Timmins High and Vocational School - Porcupine Quill Yearbook (Timmins, Ontario Canada)

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23 1-il- The PORCUPINE QUILL . . of mankind, the history of the Church, and the history of Finland, geography, nature study-which consists of the study of plants and animals, physics, physiography, chemis- try, and astronomy-art and handicraft, hy- giene and athletics. His public school course completed 119 enters high school, where he is taught the same subjects, but in more detail. Four lan- guages-Latin, Finnish, Swedish, and English -are compulsoryg and if his aim in life is to become a doctor, he must take four other languages. Everything taught to him must be translated into each language which he is studying. For homework the student must memorize a chapter of his textbook so well that, upon returning to school the next day, he can recite any part of the chapter asked of him, and can also answer, in his own words, any ques- tions put to him by the teacher relating to the subject. This class procedure varies great- ly from our question and answer method. Finland, like Canada, also has universities. and if the pupil desires to become a doctor or lawyer, he attends there for ten years. Then the student desirous of becoming a doctor is sent to a hospital for two years, as part of his course. He returns to the university to write his examinations. Until a few years ago, these examinations were written in Ger- many, and took two years to write. The schools are built much like those in Canada. In the country, the lower primary schools and the public schools, are built of stout logs, but in the towns they are usually built of gray granite with wooden fioors. The high schools and the normal schools, which are found only in the larger towns and cities, are built of grey granite, but with floors of marble. The universities, which are very large buildings, are built of huge slabs of grey granite, with marble floors, Thus it is seen that granite is used most in building schools, mainly because it is quarried in Finland. The school term usually begins about the fifth of September. The Christmas holidays begin on the twentieth of December, and the pupils return to school on the tenth of Janu- ary. There are no Easter holidays, but the summer holidays begin on the tenth of May for public schools, and on the first of May for high schools. The school year consists of one hundred and eighty-live days. The university at Helsingfors ranks among the nnest in the world, and gives the student a more thorough education than universities of greater size and wealth in many other countries. Finland, a country with a small population, hopes, by giving its youth a thorough educa- tion, to become one of the strongest nations in the world. KAUKO SALO In Poland Education in Poland is free and compulsory. A fine is imposed on truants. Their Junior Schools differ from ours in that they have six classes instead of our eight. Religion, litera- ture, and arithmetic are taught. Special at- tention is given to the History of Europe. Those completing the junior school and wishing to continue their education may do so by attending institutions which correspond to our High Schools. Higher mathematics, history, languages, and science are taught at these schools. Special training may also be received leading directly to a career. The principal courses are commercial, domestic, and Civil Service. There are six large universities in Poland, located at Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Lublin, Fosen, and Vilna. Military training is a sub- ject in all universities. Before the World War there was a great deal of illiteracy in Polandg in fact, in 1906 only 30 p.c. of the people could read and write. When Paderewski took over the oiice of Prime Minister he co-operated closely with the Educational Committee of the League of Nations, with the result that now educational standards in Poland are on par with those elsewhere in Europe. ANASTASIA WOJICIECHOWSKI, C2 In Lithuania In the great continent of Europe, north of Poland, bordering on the Baltic Sea, is a small country known at Lithuania. Russia at one time ruled her. Then the Czar forbade the teaching of all languages but Russian and the use of Lithuanian books. The Lithu- anian boys and girls almost forgot their own

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24 'T The PORCUPINE QUILL +l -M language. During the Great War Lithuania declared her independence and set up a re- publican government of her own. In the schools her native language was again taught to the children. It was a great j0y to the parents that the language of their forefathers should not die with them. A new school system was set up. The school system in- cludes elementary, high, and military schools and colleges. A pupil spends four years in an elemen- tary school. He is taught arithmetic, grammar, spelling, geography, history, reading, litera- ture, composition and writing. Sometimes he is punished for not doing his Work. Maybe he is strapped or kept after school. Maybe he has to kneel with bare knees on beans! How would you boys and girls like to kneel on beans? Thus he passes his school days from September till June. Now if you were to tour the city of Kaunas, the capital of Lithuania, you would notice a large red brick building four stories high. You would see a large clock set in the wall and you would also notice the French windows with iiower-boxes on the window sills. You would look at the trim flowers in the centre of the lawn and at the large trees almost as high as the building. You 'would see many marble steps leading to the entrance of the building. On each side of the steps would be two large statues of lions. Should you walk up the steps and go through the arched doorway into the building, you would say, Why, this looks like a school! It is the High School. The High School has, besides classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, and a library. There are lockers set in the Wall for each pupil. The Hall floors are made of marble. Marble stairs lead to the next floor. The rooms are very high and have wooden floors. Here a pupil attends for eight years. His iirst live years' work is the same as ours. During the last three years it equals that taken in our colleges. In these three years he studies in different rooms-rooms having long tables for every four or ive pupils. He studies our university subjects, and takes many lan- guages. These are Lithuanian, German, Eng- lish, Latin, French and Russian. He attends each day from nine till four o'clock. Every two hours, he has a fifteen minute recess. For each subject he has one hour and he takes the same subject twice in a week. As in our schools, his school year is divided into terms, and like us he has to write examinations. There are certain school customs, however, diiierent from ours. The teacher comes to the ro-om and all pupils have to stand up till they are told to sit down. The girls wear black, pleated skirts with a black blouse, topped with a white collar. They Wear berets with a star. The boys wear black trousers and peaked caps. The star is the school em- blem. For sports they do exercises in the gymna- sium. In sum.mer the gymnasium classes- even other classes-are taken outside. The pupils play badminton and tennis. The boys do not play hockey or rugby because, some time ago, too many accidents occurred, and these games were forbidden. They swim a great deal, since there is a lake behind the school grounds. Other of their sports are running and jumping. Boys and girls are taught dancing and singing. The school has its own string orchestra. Lithuania is giving her pupils a broad edu- cation that they may 'be worthy of their country. NELLIE PLIOPLAS In Ukraine Let's go to school with Ivan and Boris. Ivan wants to be a doctor, and Boris has chosen the easier vocation of priesthood. They are both sent to the same public school where, in addition to reading, writing, art, geography and history, they are taught the Russian language. After spending three years together at the same school, Ivan and Boris part, for although, Ivan's vocation re- quires only three years of primary education, Boris must remain six years for a better train- ing in the elementary subjects. When Ivan is sent off to high school, Boris remains behind to complete his six grades, and is then sent to a seminary. Here, for four years he is taught religion and live lan- guages: Latin, German, Greek, Russian and Polish. Like all Ukrainian boys, he iinds Latin the most diilicult. Meanwhile, Ivan is toiling away at high school. He attends school six mornings a week, from eight to one o'clock. He has five,