Waltham High School - Mirror Yearbook (Waltham, MA)

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : Valedictor EILEEN MCCARTHY HE task of saying farewell is always peared very rapidly, so, of course, she ques- a difficult one, and one which the tiond her small son. John, have you been French evade with their cheery Au eating a great many apples lately ? revoir. We Americans, however, more Yes, motherf, outspoken than they, do not hesitate to say Well, of course I want you to have all good-bye, firmly be- lieving that if God be with our friends, every- thing else will be well. And then, after all, vale', is only a step- ping-stone to salve - and to progress. The world advances so rapidly nowadays that there is small time for ceremonious leave- taking. The youngster of five or six looks with scorn on the remains of his :elder bro-ther's toy fire-engine, and calmly demands a miniature automobile or aeroplane. Herein the thoughtful man might find material to point a moral 2 .I Y' . lug, .....,.. ...,,. ,..... ..,..... .. K A ..,.. ..., Our great public that are good for you, but really- O, but mother, you see I have to have a great many apples, be- cause the orphans want the cores. Mrs. Spen- cer said, in effect, that now, instead of giving the orphan the core, we took the whole apple, carefully considered whether he needed the skin, the seeds, or the pulp, and then acted ac- cordingly. The progress in edu- cational training since the previous generation is also very marked. school system is not a or adorn a tale, for, while the small boy of ten years ago only aspired to drive a fire-engine when he grew up, the small boy of today conhdently expects to own an automobile, and does not despair of acquir- ing an aeroplane. Mrs. Anna Garlan Spencer, the promi- nent social worker, gave a very inspiring example of this rapid advance, in a talk at the Unitarian Church this winter. She told how she and her fellow-workers are grad- ually bringing order out of the chaos which formerly reigned in the field of social work. As an illustration of the old idea of charity, she related the very amusing anecdote of a family who live near an orphan asylum. The mother noticed that her apples disap- colossal failure, a useless machine that stifies all originality and produces in- efficient men and women, despite the rather far-fetched arguments to that effect which the Ladies, Home journal has published. If things were as bad as this magazine has painted them, they would be in a serious state indeed. But we need only to read The Promised Land, that enthusiastic tribute to our schools, by one who entered them as a little alien, with the determina- tion to make good, in order to be con- vinced that here, too, the hand of progress has been at work. What girl, so unfor- tunate as to have been born poor, had, even in our mother's generation, the chance to learn without cost how to manage her

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VALEDICTORY household on a scientific, economical basis, or how to earn her living in the world of business. These and many other oppor- tunities are open to the girl of today, to say nothing of the improvement in the train- ing for boys, yet the pessimists are saying that our public schools are of no help in fitting us for real life! They say, too, that the general tendency of the age is to sink back into the depths of selfishness, and they speak dolefully of the recent calamities which so aptly illustrate their gloomy statements. It is only too true that the loss of some of America's finest men and women through a shipwreck caused by an inordinate desire for speed, and through a flood brought about by selfish greed for money, is irreparable, and so tragically needless. But, as usual, there are two sides to the question, and the optimist's points to improvement. Right in our own city, the generous interest taken in the Day Nursery and in the Animal Aid Society, furnishes ample proof of the prevalent spirit of altruism. And, as straws show the Way the wind blows, so a better spirit in a small city indicates a better spirit in the world at large. The movement for univer- sal peace is a very forcible illustration that we are approaching, no matter how slowly, Christ's ideal of on earth, peace, good will towards men.', And then lVlother's Day- what more direct contradiction of the cynic's view of humanity could there be than the readiness with which people adopted a white carnation as the emblem of motherhood ? Ah, yes, motherhood! We must only be thankful for the world's advance since the preceding generation, we cannot boast haughtily of it, for that was mother's gen- eration, and father's, too, and far be it from us to feel superior to them. Besides, in years to come, we may sit in this hall and listen to our sons or daughters, as they tell how far the world has gone on since their parents' day. T ' ln years to come -that has an ominous sound-I wonder how many of us are as glad to leave high school as we have so re- peatedly and emphatically declared we would be? For those who are going far- ther, regret is softened by the thought of good times to come, but for those who are to begin work at once, tonight has a deeper significance. Few 'employers are so gen- uinely interested in our welfare as are our teachers, or so ready to make allowances for neglected work when we want to be in The Playl' or to go on the VVashington Trip. lt is all very well to fuss and fume when lessons seem hard, but when it comes to the final test, I am sure that there are very few of us who will have no shade of regret as we receive our diplomas, the sym- bol of four successful years. Where shall we be in ano-ther four years? The far and the near sighted are equally helpless, for neither can tell. Yet I am sure that if I say Success to you all, our rela- tives, teachers and friends will answer unanimously, as did the country school com- mittee, Them's my sentiments tew l Cxwk l ' 'L N If ..' -4-usp' -f CX-