Three Rivers High School - Reflector Yearbook (Three Rivers, MI)

Page 27 text:

it ' inf-iC'9FcJ'63'Dtre f e S165-Q x S, 651911 a1fLP42:3gr:6N.,9t1 QIQLYQ tt H25 a reservoir for a fixed body of ideas. But today the idea of training the mind for Q clear and logical thinking is gaining more and more headway. Political and economic disturbances, war and all other disorders which tend to delay progress in the world are largely outgrowths of dogmatic faith, set ideas i and petty prejudices. If everyone were trained to look at both sides of a ques- tion and make decisions only after careful consideration, war and other detri- y mental activities would cease to exist. It is entirely conceivable that through the proper use of education a real Utopia could be evolved. Thus We come to the realization that education is a ponderous force, both in the development of men as individuals and in the evolution of nations. It is a matter which deserves deep consideration and thought by everyone. -Wayne Hazen. i A Hunting They Did Go It was three jolly Seniors, an' a hunting they did go: An' they hunted an' they hullo'cl an' they blew their horns also, Look ye there! They hunted an' they hullo'd an' the first thing they did find l Was a lighted lamp-post in a street, an' that they left behind, Look ye there! One said it was a lamp-post. but another one said Nayg j It's only Mr. Pratt turned to a photo-'lectric ray. Look ye there! They hunted an' they hullo'd, an' the next thing they did see l Was an owl both wise an' stately, a sitting on a tree. Look ye there! . One said it was a stately owl, another one said Nayg i It's poor Miss Hangsterfer gone mad: her staff has run away. l Look ye there! i They hunted an' they hullo'd 'til they saw a raging flood j Which turned into a lily when a play-cast acted good. Look ye there! One said 'twas a torrent. but another one said Nay: It's just Miss Lillian Comar a-directing of a play. I Look ye there! They hunted an' they hullo'd, an' the next thing they did spy Was a flock of quite insane white geese a flying in the sky. Look ye there! One said it was a flock of geese, but another one said Nayg It's just a bunch of Seniors on a summer holiday! Look ye there! M uriel J ackson. - Page Twenty-Ona

Page 26 text:

fw- Gkisu ' E . ameayfc-Qii,9t,, g neifgyy, Salutatory HE CLASS OF 1932 wishes to extend a whole-hearted welcome to each one of you: to our parents, whose efforts have made our graduation possi- ble: to our teachers whose co-operation and helpful advice have meant so much to us: and to our friends who are assembled here tonight. The interest you have taken in our problems and the help you have given us have made it possible for us to surmount great obstacles. Without these incentives for hard work our schooling would have been much less effective or it might even have been im- possible for us to reach this commencement. We fully realize that in this period of economic disorder our education becomes doubly necessary for future success, and success after a-ll is the goal which we all strive to attain. Success to the average person means the acquisition of wisdom and friends. Contentment and friendships are acquired through the medium of wisdom: therefore it is the most important. We can be certain that if we can but find wisdom, everything else worthwhile will come to us. Seek ye first the good things of the mind, Bacon admonishes us, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt. In other words, truth will not give us wealth, but it will give us freedom. Man continually seeks after this thing called truth but seldom finds it. Many of those who are within easy reach of it do not recognize the opportunity even when it should be most obvious to them. Education helps us in this quest for the real truth, which has been defined as the best that you can get with your best endeavor, the best that the best men accept. First, in order to derive the greatest benefit from our schooling it is neces- sary to understand the true purpose and meaning of education. Sir William Osler has stated that The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner is that the education upon which he is engaged, is not a high school course, but a life course, for which the work of a few years under teachers is but a prepara- tion. This preparation is the thing in which we are most interested at the pres- ent time, since some of us have just completed it, and the remainder have reached an important milestone. It is extremely important. Our success or failure in life depends on the training before the start and on our persistence or our staying powers. In most cases this training is more difficult to complete satisfactorily than the development of staying power. With a few people persistence is a natural characteristic, but with the ma- jority it can be acquired only through diligent labor. On the other hand, practi- cally everyone can become a good student with a little application to the task: many can become exceptional students, but the true scholar is also a student of man. As Emerson says, In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil. Hence there are two phases to the development of the intellect: The study of books and the study of men. The ideal student divides his time equally be- tween the two. Books give us facts and ideas which need to be tempered or perhaps revised by experience and contact with our fellowmen. The type of training given to the youth of a nation is one of the greatest of the factors which determines the progress and ideals of that nation. In earlier times, instruction in school was, and even to a great extent today, is a process of pumping facts into the passive minds of students, making of the mind merely Qgfau E E be me Sl ll' nsfggfpjg Page Twenty

Page 28 text:

.fe-M u .... nQ,:ffc9ibC57!e9ls BGL? 3 . Valedictory Citizens, fellow students, faculty and members of the school board: Tonight marks the passing of the first milestone in the lives of the class of 1931-32 of the Three Rivers High School: it marks the attainment of the first goal in the education of this group with otherl and higher heights of ac- complishment to come. This goal has not been reached through the efforts of the students alone but with the unstinted co-operation of our teachers and the unselfish sacrifice of our parents whose help will probably never be appreciated at its full worth. Our class has been an average one. It has disregarded rules and been disci- plined: it has not at all times made the most of its opportunities: it has undoubt- edly failed to realize to the fullest extent the advantages it has enjoyed. On the other hand its members have enjoyed a close companionship that will not soon be forgotten. They have entered into the various activities of the school: they have toiled scholastically and strived on the athletic field. Tonight probably assembled for the last time as a whole, tomorrow the members of this group will be scattered. The accomplishments of this group as a unit should be succeeded by the attainments of its individuals. For the mind should not be permitted to grow dull: the body, inactive. The stationary condition is fatal-it leads to indiffer- ence and indifference does not produce success. With every milestone passed the ultimate goal should be placed higher. Hard khocks should not cause dis- couragement, they should increase the incentive to succeed. With the unlimited opportunities offered in the political, economic, com- mercial, scientific, and business fields there should be some worthwhile position in his chosen work for everyone. From this class may come eloquent orators. scientific geniuses, talented men of literature, high-minded statesmen, or organ- izers of huge projects. Success, like many of the things that count most in life, does not come unbidden. To become truly great, one must combine within himself the qualities of faith, a capacity for leadership, tolerance, a spirit of co-operation, self-reliance, individuality, courage, and above all, lofty ideals. As Carl Schurz has beautifully expressed:- Ideals are like stars, you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you must choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny. Success in the eyes of the world, is attained by few, but there is another part to play in the scheme of things, a part which also merits regard-they part of a helper. Few can succeed without the aid of others. The world has need of both. And now as we leave-none of us without some small regret-the school that has fostered us for six eventful years in our quest for knowledge, each one of us taking his star for his guide, we bid you all a fond farewell. Arthur Weinberg. G? 5' Qlgan 1l l1 4 c r in Page Twenty-Two