Tennessee Military Institute - Radiogram Yearbook (Sweetwater, TN)

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committees, etc. A friendly and helpful rivalry has grown up among these classes, with the result that every new boy in school receives several invita- tions to become a member of one of the classes and to attend regularly. They are taught by unselfish, consecrated teachers whose influence on the lives of the boys in the school can hardly be overestimated. CHURCH Attendance at the Sunday-morning church services in Sweet- ATTENDANCE water is required of all cadets. The local church pastors are all comparatively young men, and they take a very genuine in- terest in T. M. I. boys. Sweetwater is a churchgoing town, and the churches are unusually strong organizations for a town of such size. THREEFOLD GROWTH STIMULATED Nine mature men out of every ten realize that they are now what they had begun in a very definite way to be when they were nineteen years of age. There is a very small minority into whose lives some great change has come at a later period by which the present character is distinctly separated from that of the boy, but this is the exception and not the rule. Believing that a boy in his teens is getting the physical growth which determines his later physical fitness for whatever demands may be made on him, that he is getting the mental training which will later determine his preparedness or unpreparedness for his lifework, that he is getting the moral and spiritual development which will determine what his character will be. we undertake in a positive and definite way to stimulate development along these three fundamental lines throughout a boy's attendance in T. M. I. PHYSICAL On his arrival, each cadet is given a careful examination by GROWTH the school physician and an accurate record is made of his STIMULATED condition. Where no marked variation is found from the nor- mal for boys of his age, the regular drills and calisthenics un- der our military instructors, coupled with the various lines of athletics, are considered sufficient. Regular hours and systematic exercises and the mil- itary requirement of erect carriage will guarantee the proper growth where the boy is already normal. Where subnormal development of any of the parts of the body or weakness of any of the vital organs is found, proper exercise will be recommended and required for the correction of the defect. SUPERIOR Since it is the work of every school to try to cultivate men- INTELLECTUAL tal development, no single school may claim patent rights TRAINING on all the excellencies of method. This we do not do. It is a fact, however, that there is a wide difference between the re- sults sought and the methods used in the schools of the country. Tennessee Military Institute excels most of the schools of its type in its insistence on high academic standards and its provisions by which cadets are enabled to measure up to these higher requirements. The first, and perhaps the most important, of these provisions for the pupils' benefit is the high degree of ef- ficiency and capability of the teaching staff. Every teacher in the Faculty Page Twenty

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There are good reasons for this. In the first place, T. M. I. is a school of well-deiined policies and traditions developed through the continuous super- vision of the same administrative officers. It is known to be a school of excel- lent government and orderliness. Quite naturally, such a school makes its appeal to parents of similar ideals and to homes where orderliness, regard for parental wishes, and respect for parental authority prevail. As a rule, such homes are homes of culture and refinement. Boys with such family back- ground are better material for a school to work on, and from them there em- anate better influences on their associates in the intimate life of the boarding school. An unusually high per cent of our boys come from these better homes and display evidences of better home training. It is a fact well known throughout the area served by the school that un- seemly conduct will not be tolerated, and for this reason boys of the more rowdy sort simply do not seek admission here. Our boys are live, healthy, red-blooded young fellows, but not of the sort that think wild parties and ob- jectionable conduct essential to a goo-d time. The new cadet entering the school comes in contact with old boys already proud of its fine traditions and loyal to its higher interests. This appeals to his better impulses and arouses or confirms in him a purpose to make for himself a good student record in the school and school community. This sort of process has gone on through the years and still continues in T. M. I. It has become a mighty power for good influences in the life of the school as a whole and in the individual lives of boys enrolled. MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES While Tennessee Military Institute is not a church school in the sense that it is supported by funds from any particular denomination, the importance of religion in the life of the individual and the claims of the churches on the trained leadership developed in the schools are held before our cadets con- stantly. Hence, it is our constant effort to create in the school a wholesome and vital religious atmosphere-an atmosphere that will inspire and elevate the life and purposes of our cadets as distinguished from the thin veneer of professional religion and pretense which disgust boys with things religious. DAILY CHAPEL We consider our daily chapel exercises conducted by members EXERCISES of the Faculty and visiting speakers a very important part of our daily schedule. True enough that the boys learn by heart some of the standing and oft-repeated messages of some of the ofiicers of the school, but some of those learned-by-heart messages will be recalled months or years afterwards and guide the life of some boy during a moral storm period. Therefore, our day's work will continue to be started with a few minutes reminder of Whose we are and Whom we serve. SUNDAY-SCHOOL For sixteen years the voluntary attendance in Sunday ATTENDANCE School has been remarkable. Special classes for the T. M. I. boys have been provided for in all the Sunday Schools of the town, the classes being organized with a full quota of class officers, Page Nineteen

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has been thoroughly trained for the particular line of work which he is teach- ing in T. M. I., and has demonstrated his ability by successful experience in the classroom. No inexperienced teachers are employed. This means much in arousing the boy to his best efforts. A second provision in the interest of better academic work is the regular study period. There is a definite prepa- ration period which the cadet must observe preceding the recitation periods. Then there are our special privilege lists, under which certain coveted privi- leges are open only to those attaining the requisite class standing. Almost any boy will put in his best efforts to place his name on the Privilege List, a copy of which is mailed to all patrons monthly. In addition to these provisions and incentives for higher scholarship standing, there are the firm, but considerate, requirements of each teacher and extra-hour special sessions to help up and spur on those who are behind the class average or are care- less in their preparations. We believe, therefore, that Tennessee Military In- stitute can justly claim superior results in stimulating mental growth. CHARACTER But more important than physical growth and more significant BUILDING than intellectual training is the character of the boy-that which will later be the character of the man. Athletic proportions of body and superior attainments intellectually do not, by themselves, procure respect and confidence. Many men of magnificent physique are bywords in their communities, and many master minds may be found in the penitentia- ries. Such men did not get the right start or point of view in their teens. From this it follows that character building is the first and highest work of the school. Noble impulses are present in every boy's soul. Inspiring the higher motives and inculcating correct conceptions on the fundamentals of truth and honesty go far toward character building. We strive earnestly and continuously to get our boys to recognize their own better selves and fix permanently in their lives the foundations of sound and clean manhood. The key word to our method of dealing with boys is frcmkness. We are open and straightforward in our treatment of the boy, and in nine cases out of ten we are able to secure a like attitude on his part. What we have to say to our boys in a body or as individuals is expressed in simple, direct language. We use no bluff or bluster. The average boy despises sham and hypocrisy, and is quick to detect any symptoms of such in ofiicer or teacher. Honesty and truth are part of the atmosphere and spirit of the in- stitution, and the new boy soon catches this spirit. Under this influence, there is no doubt but that many boys come clean and tell the truth in T. M. I. who previously have practiced deception. We believe, therefore, that T. M. I. is contributing in a very genuine and positive way to the building of trustworthy and honorable characters in the pupils enrolled with us. Page Twcnly-Our