prestige and impotence, to do the right job it is sup- pose to do. The plight of our schools is not the fault of any particular group of either with- in or without the teaching profession. It is the fault of every American citizen. As people we are not really concerned about education at the moment. Why aren't we?

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It may be claimed that the present situation is a product of the times through which we are passing. This might be an explanation, but it is not an excuse. There can be no excuse for our blindness and indifference to so vital a factor in our youthful life. Who will drive home to all youths the truth that the only 11096 fOr the future lies in giving each succeeding generation superior training? How can we be led to understand that we ought to use the leaders ot our genera- tion as the teachers of the generation to follow? Wake up Youth! Let's do something about this crisis that we are facing. We are to be the leaders and teachers of tomorrow! Teachers work with developing minds and personalities. Human lives are enlarged, inspired, made more capable and strong, or they are left stunted, warped, aimless, and ineffective by teachers of early years. Yes, education is in the doldrums. Nor is it iust an interesting phenomenon to excite the curious. It is a crisis in our Youths' existence, the effects, which will touch everyone among us. We must wake up and act before irreparable damage is done. More than anything else we need a leader to stimulate and focus our edu- cational renaissance to pull America out of the doldrums. More 18 year old boys and girls are arrested than any other age group. Why? Because they have not had the proper leaders before them to steer them in the right course. The arrests of girls under 18 years of age have increased 198 per cent since 1939 while arrests of boys under 18 have increased 48 per cent for murder. Should we stand for it? The answer is no. Measures should be taken to prevent these sort of mishaps. And we, as citizens of tomorrow, are the ones to prevent it. The greatest need of this generation is to discover new wisdom. The new wis- dom, sought must be based on authority, causes vastly worth while and- enduring commitment to the highest, compassion for the lowliest, sincere devotion to li- berty, iustice and righteousness. These are some of the ideals we must have to teach our followers if they are to be the fathers of men we would have possess the earth. Let us as the Youth ot' Tomorrow accept their challenge to over-come the many obstacles-not only to teach moral and spiritual values, but also to translate them into action under the dynamic power of our own heritage and faith. May we look back only to gain from the errors in the experiences of others. Forward march, Youth of America! May we not fail! SENIOR CLASS By Marilyn Winters 1