South High School - Tiger Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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'K ull'UlfSQUE9Z,EiLI'UL5l ELK! Ctfhiturials HERE has lately been some little debate on whether it would not be advisable to bar extra-curricular activities from public schools. Une primary purpose of education is to develop 'good citizens. Extra- curricular activities play an important part in this development. Student organizations teach the individual to cooperate with his fel- lows and to assume responsibility with greater success than is possible in the school room. If a pupil has any special talent, school organizations will develop it far better than the class room. The SoL I'H1QRNIQR staff and the literary societies have a place for anyone with the desire to write, the debate team and the D. D. D. club welcome would-be speakersg and the band, orches- tra, and glee clubs give opportunity to any who may be musically inclined. One of the finest things that any student can get out of his four years in high school is the friends that he makes. But there is little time in the routine of class Work for the formation of friendships. It is in the com- radeship of extra-curricular activities that the finest and firmest friend- ships are made and cemented. It has been argued that the many organizations of our modern high school lower the scholastic standing of their members. It is, no doubt, true that a few pupils do indulge in extra-curricular activities almost to the exclusion of their regular school work. But such a student is the ex- ception rather than the rule. If one looks over the senior honor roll he finds the names of many of the students who are most prominent in school organizations. On the other hand, the list of failures is made up, for a large part, of those who are inactive in extra-curricular activities. One reason for this difference is probably the fact that many organizations de- mand a high scholastic average as a requirement for membership. A large number of extra-curricular activities are necessary to meet the needs of the various interests and talents of different students. No pupil is required to join any such organizations. Each student is his own best judge of the amount of extra work that he can carry. It would certainly be unfair to deprive all students of the many benefits of extra-curricular activities because a few pupils may be so foolish as to abuse the privilege. -Ro1a1cRTs DAY'IES. Q 2 2 N justice to both participants and organizations, the tendency at pres- ent in high school lite is to strike a happy medium in extra-curricular activities. Too many outside interests result in a lowering of marks, the shifting of responsibility upon other persons who should have the honor of the office, and, lastly, sometimes, the wrecking of the student's health. On the other side of the question, it must be acknowledged that outside activities develop the personality, but over-development at the risk of the Castles in the air are better than lI,IlIIfjl'Oll5 i Page Tmcelft'e

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Dx. Crms. IXI. Jrinimv A. N. Ozms C. l.. Sauuzn jfuretnnrh GUIDING a school is a great adventure. The Pilot plans his ship, mans it, determines its destination, and then goes seeking treasure. He is shipping cargoes of crude material which at the end of each cruise must be replaced by finished products-boys and girls with minds trained, bodies skilled, talents developed. That development is the treasure which the pilot seeks, and curiously enough, it is not the pilot but the cargo it- self and the community which reap the reward of those cruises. An un- selfish man is the pilot, and one who glories in his work. South High School has had pilots of whom she may be proud. VVhen the good ship was new, Dr. Jordan held the wheel. Vvith marvelous judgment he picked his crew-educators, it has been said, that matched the finest of the state in scholarship, in character, in influence and power. Under his clear, keen eye the ship held true to its course and brought home worthy cargoes. Then Mr. Sawyer took the helm. A man of great enthusiasm, of emo- tional energy was Mr. Sawyer, and the ship plunged ahead. With the coming of Nlr. Qzias came calm seas and peaceful progress. lVIr. Ozias was always the quiet, rehned gentleman, discriminating in his judgments, peace-loving in his dealings. But the vessel was growing old. Her increasing cargoes began to over- flow the decks. A new pilot, M1'. Joseph Jorgens, has taken the helm. He sees the traffic of the future. The boat must be remodeled. Under his calm, determined guidance the ship takes on new power: her capacity is tripled, her crew is doubled, her equipment increased and modernized. Now, although she is the oldest of the ships that sail the High Seas of Minnea'pol'is,qthanks to her worthy pilot, she is as sea-worthy, as efficient, as productive as the newest of them all. -H. M. L.

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IVUCUI ETUEVP-l7fi.UULS'Jl ELM participants health is worse than under-development. The student re- ceiving many honors is liable to value them too highly and resort to politics to gain the desired offices. Under a system used at many modern high schools, the evil of one indi- vidual undertaking too many responsibilities is eliminated. This method of curbing the too prominent student's extra-curricular activities. makes each office or executive position count a certain number of points. For example, one Nlinneapolis high school counts a lead in the class play for three points: an office in a club, twog membership on a newspaper or annual staff, three. Five is the maximum number of points allowed any one stu- dent. Thus a pupil could not be on a newspaper staff and have a leading role in the classplay, too. Joseph Jorgens favors the point system and says he would like to have it put in practice at South. Perhaps in future years, this plan will be in- augurated much to the betterment of both the individual and the activity concerned. -4.-XRNoi.D BRAs'rAn. 6 G C -sl u- '5- O the high school journalist in as great a share as to the professional comes the thrill of the scoop, the smell of printer's ink, the endless value and usefulness of words, and the everlasting joy of service through news. Editors of metropolitan dailies of forty-five pages may smile at the high school student fretting over the publication of a four-page weekly. but after all, the two have the same end-service. To the busy institu- tion of a high school, the newspaper, magazine, and annual mean the same as do publications to the outside world. All the news that's fit to printw is as applicable to a school newspaper as it is to one of the world's best newspapers. Telling news is the pri- mary function of a school newspaper. In it, the reading public must be reckoned with as must it be in a professional newspaper. Second to its news value, a paper is read for its editorial comment. In this field, the high school publication has an even greater influence than its larger model. High school students are at the impressionable age when reading opinions of faculty and school leaders. These opinions create a sense of what is fitting. Thus, a school newspaper largely molds the public opinion of the school. School publications serve in one Way that is common only to them. The magazine, newspaper, or annual mirror the spirit of the school and all its tendencies. By the reading of its publications, a school may be immediately and accurately classified. The untutored miss out on the values of school publications, not to the school, but to the individual participant. Journalism in high school is an elective, therefore only those who find a joy in the work enter into it. Aside from the joy that all journalists find in their work, no profession in the world is as sharpening to the workers' talent, wits, and brains. Something is indeed earned by the boys and girls who plan and write a school publication from the headlines to jokes, or in the case of an annual from cover to cover. -JANE OLTMAN. Azul 1011111 tliry llllfff' to dream of, IIIIFU I0 rlolu Page Thirfcrn Rl' ri E' V- . QW: is