Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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THE TOWER LIGHT 5 and beparasoled ladies dismounted with the aid of igallants, holding a parrot cage in one hand while steadying ladder or lady with the other. Time and space fail to give medium for describing each engine in detail. For such particulars, one may consult the catalog of the Centenary Exhibit. Let it suffice to say that one of the greatest trib- utes paid by the spectators to the romance of travel and' to the courage of our forebears, was the silence and the hint of tears, as the Cones- toga wagons passed by, with youth and maiden, gay and dauntless, facing ever towards the West. M. L. O. 'Q--15 Qf The Creative in Composition By EUNICE K. CRABTREE OMPOSITION is self expression through language fwritten or spokenj. This definition suggests the unity of the two fac- tors which must always be considered in the study of com- position. These are: self-expression and language. Self-expression implies the thoughts and ideas of an individual which seek expres- sion, and the realization of which is the ultimate aim of composition, lauguage implies the technique which makes the expression of the self possible, and it is the means to the end. The word through in the definition indicates the interrelation of these factors. Previously, the teaching of composition in the schools has for the most part neglected the former and placed the stress almo-st entirely upon the latter-technique. Recently, with the growth of the creative move- ment in education, the teaching of composition is being changed and a truer realization of self-expression through language is being ef- fected. Psychological Basis In discussing the creative, one naturally turns to the authori- ties-the psychologists, for information. Dewey says: The ex- pressive impulse of the children, the art instinct, grows out of the communicating and constructive instincts. Make construction ade- quate, make it full, free and flexible, give it a social motive, some- thing to tellg and you have a work of art. Robinson places it as a universal habit system. He says that it is characteristic of the vast majority of normal people to desire to build Qwhether out of stone,

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4 THE TOWER LIGHT various phases of agriculture from trains manned by experts from the University of Maryland. It was hard to leave these fascinating scenes, but hunger pre- vailed, and soon various groups were seen lunching in the Coffee House, or tea garden, or on the shaded benches at the left of the Hall of Transportation. Soon after, the crowd hurried over to the Grand Stand. This was facing the Court of Honor and the Hall, and' was divided from them by a special road or track over which the pageant was to move. Promptly at 2:15 P. M. a flutter passed over the sea of color under the awnings of the Grand Stand. The band was coming! That was followed by the fioat America, bearing the B. and O. Glee Club, a male chorus of forty voices. Now, a voice rang out from the amplifiers, announcing event after event of the romantic pageant showing the progress of transportaiton. First came the American Indian, with pack horses and travois of crossed poles. Surely, there was not a heart which failed to beat faster when these Piegan and Blood Indians of the Blackfeet nation galloped by in full war paint and feathers. And not the least fas- cinating was the little Indian girl in orange who trudged so patiently by her mother-the big squaw in pink who waved the anachonistic palm leaf fan. River exploration and travel was shown by fioats bearing a canoe with Father Marquette, a river bateau, and a canal boat of the type once used on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. The romance of road travel was vividly presented by the early road wagon, the post chaise, the post rider, the Conestoga wagon, and the George Washington coach, lent by Mr. Henry Ford, from which Henry Clay bowed graciously as he rode along. Next came the scenes portraying events from which modern rail transportation has grown, the meeting of the citizens of Balti- more and the historic parade held in this city a century ago to cele- brate the laying of the First Stone of the B. and O. In this the crafts of carpenters and blacksmiths were represented, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton rode side by side with Philip E. Thomas, first President of the B. and O. The work of Army Engineers in 'surveying the wilderness was shown by a fioat, and then the first efforts to improve travel by such crude devices as the treadmill car and the sail car. Then followed a long line of models of famous engines. Some of these had al- ready been shown in the Hall of Transportation, but in the pageant, the models actually moved along on the circular track, each under its own steam. Tom Thumb received a large measure of applause, likewise, the two early passenger coaches from which hoop-skirted

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6 THE TOWER LIGHT timber, or ideasjf' Thorndike lists the creative activity under the heading of .The Instinct of Mnltiform Mental Activity. The ex- pression of ideas and emotions is a natural or inborn tendency of every one -this statement is found in the Phychology for Teachers fBenson, Lough, Skinner, Westj. However our psychologists may define and classify these characteristics of creativeness, they do agree as to their universal existence as potent forces. Universality of Language The self may use various media for expression: Music, dance, architecture, sculpture, painting. Only relatively few find these means natural ones for expression. The universal mode of expres- sion is through language. Language as a tool is within the reach of all. There is no known tribe or people so low in the scale of life that it does not possess some form of language. fjuddj Because of the universality of the use of language, it becomes a perfect me- dium for expression. Experiments A What use, then, can teachers make of the creative impulse? It might seem from the foregoing statements of the psychologists that the teacher's responsibility would be merely to let the children alone and they would create, the children's instincts and emotions serving as complete and adequate driving forces. Education has only re- cently learned to use the natural creative impulses 5 it is at present experimenting, and the results are good. The experimenters have found the let-alone attitude on the part of the teacher to be of value, to have a place in the scheme of things, and must be skilfully han- dled, however, it is by no means the all inclusive technic for devel- oping the creative. The experimenters say: School life should be free from arro- gant authorities, teachers should be guides rather than instructors, and these should be learning about children rather than certain about children, and that the school environment should be rich in suggest- ing material for the creative impulses. CMearnsj The idea must be the child's, that is certain, but will he unaided be stimulated to express himself? Mangravite says of the teacher, He must gain the child's confidence and establish within the child the desire to create, or he will not do anything. It would seem then that the teacher must be a kind of clairvoyant who can penetrate the mind and soul of the child and comprehend what he wants to do, he must by subtle means stimulate the desire to express that thing, and estab- lish a favorable school environment. The creative impulse is like a delicate fiower which, that it may grow and unfold in all its beauty needs the sunshine, rain, and air.