Stratford Normal School - Classic Yearbook (Stratford, Ontario Canada)

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7 The Classic June, 1911 already I was on my way to the assembly hall, and a bold little run at the very last pinch put me into my native spot. Then the lessons of the day commenced, but it is needless to describe to you the whirl and maze of that morning's proceedings. Iireathlessly I had rushed up two flights of stairs to room No. 5, only to find that like Pat, when I got there I wasn't there at all. I had run the risk of getting heart disease in my endeavor to reach locker number so and so, of the cloak room two floors below in order to get my history notebook in which to copy the notes, and found on my return that it was going to be literature that morning, and my book was resting peacefully in that self same locker. I had tried to look calm and serene when I heard the teacher say You had better read that up tonight, it is only a few lines, regardless of the fact that I had already forty pages in Mcltlurry, thirty in Bagley, twenty in Langdon and an equal amount in XYhite or Smith or some other heathenish name, on that same night. I did not even look surprised when I heard the remark: Of course, you are not very busy yet, but after a while we shall get down to hard work. I suppose that it was a case when the stimuli of the nerve endings were so numerous that they failed to make any impression. Nor did my heart sink as I wrote page after page, although the teacher had said, I shall give you only a few notes on this. But finally the last bell sounded and another morning's work was over, over did I say? Ah, no, for just as I was hurrying along a certain little wire basket at a certain door reminded me very forcibly of a certain fact, namely, that a certain lesson plan in a certain book upstairs in a certain locker should have been at a certain school at a certain hour. Then a certain student felt a cer- tain stimuli of the nerve endings, and you know the rest. In about three more minutes I was standing in fear and trembling before Dr. Silcox, saying all the things that I had never intended to and not saying a single thing I had intended to, while Dr. Silcox, like the good shepherd of old, left the ninety and nine good things I had done and sought out the one. But let me pass on. Outdoors the rain was now falling. However, regardless of the fact that my umbrella was safely at home, I sallied forth endeavoring to believe with Mr. Emery that walking is good for you. As the bells chimed out again the hour of one I retraced my steps to the Normal to sing Doll, ray, me, soh, as melodiously as possible. At 2.05 o'clock I started to walk for the Central school. Of course, this time I had no need to hurry, having a full ten minutes to get there. Of the lesson and its results I shall say not a word, but of this you may be sure, that it was a wonderful lesson in every sense of the Word, and then as the last lesson was really over- A poor little tramp of a student one day, Low spirited, weary and sad, From a big red brick building went slowly away Viiith feelings both wicked and mad. Shi- had been criticised cruelly and sore But her motto was still Excelsior. 13

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The Classic June, 1911 A TYPICAL DAY AT THE NORMAL SCHOOL. LEAR and bright the moon shone over the city, the floor of heaven was all brilliancy with its millions o ftwinkling starsg not a breath of air disturbed the stillness. A peaceful Sabbath was having a peaceful close. I stood at my open window and gazed long at the scene. Suddenly in contrast to this peaceful scene there loomed up before me another, in which there were class-rooms, teachers and students, and suggesting at every point hurry and worry. My heart sank as I thought of it, but was it something in that quiet scene before me that stirred my better feelings and whispered to me, try, try again? Perhaps there was- At any rate ere my tired eyelids closed in slumber I had resolved to follow the motto, Play up, play up, and play the game. I had formed all sorts of beautiful resolutions, in fact I had reached the point where I was courageous enough to decide to brave the cold gray shadows of a November morning and actually rise at six o'clock, and with this happy thought in mind and anticipating all the pleasure I would have in feeling that I had a whole two hours in- stead of three seconds in which to hunt up the score of articles such as lesson slips, lesson plans, arithmetic exercises, etc, that were sure to have mysteriously disappeared in the night, I fell into a peaceful slumber. But, alas! it was not six o'clock that the chimes were so merrily ringing as I opened my eyes to greet another day, but precisely fif- teen minutes to eight. I shall spare you the scene of those next few minutes, suffice to say that I was like the pig that Dr. Silcox told us about, I was going so fast you couldn't count me. At last I was ready and seated at breakfast. But, oh, how I did envy that l-lest animal, the cow, that can bolt her food and chew it afterwards. I smiled as I thought of Gladstonels advice to chew thirty-two times for each mouthful you take. Of course, that is all right for Normal School masters, who are men of leisure, but for the student it is chew once for each thirty-two mouthfuls. Breakfast over, I made another desperate attempt to cram into 1.043 seconds half an hour's work, but in some mysterious way it was accomplished. Under one arm were Bagley, Langdon, Smith, public school readers, McMurry and half a dozen exercise books! under the other was a huge bundle made up of a precious collection of mounting paper and leaves, seeds and bottles. In one pocket was to be found a number of papers such as mathematical exercises, summary of chapter VII. in McMurry, report of music lesson and lesson plan. while in the other was a mixture of pens, pencils, erasers, penlinives, locker keys, college mission money and Literary Society fees. Nevertheless I was soon whirling rapidly towards the Normal School. Yes, I had climbed the last flight of stairs to the cloak room and deposited wraps, rubbers, etc. The last bell had sounded but 12

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The Classic June, 1911 VALEDICTORY. IME rolls its ceaseless course, and in the course of time, we as students of the Stratford Normal School have come to the parting of the ways when we must say farewell, gird ourselves with the armor of the pedagogue and go forth into the world with a whole- souled purpose in view. The year that is gone has been full of the delights of the student vouchsafed to us, as it were, by special dis- pensation of Providence and the Education Department before we face the stern responsibilities of the teacher. Wie came, we drank at the fountain of pedagogical learning, we tasted the joy of new friendships, we experienced the spiritual uplift, perhaps raised our ideals and widened our mental vision by contact with so many among teachers and students that were men and women in the true sense of the word. An educated nation must be a superior nation, one of highest physical and mental attainments and of high- est moral standing and nobility. YYise men with great foresight and wisdom perceived the need of a nation and laid broad and deep the foundations of our educational system with a view to making a great and happy people. And it devolves upon us to follow in pur- suit of this aim. XVe shall have it in our power to mould and shape in a degree a portion of Canada's future and with what conscien- tious and painstaking effort must we approach itl One who knows has said that the ideal teacher is as Wise as Solomon, as impartial as a telephone directory, as patient as a glacier, as immovable as truth, as untiring as a steam engine, as alert as a mongoose and as rare as a hen's tooth. Surely we would be but little lower than the angels to possess all these qualities. VVho dare aspire to this ideal? XYe dare hope all things, having profited by such precepts and examples as those of the S. N. S. Let us put into our work our whole heart, a sympathetic heart, a cheerful and optimistic spirit, an application of the knowledge and methods we have acquired, a strong sense of duty, a sense of humor, a desire to excel and to see the diffusion of sweetness and light-and then let us hope for re- sults. The training we have had in the practical business of teaching has been excellent, both in the Model Schools here and in the coun- try school where we spent a week. It is a comfort to know that our knowledge of pedagogy does not consist of mere theory, but has been actually experienced and found practicable- Although the criti- cism of the teachers occasionally appalled us and made us feel that we had mistaken our life work, yet we realize now how beneficial they were to us and we feel the truth of the proverb that every cloud has a silver lining and behind the cloud is the sun still shining. NVe have come out into the sunshine now which will dazzle us with its radiance when we hear of the success of Stratford Normal stud- ents. VVe anticipate that glad hour by congratulations. The week in the country school gave us an idea of the need of resourcefulness 14