Spencerville High School - Echoes Yearbook (Spencerville, OH)

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Are Adults Setting Good Examples? Parents, teachers, and friends, it is indeed a great honor and privilege to address you on behalf of the members of the Senior Class of 1952. We, the members of the class, are indeed appreciative of all the contributions of kindness and helpfulness you have given to us. My topic, Are Adults Setting Good Examples? , deals both with you and with us, the graduating class, since it won't be long until we ourselves will be adults serving our community. I will discuss this topic from a youth's point of view. A big weakness in adult guidance lies in the religious phase of life. There are so many parents who encourage their children to go to church, but do not go themselves. Soon the children begin believing that their parents are getting along without attending church, and they can do the same and still not miss anything in life. But, friends, this is not true. It has been said, and it can truly be said that Religion and character are caught and not taught. The little snatches of religious truth caught and picked up by the child when he is still at home usually stay with him during his entire life time. A local church revealed this sign: Don't send your children to our church, come with them. This certainly is a valuable piece of advice. lf each and everyone of us would practice this, I am sure we would have a better world in which to live. Another church had a sign which read: CH--CH. Then it asked What is missing? Well, of course, the answer is the letters U and R since CHURCH spells church, but the moral of this sign is that you are, meaning the American people, missing from the churches. Rev. Willard Thomas said that ministers of long ago in England had few people missing from their churches because there, when anyone committed a crime, if he would touch the door knob on the church door before a policeman could catch him, he would have the mercy of the church for thirty days. The school is also another place a child receives religious education. Within the school room the Christian relationship is practiced to the utmost. There we learn to get along together, to live together, and to play together. We become congenial toward one another and learn to cooperate and are tolerant of each other. This is the basis of Christian teaching. By going to school we not only get book learning, but we get something far greater and more valuable- the Christian way of living. Another weakness in adult guidance lies in the corruption of our government. The Kefauv- er Committee was established to investigate crime and graft. When this committee started func- tioning and started tracing the actions of big time gamblers, it was discovered that they not only had influence over local but state and national politicians as well. They control the police departments and law enforcement agencies in many cities and even the courts in some cases. These people seem to have a lust for power and money and they don't care how they secure it. ls it any wonder that some students cheat on their tests and other school work? What more can be expected when they are constantly faced with this corruption in the government of our United States? Maybe the government wouldn't be full of people who are working for their own selfish desires, if the other half of the adults, who are eligible to vote but do not, would exercise their voting power by going to the polls at every election. It really is startling and hard to believe that only 487: of the American citizens actually exercise their voting power. This is one of the greatest privileges that the American people have. lt has been argued for quite some time that the voting power should be extended to the eighteen year olds because at this time the operation of the government is fresh upon each individual's mind. During the school years is the time that government is emphasized so thoroughly. Maybe if the voting power were extend- ed to the eighteen year olds the percentage of voting would rise. Another enlightening situation brought out through investigations was the fixing of bas- ketball games. If these unlawful practices wouldn't have been halted, they could have very easily spread to the small home town teams. It is this lack of fair play in life situations that sets the wrong example before the youth of today. How about the home life of youth today? Is it like it should be, or are the children finding home life uninteresting? lf they are, how can this be corrected? Are the parents understandingly close to their children? Do they take a real interest in them or are they looked upon as other perishable material possessions? If parents would take a genuine interest in youth activities, perhaps it would help them in understanding the problems of youth. Everyone of us at one time or another is called upon to be an example. We must remember that what we teach our children by example, if it is good, is better than what we teach them by precept. Lois Slentz -21-

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School Citizenship PARENTS - FACULTY - FRIENDS- On behalf of the forty-four members of the 1952 graduating class, I wish to welcome you to this-Our Graduation. It is only fitting that you our parents, faculty, and friends, be at this great occasion. You have provided many opportunities for us throughout all our school years. Among the many opportunities and one of the most important, is citizenship. But what is being offered to our students in the line of citizenship? Are they able to live as free citizens in our schools or are they tied to a strict law of silence? For example, in some schools when the students are dismissed they are to leave the building in files as if they were first and second grade students. Is this citizenship, are the students free and do they have the freedom to exercise or are they like prisoners who do as other folks say? Some schools have detention rooms where students are placed after they have done something wrong. Detention rooms are like solitary confinement cells, and after the student has been placed in these rooms, he learns nothing. Wouldn't it be better to have a person to act as a councilor and give the student who has gone wrong a bit of guidance, rather than to punish him and to take the chance that he won't go wrong again? Of course, the task of teaching citizenship cannot be wholly placed on the teachers' should- ers. The students have a responsibility. Their part in citizenship is to carry on regular work and activities, to obey and enforce laws, and to be punctual. The lessons must be learned thoroughly, thoroughly doesn't mean lust to have the questions answered but to have the lesson so com- pletely Iearned that the student could lead class discussion if necessary. To do this a pupil must learn the power of concentration, which is another great aid to citizenship. One must study the task so that it may be a completed iob. Not only in studies must a completed iob be done, but also in other activities such as athletics. For girls and boys alike, every school offers some type of athletics. In athletics a person has a chance to develop himself, not only physically but mentally, he must learn to take defeat when it comes and not to loose his temper, and he must be able to think fast, for when a tight spot comes in a game, he must know what to do and how to do it. For those who do not play on the teams that represent the school, there is an intramural program planned. Thus, stu- dents participating in intramurals are also getting their citizenship training. In school a student has a great chance to develop his sense of responsibility by seeing that his studies are done, 'by helping other students and accepting the position of an officer in some organization. The classrooms must offer a chance to live together, to think together, and to work to- gether in order to build better citizens for today and for the future. Classrooms aren't places iust to learn the lesson, but are places for the students to think and to live. Perhaps there is no school in the United States that does not let its students vote in one way or another. What is better citizenship training than voting? In many schools each class takes an annual trip. Traveling on these all day trips gives the students another opportunity to live and learn together. Inviting outside speakers to come to the schools is a fine way for the students to learn and to broaden their understandings. Hearing from persons who have actually witnessed the happenings always gives a person a better chance to form his own opinion. These are only a few of the many opportunities for the students but are they receiving these opportunities and even more for good citizenship? Are we living up to the ideals that were set up by Earl James McGrath, United States Commissioner of Education, when he said, Citizenship to the growing child comes to mean pretty much what the community shows it means. The best way to teach young people the meaning of our democratic freedoms is to demonstrate by our own example that we have mastered the three R's of citizenship-RIGHTS, RESPECTS, and RESPONSIBILITIES. Grace Monfort ..23..