Toronto Teachers College - Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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AMONG OTHER THINGS 'fThe time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things. . f'But not, says the Editor, Hof cabbagesand kings. But they are such delightful things to talk aboutl', say I very meekly. 'fTush!' says the Editor. tt'Tush is a perfectly delightful word for putting one in one's place.J Teachers, says the Editor, in his most dressed up tone, must be sensible . Pk as Pk if In which we are sensible .... A toast to 1936-37! It HAS been a year .... Looking backg We won't easily forget: .... That be- wildering, uncomfortable, terrifying feeling of aloneness the first day ..... The tfrevelations revealed at the Royal Winter Fair, where some anonymous greenhorns, much to the intense em- barrassment of certain young attendants, learnt several amazing and enlightening facts .... Bird Hikesg HA bird in the hand is worth two in the bush .... Eskimo pies at the City Dairy .... That visit to Clinton Auxiliary Classes for the Deaf, which brought a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye .... A little more steam there, lady . . . . Teach children or geography? . . . f'System Spells Successn. . . . Ho-w many agree? . . . 'lls everything clear? . . . Swing, Swing!! . . . How many pleasant associations the memory of these dear familiar phrases will conjure up when youth grows pale and spectre-thinl' and Normal School days are of 'Cages long ago. . . . Pls Pts vis Dk D0 you remember? . . . Our first lesson? . . . The tolling of the bell summoning great and small to their awful doom .... Set stern faces, clenched teeth . . . Up the long weary aisle we drag our unwill- ing feet . . . a moving sea of upturned faces swimming before our eyes . . . A wretched attempt to smile condescendingly at the wrig- gling occupants of the front rows . . . Oh agony! It's evaporated into thin air . . . Floor! Open wide and let me drop into the yawning abysses of eternity . . . Life has suddenly become very hard, very bitter. So this is what makes souls great! . . . Throat parched . . . Suddenly possessed by a wild desire to leap out the nearest window . . UDon't eat between meals-meals-meals . . . It can't lastg I'll wake up soon and find it's all a horrible nightmare . . . Hark! That sweet melodious music in the dim distance .... A ngels strumming softly upon golden harps? . . It is! No, it isn't! Yes, it is! The Bell! The BELL . . . . . . . Somehow, it has all had a chastening and sobering effect upon us all. The frothy leisurely attitude of high school days is dissipated. Heavy responsibilities have brought to the fore unexpected capacities and hidden abilities. Some of us have even begun to realize that perhaps there are some things 'we don't know. A few of us are beginning to do a little thinking .... We are, at long last, growing up! An Open Leiter-My dear fellow teachers-in-trainingI Next year, when Sunshine School has become a reality. and you are finally one of the honoured profession of teachers. will you please make a copy of the following lines and tack it in a conspicuous position? . . . A teachers growth ought never to cease. He ought not to die at the top . His face should always be toward the sun. for he is the soul of the educational system. . . . Let us try to cultivate an intelligent and rational approach to matters pertaining to us as human beings. A teacher, alive to the world round about, cannot help but impart thateinterest to the pupils .,.. Let us send out into our complex civilisation men and women with thinking minds. .sane unbiased opin- ions, and a desire to know the Truth. as wk ak as Last Will and Testament-To the 1937-38 class, we hereby solemnly bequeathg To wit: tlj Rabbits foot tslightly shopworni: 125 Concrete material: a pencil stub. half a cut-worm, our sincere sympathy .... Suggested Improvements: C19 Classrooms containing back seats only, for the benefit of the Religious Training classes: Q27 A wheelbarrow for books, boxes, frogs' legs, cardboards, stuffed rabbits, hektographs, robins' eggs, globes, etc.: C39 An automatic incinerator for lunch remains. Pk Pk vis is In Spire of it all, it HAS been a year - this busy year at Normal. Let us not say it is one year less. Rather is it one year more added to the possessions of the mind and heart. We do not bid farewell to our studies, our masters. our school. We are taking it all with us: every experience through which we have passed. This stream of life, with its bitter and its sweet, has flowed into our very beings, and its passing has left us richer. stronger. and greater. . . . May we prove to be worthy disciples of great masters. . . . Happy landings, Nornzalitcsf ill. Pcferx. Page Eiglzfy-five

