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Page 10 text:
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VALEDICTORY ADDRESS W Mr. Reeve, Dr. McIntosh, Parents, Teachers and Fellow Grads: OUR final year at St. John’s draws to an end, a flood of emotions overcomes us. We tend to indulge in saccharine sentimentalities, to speak with extravagant metaphors of past remem¬ brances. We pay homage to our instructors; we utter rather grandiose proclamations concerning our vague futures. Yet, beneath all these flowing phrases and the excitement of graduation one can detect an undercurrent of apprehension. There is the worry of fitting into the established social pat¬ tern, the fear of the effects that the chaotic con¬ ditions rampant in today’s world will have on us. As a panacea to the world’s ills, we are asked to become even more devoted to the ideals taught in the school. Let us evaluate these ideals in the light of their effects on youth. It is a truth universally acknowledged that the ultimate survival of modern civilization will de¬ pend on how well the school can educate, morally as well as academically, its youth. While we have increased our technical skills manifold, our moral skills are still sorely lacking. Most of the responsible educators still seem to think that education consists simply of experience and growth, not asking themselves “Growth to¬ wards what?” There is an urgent need, especially now, with the world on the verge of war, to redefine the aims of education and to set up definite positive goals for youth. It is unfortunate that many educators avoid inquiry about purpose, as they would avoid the plague; purpose in life, in labour, in love, in anything, even in education itself. To ask why is both personally disturbing and disruptive of the status quo. Men who ask why are necessary, to be sure, for the survival of freedom and democ¬ racy, but who nowadays earnestly wishes a free state at the price of possible discomfort? The tragic thing about much of American education is that it avoids the ultimate questions, and in so doing helps to create an insecure youth. St. John’s, being the exception rather than the rule, has instituted a curriculum based on the as¬ sumption that education should not merely be the acquisition of knowledge. A far-reaching program of character building has been introduced, due to the pioneering efforts of Mr. Reeve. Democratic action, and full co-operation between the students and the staff has become the cornerstone of St. John’s way of life. Yet even this progressive edu¬ cation cannot provide youth with any guarantee of security in the outside world. We who since childhood have led sheltered lives, who have yet to feel the impact of hardship or discomfort, must now face the world armed only with a humanistic credo. Will it suffice? Youth is not, as some would have it, “The em- barrasing time between childhood and maturity.” Youth possesses certain unique characteristics which make it a most important part of life. This youthful spirit is evident in the school, a spirit of fervent optimism, with that youthful innocence that has not yet been subjected to the necessity of compromise. We know that a life of truth and justice can only be established upon the unity between man’s in¬ ner nature and his external experiences. With youthful zeal we attempt to accomplish this unity in our lives. We, as youth, are not always free, however, to implement our noble ideals. During periods of relative calm, youth is absorbed into the existing conditions, its youthful dreams being choked into the mold of commonplaceness. We see the all too familiar spectacle of the young graduate slowly losing his idealism, learning that “business is business,” and finally becoming an adjusted indi¬ vidual. Only during periods of great national and social change, when traditions are rapidly disap¬ pearing, is it possible for youth to realize its ideals before its very eyes. Such a period exists today. With the full ardour of our youth we reject the smugness and deception that characterize the rela¬ tions between men. We recoil especially from the gathering together of the men of one nation to make war on another nation when it is war itself that is evil. It is senseless to state that we will be the statesmen of tomorrow when we are not even certain there will be a tomorrow. Especially now when mankind, his material progress outstripping his moral progress, has in his hands the means of destroying himself. It is imperative for us as youth to assert our ideals of humanism gained at St. John’s to prevent the cataclysm from ever tak¬ ing place. With youth’s implicit faith in man, we face the future, optimistically and resolutely de¬ termined to make our dreams of today the reality of tomorrow. “First, there is to live, Then there is to let live, And then there is to help live.” Whoever achieves all three has approached the final truth of the universe. Let us always remain true to that goal. David Cohen (XII-38) 8
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Page 11 text:
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' 9 jra duiation jPi roc ranwie, 1951 ST. JOHN’S UNITED CHURCH MARCH OF THE GRADUATES— War March of the Priests Marche Militaire 0 CANADA CHOIR: The Lord’s Prayer . Malotte THE PASSING YEAR.... Mr. Reeve TO PARENTS: “Home and School in 1951-2”. Mr. Roy Caloi VOCAL SOLO: On Wings of Song. Evelyn Dobruskin VALEDICTORY.... .. David Cohen (XI1) ORCHESTRA: Londonderry Air ADDRESS . ...Dr. H. McIntosh. Supt. of Schools, Winnipeg GIRLS’ ENSEMBLE—The Kerry Dance. AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS: ' School Awards . The Vice-Principal Memorial Scholarships ...... Mr. Max Freed Hilda Goldberg, Sheila Portigal, Allyne Mass. Governor-General’s Medal . The Principal Joan Chylinski THE PASSING OF THE TORCH.Lily Sedun, Ron Olin Jerusalem GOD SAVE THE KING 9
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