Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR 17 Hfcvantages anb EHsabvantages of TKHorkmg ©lie’s HtHaylXbrougb College B “1Ra ? 5 . By? ter HJi college student whose expenses are paid for him by his father, and W V) ’S at l lc sanie t me diligent in his studies and serious minded, may 'Jj naturally wonder how his less fortu- nate classmate can devote half his time to money-making work and still get the best results from his college course. The time so spent seems to him merely a loss. hat he fails to understand is the greater eagerness with which his classmate uses such time as he does have for his college work, and the greater value which the whole course assumes in his eyes. The man who has planted, hoed, dug. washed, and baked his own potato has a far differ- ent attitude toward it from that of the man who merely says to the waiter: Oh. French-fried, I guess. On the other hand, it can be argued that the work that the college vou-th of to-day docs in four years could be done in a much shorter period— perhaps one year—of such work as the student will do when he gets out of college: and that when, to obtain this holiday, the boy must earn his pas- sage. he is paying too hign a price. Hut it will be generally agreed that if a college education itself pays, it pays a young man to work his way. Again it may be contended that a college train- ing acquired by the man who earns his way is of less value than it would otherwise be because the advantages of athletic training, of social inter- course. and of fraternal societies are less available, and because college friendships and personal popularity must be sacrificed. I believe, however, that a careful study of col- lege life will not sustain this. The college com- munity is essentially democratic, and men are not rated by their classmates on a financial basis. W e often find the poorest men in college the most popular, the best students, and prominent in ath- letics. The tendency to become lazy, vicious, and lux- ury-loving is lessened when every hour is needed in legitimate work. Good hard work is always wholesome, always moral, always stimulating, and in America always respected. The man who has to work his way through college may already have had all he needs physically and morally for his col- lege course: but more will not hurt him. nor as a sell ilar greatly hinder him, nor socially stand in the way of his having a reasonably good time. More important still is whr.t he gets out of the work itself. Me is beginning already to do in col- lege the very tiling for which the college is sup- posed to fit him: namely, to earn his own living. It gives him an idea of the value of money and the hardness with which it is won : a knowledge of values—where to buy and when ; what is necessary and wise: and what can be dispensed with and dis- regarded. These are qualities that he will need when lie gets out of college and all through life. It is a gain that he can lay the foundation for them while he is in college. Xor is all the work he may do a theft of time from his studies. Tutoring another is the surest way of perfecting one's own knowledge. News- paper correspondence may help the formation of a good English style as much as the classroom daily theme. ------------------------------ B Gooh craintmi School for Bo s [Continued from previous pace .] sleeps at his work. The qualities named above make a splendid combination which produces re- sults both for the boy and for his firm. Under such conditions, where a boy is often placed on his own responsibility for sometimes a whole afternoon, he cannot help deriving some benefit from his work. As a result of such a training fifty-two days in the year, the boy has made himself better fitted for any work he mav undertake.

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i6 SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR whispered: What was the score. Jackson? “Six to three. was the quiet reply, and a feeling of relief flushed into Judkins’ mind. His tackle did some good after all. even if he did hurt himself. “Go on. said Judkins, eagerly, tell us all about it. “Easy, my boy, easy, said Jackson. After you tackled that man the ball was on the twenty- cight-vard line, and far over to one side. There was only two minutes left to play. The crowds were wild, uncontrollable, after you made that tackle, till it was seen you had broken your shoulder, for that’s what you did. Then a dull hush—a tense, hallowed silence—settled over the field till you had been removed. Of course you know that there’s a penalty on the flying tackle? Yes, yes, was the feverish, impatient answer. “but go on. It was the only way to save the game at all. Well, the Randolph captain declined, abso- lutely refused to take the penalty.' By the way. I’ve got a letter here for you from him. He says----” “Never mind now, but go on. exclaimed Jud- kins. All right. Let’s sec—oh, yes, their captain de- clined the penalty, tried to crash through centre for distance, and the whistle blew. While the band played mournfully through the stands, the people filed solemnly out into the streets, a tribute to a man who turned the tide. Shake, he said, and the two shook hands in spite of the pain which ran through Judkins’ shoulder. H (Soot» draining School jfor JSo s J6 ? Charles 1b. ‘Clpton, '12 XE section of Boston has been used for over a century as a market dis- trict. Many men have been in the meat or produce business in this section all 'their lives, and have be- come wealthy. There is, on Black- stone street, a dealer in pork products who has earned since he has been in the business, probably for fifty years, nearly a million dollars. But the majority of the market men run little stands or stores where they earn a very good living. Saturday is the busiest day for most of these men, for it is on that day that hundreds of people arc looking for