Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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THE W. H. S. DP:BATER Words such as these, suggesting beauty of sound, must, I think, make a deep impression upon even the superficial reader. On the other hand, of course, one might say that Milton uses words with which we are unfamiliar; but let us consider for a moment. Just as there is fashion in dress and manners, so is there fashion in the use of words. One generation may prefer elaborate words of classical origin, another may choose those derived from the Anglo Saxon or Old English. A word may be in common use today, but become obsolete befoi ' e two generations have passed. Naturally, in two and a half centuries very great changes occur in the language, and this is wl»y we find it difficult to read Milton ' s poems with understanding. Persistent study will overcome this difficulty, however, and the pleasure and the cultivation which comes from the study of Milton ' s poetry is worth all the effort that is made. J]thkl J. Mac Master, ' 14. Why I Like French (Beino ' a composite statement of the members oi ' tlie Senior Class on what liie study of French lias meant to tlieni.) IV is my o|)inion that a good knowledge of English, with a general understanding of science, determines an educated person ; but it is impossible for a person to attain any height in either of these studies unless he acquaints himself with other languages, especially those upon which his own is based, and in which some of the greatest scientific acliievements are descrilied.- ' I ' he old Greek and Latin languages are probably the best to develop the P nglish, but those are dead languages, an l are confined almost wholly to ancient histoiy and myth- ology, while the French is the living language of a live people, — a people of great writers and statesmen, who have built up a great republic. The stud} ' of French has helijed me to a better under- standing of English. It has been interesting to com- pare the two languages; to note their differences and similarities ; to mark the fine distinction between words, — and their derivations. It has helped me to think exactly. Translation is necessary to the full un- derstanding of thought, and in translating, it is inevita- ble that the constant searching for the proper word should aid me in enlarging my English vocabulary. Again, one ' s outlook becomes broadened by studying the ways and customs of other lauds, and from the French stories I have read I have a better understanding of the French people. I know more altout their customs and habits than I did before. I can more easily sym- pathize witli their ideas and ideals, and I therefore am more interested in France, and have more affection for that country than any other foreign country except England. I know much more about the city of Paris, which I intend one day to visit, and which next to Rome is the most fascinating of the old cities. Since I began Senior French, I have been led to read in English several histories of the Revolution, most of Victor Hugo ' s works, and those of several other French authors. The history has enabled me to comprehend the real character of the people of France, before and during the great Revolution. It has given me an in- sight into their lives. Hut more important than anything else, is my intro- duction to French literature. I can now read ordinary French with a uniform degree of understanding, and I can make my own observations. I have noted that the peculiarity of every French play and novel that I have read is that there is a hidden moral meaning, either intended toward royalty and nobility, or for the people at large ; I have found that the wit is witly ; that the characters, such as L ' Abb Constantine and Jean Val- jean are strong and vivid. In a word, the books that I have read have given tne a decided appetite for more and my study of French will by no means cease when I leave the high school. Lastly, if one has the opportunity to travel in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium or Russia, he will find a knowledge of written and spoken French very nearly a necessity. And so to be up to the times, one must have some knowledge of French. For these and other reasons I am not sorry that I studied French. P(( i (hi lout! What the High School Has Done For Me 1. The social life of the school has constantly exerted a favorable influence upon me. ' I ' he fiee intei- cliange of ideas and information for mutual benefit has given me an abiding faith in human nature and helped me to understand and appreciate my fellow pupils. 2. Sometimes when talking and arguing with some friend, angry words are ready to leap from my tongue, but the presence of a young lady sitting near has caused me to stifle the angry woids and helped me to control my temper. 3. The free and unhampered intercourse with young men of my own age has helped nie to form more definite ideas and to see clearly reasons for my decisions. The Debating Society is, I think, the greatest aid in this respect. 4. The four years in high school has given me the opportunity for mental development. I once worked in