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l fi? A Page Eighty-jour As Ure Really Are Rmding from If-ft to riglztf A rose among thc thorns - Concrete Material -f The School Lunch Y- First Signs of Spring A Yen Audubon! - Our Future? - Rccognlze this door? - Mr. Firth :md his loyal cohorts. 1 ,151-Zfgiga 1,5 -

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VALEDICTORY lil have but metvand yet so soon-it is time to bid farewell. When we turn our thoughts to the past few months we cannot but wonder at the amount we have accomplished in so short a time. l doubt if any other year has been so full or so rich with ex- periencefthe thrill of teaching, our almost innumerable subjects, the athletic and social events and the new friendships made. Ilo you remember that first morning when we all crowded into the assembly in a kind of awe, eyeing each other with curiosity? Mr. Whyte gave us a sincere and inspiring welcome, and introduced us to the staff. The Normal masters have acted in the role of older and more experienced members of the teaching profession, giving guidance and help to the aspiring members of the profession. There was not the wide gap that there was between high school teachers and pupils. We have no doubt often been a pest: but they have been very tolerant and sympathetic. Will you ever forget your first lesson! Did you underline the headings in your lesson plan with red ink? Ahgenow we know why you have succeeded. Did you fear that your key question would meet witli no response, or that a shower of the most horrible questions would be flung at you, which would need a human encyclopaedia to answer. Then your first criticism-when you were sure the critic teacher would tell you as gently as possible that you would never make a teacher- but no, the criticism was kindly and constructive. What fun we had at the dances and teas throughout the year, and that thrilling week-end at Hamilton, and the equally exciting one when we entertained the Stratford students! How proud we were of our teams both week-ends! Then there was the unique play UOutward Bound , and the Friday afternoon literary programs, and the wonder- ful friendships we have made. Let us try and keep in touch with each other after 'Normal' days, if only by correspondence. We all leave Normal with lofty ambitions and an idealistic con- ception of the type of teacher we intend to be. just how sincere are we in these idealistic ambitions? We say we are sincere--we even think we are sincere-but are we? The depth of our sincerity will depend upon how willing we are to make sacrifices and overcome obstacles to accomplish these ends. .-Xre we going to sit down and weep when we meet our first little defeat or disappointment, or t'Can we take it? Page Eiglzty-six Are we going to imagine that one gossips petty criticism is the con- sensus of opinion of the whole community? A teachers life is similar to that of The Lady of Shallot omit- ting its tragic end. When we are going to school we see life through a mirror--our books. At Normal we do the same, although we make a brief contact with life with the thrill of our first lessons. Then we go back to school-as teachers, and hold up the mirror for the class to see the world. I think a teacher should really get in touch with life. To do this, teachers should travel, go through the factories, read and generally keep abreast with' the times. The pupils see the world through our eyes. We must know this world to tell them about it- to make it real to them. Any teacher who stays cooped up in her room at school every night fafter four' cannot begin to realize the real meaning of life. No matter how busy we are, we should always have some recreationa- to get back our perspective , as Mr. Kendrick would say. You work faster and better because your spirit is quickened. You obtain a new depth and breadth of vision. Everyone must know, after this years course, how much our personality is reflected in our pupils. How can we inspire any of our pupils if, on Friday morning, we stand before them with heavy eyes and a listless expression after plugging away all Week? We have been told that a country school teacher should visit the pupils' parents in the community. Let our visits be worthwhile not merely perfunctory visits, which could only bore to tears both ourselves and our hostesses. Let us enter into the social life of the community with enthusiasm and enjoyment: and not patronize their social events or feel that we have 'fdone our duty'l by attending them. We should try to have a few real friends in the community, who will comfort and encourage us if we feel we are not making as much progress as we would wish in our teaching. The first year is bound to bring disappointments and discouragement-and we need two or three good friends who have faith in us to urge us on and to assure us of ultimate success. Our second year of teaching will show the be- ginning of fulfillment of their prophecy. But the first year is a stiff grind: so let us be prepared. M. Wray.