Sir Adam Beck Secondary School - Lacedaemon Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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THE COMMITTED AFFAIRS ' 67- ' 68 Through apprenticeship, our brothers can learn and become more involved in the world- -not just be helped, but help others ! Professor G. Milburn intro- duces the morning panel dis- cussion. ward. It was justified by the fact that school boards are electorally responsible to those of a very select strata of society. This strata includes mostly businessmen who are interested in the student be- cause; in the future, these businessmen will be hiring him. Students are also restricted because the teacher controls the way you learn certain knowledge. We must smash the critical barrier and stop to ask our- selves how it is possible to gi ve the best answer under given circumstances. We must also be allowed to take other views into consideration and evaluate their worth. The teacher should be the guide, not the spoon-feeder. Students are not motivated enough. This topic of education was carried through in the next series of speakers. Professor G. Milburn of Althouse College and an originator of these conferences, introduced the panel, whose subject was The Role of the Student in the School. In his introduction, he noted the recent explosion of knowledge, and the changes in outlook on discipline. Today the stu- dent wants a greater say in what he learns and how he learns it, with more freedom to discuss things or change his mind. The panel- -Mr. Peter Schwartz, Moderator; Mr. Peter Larson, Mr. Andrew Wright (all of UWO)— continued this theme, feeling that education is for, and of, society. They argued that only 25% of a person is stimulated in the classroom; he learns the rest outside. We are developed through disciplined education. We must be taught, however, to fit into society, rather than just being taught a job. There must be the means for a student to be what he wants, not what others want him to be ! The idea that the business world decides on the educational system and the type of student produced was put for- University students were also among our guests.

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THE COMPANY OF CURRENT Where are you going? How clearly do you see your future ? Are you personally committed to a certain goal? Are you dedicated to a specific aim? The Library was filled; as the Conference began. According to Mr. Walker, the purpose of his organization is to encourage youth participation in World Affairs. He feels that every generation needs a challenge and a cause. Our cause is not to change, but to expose. And, since we have the means, the challenge is to our will ! We are being educated on the premise that the world will not change. For this reason, we find it easy to get used to some burdens and not feel that they are problems anymore. We take them for granted. This is how the disagreements between the Havers and the Wanters have arisen. Two thirds of the world is made up of the wanters --groups such as the FLQ or the Mobs in Detroit, etc. We are undergoing a revolution of rising expectations. We are getting more sophisticated and we are demanding and expecting more. To balance this with our needs, we must have more co- operation in international development in the future. The world ' s population will be doubled by the year 2000, but food pro- duction MUST be quadrupled if we are to survive. The only way of succeeding is through total dedication to education. WE ARE NOT OUR BROTHER ' S KEEPERS, BUT OUR BROTHER ' S BROTHERS! WE MUST HELP HIM TO HELP HIMSELF. If increased, Foreign Aid will provide the potential and the resources for this. The Seventh Annual Current Affairs Club Conference, presented by our Cur- rent Affairs Club for the Students of the City of London, was held on Saturday, October 14, here at Beck, with 16 schools participating. This year ' s conference was especially interesting and informa- tive due to the fact that no politicians were invited as speakers. All speakers, rather, propounded many new and con- troversial ideas in a straight-forward and clear manner. They presented such thought-provoking questions as those above, posed by Mr. Hugh Bremner of CFPL Radio in his introduction of Mr. James Walker from the Centennial Inter- national Development Program, of Ottawa. Mr. James Walker, the keynote speaker.

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Their lack of any constructive ideas to- wards change is generated by an illusion of powerlessness. They are undergoing a value revolution and need to accept and be trusted with more authority. This is being greatly ignored by the administra- tion and the whole school stystem. These authority figures are the greatest bar- riers to the student. Dr. S. E. Maine introduces the afternoon panel discussion. Operation Cross-Roads Africa is quite similar to the groups already described. Their aims are the same, although their work camps are distributed internationally. CUSO, Canadian University Students Overseas, is an extended Cross-Roads Africa. These Young Canadians work for two year terms overseas, and are paid by the nation in which they are working. They are interested, as well, in developing relationships with the people to share customs and knowledge. The above are only several of the endless and varied roles that the student can assume outside the school. These are ways in which we- -Mr. Walkers ' Havers --can be committed. By con- tributing to other areas, we thus con- tribute to Canada. We can do something ! We mustn ' t just let the world go by ! We are members of a larger com- munity than Canada. The problems of the world affect our own little problems. Unless you have relations and inter- actions with others, forcing your atten- tion towards others, you will become disillusioned, like the hippies, who are The student should be more of an in- dividual, not having to continue to ad- here to a prescribed curriculum. A student must be trained to be free-- because that ' s how he will be in society, out of the protective and sheltered em- brace of the school. Let us remember, however, the goodness of the system of education today ! The afternoon session was devoted to a panel discussion on The Role of the Student Outside the School. Dr. S. F. Maine introduced the Moderator, Mr. Charles Brown. The latter, chair- man of the Canadian Committee of Operation CrossRoads Africa, intro- duced the other members of the panel: Miss Betty Plewes, a member of Operation CrossRoads Africa; Mr. Bill Curry, from the Company of Young Canadians; and Miss Paula Knopf, a stu- dent at Oakridge Secondary School and a member of Summer of Service in 1967. Summer of Service is a volunteer organization in which teens and young adults try to determine the needs and problems in a community, and to over- come them. They set up projects and teach the people how to continue after the Volunteers ' Departure. The company of Young Canadians has been called a Canadian Peace Corps. Their aim is to harness the energy of youth, and to attempt, with government aid, beneficial social actions. Two thirds of the members are volunteers, who hope that, through experimenation, they can narrow the gap between the af- fluent and the poor. Miss Betty Plewes, of Operation CrossRoads Africa.