University of Alberta Calgary - Evergreen and Gold Yearbook (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

Page 12 text:

£u ujAee i QoM Do tfiE ( 2 ta±± oj- 47 ☆ ☆ ☆ X HE year 1947 marks the beginning of the Evergreen and Gold, Calgary Branch. It takes the place of the Chinook, the Yearbook published by the Calgary Normal School for many years. We hope that this pub¬ lication will maintain the high standards set by its predecessor, and in quality, if nof in size, will rival the famed Evergreen and Gold of the Uni¬ versity in Edmonton. In preparing this book for you we have tried to give you a cross-section of the year ' s activities so that when you glance over the pages in years to come, you will live again the pleasant days spent in the Faculty of Education in Calgary. The material has been prepared with the help and co-operation of many people. Miss Chittick has given us much advice in the planning of the content, the selection of material and the costs of production. The Tiger- stedt Studio is responsible for the photography and many trips were made to the school to catch activities at the right moment. We are indebted to the Art Department of the Institute of Technology and Art for the pen-and- ink sketches which enhance many pages of the book. To Jack Crowle goes the honor for the cover design. For class profiles and the many other con¬ tributions we must thank our fellow-students. The book is yours; we hope you like it. May it ever serve you as a remembrance of the happy and profitable year we spent together. Au revoir, Gladys Griffin-Beale, Lloyd Erickson, Editors. Page Ten

Page 11 text:

CLARENCE SANSOM, B.A., Ph.D. Director, Faculty of Education Calgary Branch

Page 13 text:

OUZ [I LZEctoZ . . ( y L £ UCH has been said of late about Z WIj the sad plight of the profession of teaching arising mainly, we are told, from the low social and economic status of teachers and the unfavorable con¬ ditions under which many of them are called upon to do their work. It seldom occurs to anybody just now to point out that there may be something to be said on the other side of the question. The fact is that there is still much to be said in favor of teaching even under present conditions, bad as they sometimes are, and much as they need to be improved. To you young people about to enter the teaching service it might be in order to enumerate a few of the arguments in favor of teaching as a career. In the small amount of space at my disposal the points must be set down briefly and with a minimum of elaboration. In the first place the love of children is probably one of the most uni¬ versal and profound of all the sentiments of the human heart. What other calling aside from home-making can compare with teaching as a means to the satisfaction of this inherent disposition? Another aspect of teaching which has always appealed to me is the fact that teachers deal on the whole only with normal, healthy, and happy young people. I have often wondered what there is about vocations iike medicine, nursing, and dentistry that makes such a strong appeal. These are callings which minister for the most part only to sick, unhappy people. Can it be that the dentist, for example, experiences a thrill of pleasure with every twirl of his instrument and corresponding twitch of the unfortunate victim in the chair? One can hardly believe so, even though he does appear to be astonishingly able to endure the pain he inflicts upon his patients. It is a most fortunate circumstance for ailing mankind that so many people can be found, however actuated, to enter these professions. But in con¬ nection with the work of teaching, no such question can arise. Sick child- dren are not found in school, and young people who deviate far from normal, whether physically or mentally, are sent to other institutions. One who can look forward to spending his life in close touch with the endless upsurge of vigorous young life and all its idealism and hope is not greatly to be com¬ miserated on a dark forbidding future. Teaching has advantages, never fear. And then there are the opportunities for self-improvement which are open to teachers more than to almost any other group. These arise mainly from the nature of the work, the five-day week, and the long holidays which characterize the profession. It must be remembered in this connection that university correspondence courses are available to all, even in the most isolated communities. Even on the money side of the question the $1200 minimum now going into effect with yearly increments for both experience and further training, to say nothing of the still better schedules now being so widely advocated, offer perhaps as good inducements to young people as can be found in any other line. Let me assure you that the above is by no means a complete statement of the good points of the teaching service. But I have reached the limits of my space and must conclude, and in concluding let me on behalf of the entire staff wish each and every one of you every satisfac tion and the best of good fortune as you go forward with your chosen work. C. SANSOM.