Southington High School - Chronicle Yearbook (Southington, CT)

Page 25 text:

CHRONICLE yu- r idea that education, including the secondary school, should be accessible to all youth regardless of classical in- clination, religion, sex, or social status. The next practical step in secondary education was the establishment of English grammar schools, that is, schools placing emphasis on English rather than on Latin as a cultural and scholastic language. As the United States grew, it be- came more and more evident that the youth of the land should be educated for the business of living, that young people needed practical knowledge rather than mere intellectual training, and that a secondary school properly arranged and equipped could take care of these needs. These ideas gradually spread through the land, broadening and enlarging the curriculum at the grammar school until that institution felt that the name grammar school no longer filled it, since along with the college preparatory grammar, and related'subjec.ts, many courses in many other fields were offered. The gram- mar school therefore became the academy In the academy, secondary educa- tion was pointed in the general direc- tion of the high school as far as curri- culum was concerned but it remained for the new WVest to make the final radical change in the educational system. Michigan was faced with the problem of whether or not secondary education was to be considered enough of an integral part of the state educa- tional system to be supported as the elementary schools were by funds contributed by the people. The Michi- gan Supreme Court in 1872 ruled that it was. Other states agreed and before long the modern tax-supported high school opened its doors in a number of states to all students who had had a rudimentary education. After three hundred years of slow growth, of rapid growth, of radicalism, of conservatism, of trial and error, of success and failure, the American high school fiourishes and does not consider its perfection yet attained. a!ec1'z'ct01fy The Salutatorian has outlined for you the school of the past. Come with me on a visit to the school of today and tomorrow. Let us imagine ourselves in a stream- lined car taking a trip on a bright sunny morning. As we come into a large city we decide to try to find a short way through. Our course takes us into the residential section. Our attention is attracted by what appears to be a beautiful stone manision on a side hill to the right. Closer inspec- tion reveals that it is too large for an ordinary dwelling. Our curiosity is aroused and we decide to investigate. As we draw nearer we note the beauti- ful landscaping, the numerous trees and spacious lawns. Is it possible that we are still in the midst of a great city! We turn in at the arched gateway and following the winding driveway through the beautiful grounds, finally arrive at the entrance of the building. There we read an inscription over the door. Have you guessed it? Yes, it is our modern city high school. VVe enter the building and find our- selves in an attractive lobby. The decorations are not dazzling but in good taste. Several excellent copies of famous paintings adorn the walls. Fine pieces of statuary occupy suit- able nooks. Here and there are window seats and cozy corners where a stu- dent may find a spot to study when he has free time. Page Twenty-th ree

Page 24 text:

-sr-I CHRONICLE Sala atory Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board of Education, Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Principal, Members of the F aculty, Fellow Classmates, Parents and F riends: On behalf of the class of 1935 I welcome you here this evening to our graduation exercises. We wish to thank you for the educational oppor- tunities which have come our way in Lewis High School. We who are graduating in 1935 appreciate them more deeply when we look back over the history of the secondary school and realize that boys and girls like us have not always had these advan- tages. We find that the year 1935 marks the Tercentenary of the establishment of secondary education in America as well as the Tercentenary of the State of Connecticut. Three hundred years ago the Boston Latin Grammar School was founded in order that the gap between elementary education, and the college and university might be bridged. This Latin Grammar School, like its English prototype, taught literary and religious subjects almost exclusively. Latin was the language of education and learning, in order to become educated in those times one had to have a working knowledge of this language and also some idea of Greek. This stressing of the classical tongues reflects the medieval system of higher education in its emphasis on Latin as the language of learning and on classical literature as the subject matter to be assimilated by would-be learned minds. The Boston Latin Grammar School, although it charged tuition, was not a private school in the strict sense of the word since it was controlled and partially supported by the state. A number of schools similar to the one iust mentioned sprang up in New England. S Page Twenty-two In the Southern colonies the general view of education seemed to be that parents should see to the schooling. of their children and that the education of youth was not the business of the government. However, the well-to-do were willing to contribute charlty to provide for the education of the poor children of the community. Thus it can be noted that in both the New England and Southern educational policies, there was the tendency to promote social caste in that all children did not receive a common education. And so we find that American educa- tion in colonial days did not have the democratic ideals of the high school of today. ' ' In the latter half of the eighteenth century the people in America found that they had definite political ideas which were to be expressed by separ- ating from the mother country and by welding themselves into a new nation. The great ideal of this nation should be that all Americans should have equal advantages in life. We find this de- mocracy reflected in the change in educational policies and ultimately in the educational system itself. A pioneer in this change was that great practical dreamer and inventor, Benjamin Franklin. He saw that secondary education should not be for those alone who intended to enter one of the professions but also for the young people who were to enter prac- tical living. He tried to establish a free school in which his ideas were to be carried out but other people, par- ticularly those who were financially aiding his plans did not hold his views, and Franklin's modern-ideal, secondary school finally turned out to be the UUiVCfSi'fV Of Pennsylvania. Despite the material collapse of Franklin's dream, his ideals live in the mgdgyn

