Stratford Central Secondary School - Collegian Yearbook (Stratford, Ontario Canada)

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W. L. SPRUNG, B.A., Princzlzml

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COLLEGIAN, 1937 STRATFORD, ONT. orewom' BY PRINCIPAL VV. L. SPRUNG -,, ,. E have reached the moment at which, following the established custom, the student-body and staff of Stratford Collegiate-Vocational Institute, through their yearly publication of the Collegian, offer to the public , Q at large an account of the school's progress and activities during the past year as well as a few words of final counsel to the graduating classes as they leave to seek fame and fortune. No greater privilege could be given one than to write to you as you turn from study and play to face the world which you must endeavour to lead. I always appreciate the opportunity of writ- ing a foreword for this magazine. May success crown the efforts of the editor and his staff. L .ia ei, gmt, ,-:4 ! ,F ,,.... .M . 'Jr 21 The strength of any educational institution's support lies in the conviction of the citizens that support it that it is wisely and usefully serving the highest needs of the community. If this service is to continue, there must be constant self- examination on the part of the school to determine whether it is meeting the requirements of the new days and whether its growth is healthy and in the right direction. In the end, social institutions prosper or wane in accordance with their social usefulness. No institution can today afford simply to rest on a tradition of former usefulness, nor can it rely merely on conformity to a standardised pattern. Strength, and in the end support, will come with vitality and originality. Yet one must beware in making changes that fundamental ideals are not lost. One broad aim of a liberal education is to prepare men and women for the intelligent and effective discharge of citizenship. Beyond all other forms of government a democracy rests on an educated body of citizens. The schools have an increasing responsibility and opportunity to preserve a sane democracy. Undergraduates must be so trained, so stimulated to think for themselves, and so familiarised with the best thought of the past and present, that they may be adjusted to the life which as graduates they must presently live in this perplexing world. If a social or economic order under which free men and women can live is to be maintained in the world, clear thinking must prevail over prejudice and emotion. It is one of the chief tasks of any school to promote and protect this intellectual clarity which alone will preserve our inherited political and religious freedom. Most students go to a secondary school because they believe that it is the best preparation for life. Ruskin describes education as leading human souls to what is best and making what is best out of them. Irnparting information and many other factors such as training in accurate thinking, in concentration, the culti- vation of taste, physical development, etc., are by no means to be neglected, but the primary purpose of education, as contrasted with technical training, ought always to be to reveal values. Such development comes through long-continued, conscientious study and contemplation, and never through short courses and other get-rich-quick schemes. Many of us may have very erroneous ideas of what education ought to be but one of the functions of a school should be to correct these notions. Obviously the first requisite for this is that the school itself has a clear conception of the nature and purpose of life and what preparation for life requires. The second is for students to strive to adhere to the ideals and principles for which the school Page Fifteen