University of Toronto Schools - Twig Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE TWIG lVIy method of teaching history was by using a series of stories and attempting to keep the interest of the boys rivetted on the lesson. These somewhat unusual history lessons seem to have made a lasting impression on my pupils, for whenever I meet one of them now, he shakes hands with me, laughs fl don't know whyl and says 'Remember the way you used to teach history?' I recollect a humorous incident which took place during a student-teacher lesson. This rather nervous young lady, in the course of the period, wandered down one of the aisles, and happened to lay her hand on one boy's desk. Imagine her amazement when this surprising youth gently covered her hand with his! Well, that absolutely broke up the lesson, and the girl left the room in a half-fainting condition. Sometimes I see some of my old pupils downtown and, without exception, they are doing well. Even the dumbest pupil I ever had, seems to have prospered. A peculiarity which I always noticed in the boys while I was at U.T.S. was the deluge of questions which invariably followed any announcement or statement made to them. I used to ask all those who had questions, to stand up, and, by a process of elimination, I somehow managed to answer all questions. Despite anything that ever happened while I was at U.T.S., I have carried away not a single bad impression of it. I remem- ber my boys as being lively in body and mind, and, judging by those graduates of the University Schools who now come under my supervision, they still retain those char- acteristicsf' After leaving U.T.S. in l9l8, Mr. Dunlop joined the staff of the Faculty of Education for two years before taking up his present position. He is very affable and easy to talk to, and he certainly does not look any the worse for his eight years at U.T.S. After our brief interview with lVIr. Dunlop, it was not difficult to understand why he has had a brilliant rise to success. ' A.N.S. IAN STRACHAN Mr. Ian Strachan is the first graduate of U.T.S. to be elected to the Legislature. He is Liberal member for St. George's riding in the Provincial House. He entered U.T.S. in I9lI in Mr. VV. Dunlop's room, form 4C. He graduated in 1917, and immediately joined the army. On his return in I9 I 9, he entered a Polit- ical Science course at the University of Toronto, and later studied Law at Osgoode Hall. He graduated in l922, and ever since has been practising law with the firm of Erichsen Brown and Strachan. Could you tell us some of your memories of U.T.S.? we asked him. Yes, certainly. I think the funniest is the cheer practice held by the late Professor H. Crawford, who was then Headmaster of the School. He undertook to teach us the 'school cry', as he called it, which he himself had written. It Wentz- 'Velut arbor ita ramus, 'University Schools canamus'. According to lVIr. Strachan, some of the brighter lads knew what it meant, but he never did. However, he knew when to use it, which is the main thing. Which of your class-mates are now hold- ing important positions:-I , T, Robinette is the head of the Collec- tions Department of the Robt. Simpson Co. Another Old Boy, P. Clarke, is in the Treasury Department of the Provincial House. just the other day, in Montreal, I ran into R. Wicks, who is the leading actuary in a Montreal insurance company. How do you like political life? I think it's just great, but it's a risky business. In politics, the white-haired boy of to-day may be the goat of to-morrow. Do you think it is a good profession for a school boy to have in mind for the future? Yes, but he should first have some other profession on which he may fall back, if he isn't elected.

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THE T WIG i'What qualities do you think a man should possess, before entering politics? Application, and a sense of humour. 'il-laving these, we asked, what course should he take up at Varsity? That is more or less immaterial, There are more lawyers in politics than anything else, but the most important thing is that his mind be well-trained, with, pos-- sibly, a knowledge of political science or economics, which would give him a decided advantage over his fellow-members. After this, the interview closed with Mr. Strachan sending his cordial good wishes to the School. N. B. M. SCOTT MALCOLM After all these years, Scott Malcolm still claims his memorable deed of setting the School on fire was completely unpremedi- tated, and that he had no thoughts of in- cendiarism in his mind at the time. This young, tall, dark Old Boy, who. along with his team-mate, Mr. Reginald Godden, is rapidly becoming recognized as the foremost two-piano team on the con- tinent, took enough time out from rehearsing for a very busy concert season to give The Twig a short interview. Mr. Malcolm entered U.T.S. in l92l, in the first form, under Mr. Halbus. The memorable incident referred to above hap- pened in the following manner. ln a back seat in Mr. Mill's Latin room, which was on the site of the present audi- torium, sat Scott. On his desk he had a hand ball, which he was rolling up and down to liven up the Virgil period. The ball got away from him, and fell to the floor, rolling forward to the boy in the seat in front of him, whose name was Hutchinson. He tried to roll it back, but the fear of being seen by Mr. Mills must have made him jittery, for he missed Scott, and the ball rolled down a hole, through which a pipe had once been. The ball could go only a little way down, for the hole was blocked up with paper. 24 At the noon-hour, after buying a three- cent box of matches at the Owl , and stick- ing a pin in the end of a ruler, Scott started a rescue expedition. He lit a match, and by its light he tried to stab the ball. At this point, according to Mr, Malcolm, the match dropped down the hole. ln a few seconds he saw smoke rising. After a vain attempt to rip up the floor-boards, he ran to Major Bramfitt's room at the end of the hall, and announced that there was .a fire in room 7. The Major told him where he could find the fire extinguisher, but by this time the flames were several feet high, and the smoke was too dense for Scott to do anything. Un- fortunately, however, the fire brigade ar- rived and soon put it out. To compensate him for his failure to burn the School down, the Head thereupon decreed a half-holiday. ln describing this gallant attempt, the look on Mr. Malcolm's countenance changed to that of one who has tried, but has failed. Guy Fawkes must have looked very- much like that the morning after. However, poor old Guy didn't get a half-holiday. Mr. Malcolm graduated in l924, and, in the fall of that year, entered McMaster Uni- versity, being the president of the first year. After spending a year in Europe studying music, he started a business career. ln 1928 he met Mr. Godden, and the next' year they gave a two-piano recital at the Conserva- tory. It was so successful that they decided to team up professionally. They played 'in New York in 1932, and last year they scored another triumph in London. Each year, the number of concerts has steadily increased, until this year they will give ten recitals in Canada and twenty in the States. Asked whether he thought a University course was detrimental to the career of a concert musician, Mr. Malcolm said that it depended to a large extent on the person himself, but the extra book-work would of course detract from the time spent in prac- tising. This is not so important with a singer, but he said it would be better for an instrumentalist to spend those years in travelling and studying music.