Page 26 text:

Crossing the lobby we find the principal's office. His secretary greets us in the outer office and summons a guide to show us the further wonders of this building. Our guide who proves to be a senior student takes us first to the great auditorium on the first floor. Here we are just in time to see an English class getting its daily lesson. Do you realize that they are attending a movie? Heavy curtains are drawn over the windows to insure complete darkness. These children are learning with their eyes. They are very interested in their lesson. How could they help it? Our guide brings us out of the audi- torium into the hall and up a fiight of stairs to the second fioor. This is where most of the classrooms are situated. As we pass down the hall we glimpse a delightful library. Shall we visit the English room first? We see the students outlining a picture that they have seen in the auditorium. The interest is great and all are eager to take part. The impression the pic- ture leaves on the student's mind is firm and lasting. That is the value of learning by sight. Let us leave these children for a while and see what the music class is doing. We find the orchestra prac- ticing in a sound proof room. We note the great number of facilities. The instructor informs us that each stu- dent in her class has the privilege of using a piano at his will. Our time is limited and we must move on. We are told that all the foreign languages are ta.ught on the same plan so we will not need to visit all the departments. Let us visit the French department. Upon going through a door we find ourselves in what appears to be a French home. The guide informs us that the depart- ment is made up of a suite of rooms consisting of a classroom and two rooms which are given over to the students who have fixed them into a S Page Twenty-four y-Wi-CHRON,lCLE typical French home. All the furnish- ings have been imported from France. Much current literature can be seen lying around on tables. These stu- dents with the home as a medium are really brought into contact with French life. ' On our way to the top floor we hap- pen to look out the rear window and see the fine athletic field. The top floor is given over entirely to laboratories. We notice the brighter light due to the presence of a glass roof. Each student has -a laboratory bench and all the apparatus he can use. The apparatus is very extensive and much room is given in which the individual student may Work. We are interrupted by a bell. Can it be possi- ble that it is lunch time already? Our guide takes us to the Cafeteria in the basement which is run entirely by the students. VVhat good food! We notice how well organized everything is and how well the students work to- gether. Our guide tells us that the student council has worked wonders in her school. The principal has handed over the entire responsibility of disci- pline to the students. This leaves him his entire time for educational work. While we are in the basement, We inspect the large and excellently equip- ped gymnasium. VVhat is that splash- ing we hear? Sure enough the boys are making use of the swimming pool. Our last stop on this fioor is the manual training department. Here we find boys working eagerly on furniture to ht up departments of the school or their own homes. The sound of ma- chinery comes from another room. We glance in. Boys are operating large machines. In one corner a group is tearing down a car. In another, a group is constructing an airplane. We need to hasten our steps to see the rest of this school in operation be- fore closing time. A glance into another section of the building reveals