a Sunday dinner. All day the dis- trict presents a very busy appearance. In the morning the drays and wagons are lined up a; the various stalls and shops discharging the day’s sup- plies. In the afternoon and evening the wagons give place to the outfits of the pedlers, who self cvervthing imaginable, from sweaters at sixty-nine cents to onions at two cents a quart. A Jewish pedlcr told the writer that he doubled his money selling onions at the above figure. Quantities of meat arc sold. One firm a few weeks ago sold two tons of pork loins in an afternoon and even- ing. It is on Saturday that the boy plays a large part in the day’s business, flic work required of him is varied. Some boys are hired to do up bundles, working all day behind a counter. Others com- bine salesmanship with other work. The average working day is about sixteen hours. It is a pecu- liar fact that in nearly every stall or store one can see a Somerville boy, usually a High School stu- dent. The employers require, as in any business, that the boy should be honest. A short time ago a merchant who runs an outside stall where the money is carried in the salesman’s pockets was in need of some one to take the place of the man who had just left. He selected one of the boys from among several in his employ and gave him charge of the stall and change, which amounted at that time to about $50. He knew that he could trust the boy. Willingness to work is also necessary to estab- lish the ideal relation between employer and em- ployee. Honesty and willingness are good, but there is one other attribute, and that is alertness. The men have no use for a boy who, figuratively, [Continued on next page.)

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SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR i8 To Readers of the Radiator:— Last August the editor invited me to write a letter to the High School students, giving them my views upon the changes in high school organ- ization which have occurred since the close of school in June. Since then the school has opened and has been in operation a month under the new plan, and every one has had opportunity to know more about the new order than was ap- parent when I was asked to write about it. Nevertheless, because I think it is desirable f r the students to be well-informed about the conduct of the school, its purposes, and prospects, I shall keep my promise by writing about our High School as it is organized to-day. In the first place, to the passer-by in the street no evidence is given of a radical change, flic physical plant is the same, and the throng of stu- dents passing in and out of the buildings is the same. As last year, there was no outward sign of division, so now there is no new sign of union. The physical aspect of the school has not been changed. Because of the nearness of the build- ings to each other the plant and the student body constitute a physical unit. From the standpoint of organization it seemed wiser to administer such a school under one system of control than to con- tinue a double system. Therefore the school committee united the Latin and the English High Schools, and by their union re-established the Somerville High School. Into this new school the constituent parts have merged their identity, no trace of either being left. With equal right, each of the former schools may with the other claim the establishment of the new school. Neither school has incorporated the other. Again, while the enrollment of the High School is now very large for a single school, it is no greater than would have been the joint en- rollment of the separate schools. In respect to numbers, therefore, it is probable that the change has had only the effect of providing an adminis- tration more efficient than formerly, because of its unified character. The overcrowding of the buildings, the morning and afternoon sessions are incidents in no way attributable to. or conse- quences of the union of the schools. They would have been equally in evidence this fall under the two-school plan. So much for the physical side. The new school having an enrollment of more than 1,800 pupils, an enrollment which will soon, in all probability, reach 2,000, is now one of the largest in New Eng- land. I presume it is the largest. The signifi- cance in this fact is twofold: First, Somerville sends a large proportion of its pupils to the High School: and. second, all of these high school pu- pils are now confided to a single institution. Once again the city places in a single school all of the interests in secondary education of all of its pupils. A great responsibility is thus thrust upon this institution. The responsibility is directly pro- portional to the number of students for whom it is assumed. How shall such a responsibility be met? During the last twenty years the development of high schools has been in the direction of pro- viding different courses adapted to the needs of different groups of students. Before that time the high school was conducted mainly as a fitting school for college, and the course of study in- cluded such subjects as were demanded for ad- mission to college or as would contribute to a so-called liberal education. With the growth of the idea that secondary schools should fit more efficiently for the conditions of life such pupils as were not to enter college, new courses were added to the curriculum. In this way came in commercial subjects, manual training, domestic science, and other divisions of manual arts. For the better teaching of these special courses many large cities established special schools. Such schools were named according to their specialty, as. Manual Training Schools, High Schools of Commerce. High Schools of Practical Arts, Business High Schools, etc. In places where a separate high school for a special course of study is not practicable it is the plan to conduct under