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TIIK W. II. S. DKIJATKR practise of reading aloud doubles the powers of oral interpretation. Mr. Tlionias next spoke of the child ' s vocabulary. He said, We are careful to store up pennies for the child ' s bank, but we are careless about his word-hord. The avernoe person has about three thousand words in his vocabulary. Shakespeare, as we know, had fifteen thousand and Milton, eight thousand. The average child at six years of age has something over six hundre 1 words. The vocabulary should increase regularly and rapidly even at mature age, not for the purpose of acquiring big words to use on occasions, but for the pur- pose of using exact words on particular occasions. Mr. Thomas places great stress on sentence structure. Children advance more rapidly if their parents use the best connectives, putting subordinate ideas in subor- dinate tertns. The greatest trouble in oral composition is the frequent use of the conjunction and ' Ihis can be remedied by omitting it in some cases, and by using subordinating connectives in other cases. Again, Mr. ' I ' homas staled that a high plane of thinking brings the language expression to a high plane, also. The second speaker of the afternoon was Mrs. Wallace C. Boyden of Newtonville. Mrs. Hoyden is a mother who has paid a gre;it deal of attention to the education of her children and is therefore well qualified to speak upon the second topic, Problems of the Parent . She said that we must begin early upon the inent;d training of a child and must keep at it. She compared a child ' s mind to a garden. Something must grow in it, and if the best seeds are not planted, ugly weeds will grow there. A child ' s mind should first be influenced by poetry. The study of poetry leaves culture, images and precious thoughts. The reading of poetry should be encouraged, first, because it is the smoothest form of literature; second, it is an invaluable aid to the use of good Knglish ; third, it is a stimulus for the imagination ; and fourth, it appeals to the spiritual nature. Mrs lioyden gave a list of fifty prose works suitable for children to read. She especially emphasized ' Pilgrim ' s Progress and the Bible Stoiies. Children must be read aloud to, says Mrs. Boyden, and story-telling goes hand in hand with reading aloud. Lastly, Professor Win. Allan Neilson, professor of English at Harvard College, discussed the question, What shall our Children Read? He changed the sub- ject somewhat and spoke especially on What our Chil- dren shall not Read. P ' irst, said Professor Neilson, The child must not read the colored supple- ment of the Sunday paper. The jokes are very poor and degrnde the mind. Seccmdly, the child must not read books with constant shocks and surprises. These books deaden his sense of appreciation. What a child reads should be wliat we want him to imitate. He should read for the building of ideals, for the appreciation of sound. for the filling the mind with recollections, and for the gaining of material for imagination. This is the first time that an Knglish conference has been held in connection with a Woman ' s Club; so much interest was shown in the meeting that Mr. Thurber, chairman of the committee, recommended at the regular March meeting of the New England Association of Teachers of P nglisli that an attempt be made to hold such meetings in other parts of New England. Hii.DUR L. Carlson, ' i. Milton ' s Use of Words 1 THINK a good definition for a poet would be: — an artist who uses words instead of paints in the making of his pictures. If this i true, a poet ' s words must be his most important stock in trade. He must choose the proper word for the meter ; he must choose the most pictui ' esque word ; and it must l)e a woid that will make his line musical. In Milton ' s L ' Allegro and II Penseroso , the words have been chosen with such c-ire and discrimina- tion that their study is extremely interesting Picturesque words are found in these two poems in great numbers. Words that add color and beauty to the picture the poet is placing before his readers are found in every line. In L ' Allegro all is bright, shin- ing and JDyous. This is well shown by the following lines : — Sometiinc walkiiiu ' , not nnscon, Hy liedsjerow ehns, on liiilocks mrecn, Rislit ajfahist tlie eastern aie Wiiere the great sun bcijins lii i state liohed in dames find anilier linlit, Tlie clouds ill thousand liveries dijilit. II Penseroso gives the idea of the gray, shadowy light, more suited to study and meditation : — And when the sun begins to tliiisi ' Mis flainiiig Ix ' ains, nio. Goddess l)riiij; To arclu ' d walks of Iwiliiilit rov(!s, And shadows brown, that Sylvan loves. These two (luotalion-; show how important the words expressing color are to the beauty of the poem. On account of Milton ' s love of harmony, musical words are also very frecjuent. In L ' Allegro the liird of happiness is the laik that sings his glad s(nig in the morning. The liird that sings his sweet, sad song in II Penseroso is the nightingale. Another very strik- ing idea in the latter poem shows how bi-autifully the sound of the words may suggest the sense which they convey : — I hear the far-ott ' curfew sound Over some wide- watered sliore, Rwiiiiiiiii; slow with sullen roar.

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THE V. 11. S. DKr.ATKR a factory for a sliort time. 1 found that I had to koop hustling from six in the morning until six at night for fear of losing my job. The work was of such a nature that it soon became practically mechanical, requiring no thought. The speed at which I was compelled to work kept nie from thinking of anything save getting (juicker motions out of my arms. My work in school is rapid l)ut it has recjuired thought, •which has resulted in the development of my mind. This oi)portunity has been of priceless value to me. J. AV. Lkacii, ' 14 What Wakefield Boys and Girls Need 1. A new high school building. 2. A high school hall for assemblies. 3. An up- to date laboratory. 4. An historical room. .0. A library building. G. A reference library. 7. A well-appointed reading-room. 8. An athletic field and playground. ' J. More sympathy and support on the part of the townspeople. 10. A greater appreciation on the part of the pupils for their present advantages. 11. Grammar sciiool clubs. 12. A better example than that found on some of our street-corners. 13. A more practial course in manual training. 14. Better manual training (juarters and tools. 15. School spirit. Harold VV. ( li.muv, ' 14 Al umni Notes | lAX Eaton, ' 07, returned on May la, on the - ' -Lusitania from a three months ' trip in Europe in the interests of the ' ' Hoot and Shoe Recorder, a well-known trade journal. Mr. Eaton visited many shoe centers in England and Germany and did some business in Paris. Under-graduates now in High School niiglit ask Mr. Eaton if it isn ' t a good idea to get one ' s lessons in French and (iei ' man as well as possible. One may have unexpected use foi ' a knowledge of foreign touiiues. Miss Lee Morrill. ' 10, is teaching a iifth-grade school in Hopkinton, Mass. Miss Ruth Hickey, ' 10, having had nearly two years ' experii ' nce in schools in Rhode Island, has received her election in Wakefield and is teaching in the Woodville school. The marriage of Laura Weblier, ' 06, and .7. Fred Remmel occurred on Saturday, April 18. Mr. and Mrs. Remmel have made their home in Waltham. To Mr. and Mrs. William Grace (nee Blanche Van Nostrand) on May 11, a son. Mis. L. Wallace Sweetser and Mrs. Emily Freeman Howes, 1900, are the Wakefield membei-sof the Commit- tee appointed to raise funds for the new Wellesley buildinjis. The class of ' 16 at Wellesley, of which Miss Katherine Whitten, W. H. S. ' 12, is a member, raised 85,000 for the Wellesley fund. Mrs. C. E. Montague (Edith Marshall) has entered upon her second year as President of the Kosmos Club. The class of ' 99 has met with a great loss in the death last February of Airs. Blanche Tompson Watkins. Miss Lsabel Flint spent the winter and early spring in Nebraska and California. G. Arthur Packard, ' 86, and Mrs. Packard are in Wakefield again after a three years ' residence in Montana. Samuel Abbott is now the literary editor of the Boston Post and has a most interesting page of book reviews in the Saturday edition. High School students should l)e interested in the Paul Revere bell, now hanging in the High School belfrey, and in its projx ' r preservation. To Mr. Harold Collins, ' 07. and Mrs. Collins, in Fel)inary, a daughter, Eleanoi ' Frances, their second child. In 11 s()i)li()ni()rc examination tin ' (niostion was asknl wliv tin- followiiiii ' liiu ' s were i-spccially elfoctive — I iieard tlie lance ' s sliivcrinsi ' crash. And slu ' iclv, and slioii), and battle cry. ' i ' lic answer: ' I ' lic lines arc cll ' cctivc liccaiisc they show illiteracy.