Weaver High School - Portal Yearbook (Hartford, CT)

Page 31 text:

a «9 THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL | The evolution of secondary education in the United States has been a rapid and striking one. The past twenty years, especially, have seen an unparalleled growth of interest in higher education. During this short time the attendance in high schools has increased two hundred and ten per cent while the population has increased but forty-seven per cent. This rapid increase in attendance is a marked indication of our belief in secondary education. This quite astonishing growth of high schools may be attributed to two causes. The first of these is a growing belief in education in general. The other cause, which is undoubtedly the most important, is the twentieth century idea of democratic educa¬ tion. The educational policy in the United States was established by our early English ancestors. Their educational ideas, prin¬ ciples and habits greatly influence our modern day education. The first secondary schools were started in New England, and from thence spread over the entire country. Schools sprang up spontaneously in the first years of the settlement, the Boston Latin Grammar School being the pioneer. In 1647 the famous rescript of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony put the matter on a legal basis. It said that every community which contained one hundred families must maintain a grammar school. Thus began the first secondary schools of America, the grammar schools. The next period in education was marked by a decline of the grammar school idea. The academy, which was a great step for¬ ward, replaced the grammar school. The greatest advance was the period of the growth of the high school. It was really the beginning of what we would call high school education. The Boston Latin Classical High School, which was founded in 1821, was the first high school to be started in this country. The manner of its coming was in itself significant. In the first place it was an extension upward from the elementary education of the period. It was thus an outgrowth of the popular education that was auspiciously started by the laws of 1647. Secondly, it was a local school, con¬ fined to narrow limits of territory. Again, it was introduced to meet special needs. The last but most important feature of all is that it was a public school. The high schools, however, still taught the classics with little or no variation in the courses. There were no practical courses and a high school education was of little avail unless the student attended college. This fault was remedied during the period which followed, known as the Period of Differentiation in high schools and high school curricula. This was the beginning of the real modern school. The high school was first established to develop pupils by mental discipline so that they might fill usefully and respectably public and private positions for which the facilities had not been adequate. The main aim of our present day high school is to make a true citizen of the world, one who shall have a cementing and unifying power, and not be a mere member of a group with disintegrating tendencies. The universality of high school education is the most astounding fact of all. This twentieth high school, after adapting itself wisely to all secondary school interests and organizing itself in close harmony with social, industrial and cultural conditions and opportunities, provides facilities for the attendance of all children of secondary school age and for all others who desire secondary school privileges. At present there is a growing tendency to make the facilities so worthwhile that they will not onlv attract attendance but almost compel it. ' Social unity is greatly benefited by high school education. The secondary school is the foundation school for starting these ideals. The very psychology of the secon¬ dary school period shows that it is the vantage time of life for developing those habits of thought that make for industrial peace and true democracy in all directions. As a social instrument, high school is expected to

Page 30 text:

■ WiiffluiiaMirmniit ■ MiniiuiiiawuutuiiatuiuiiiiiQuiitiiiiiiiauiniiiiHiaminnininiUKiinmninuitii CLASS BOOK OF NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR the baseball game of the day before. “Our team, wasn’t very good at hitting yesterday. They didn’t hit at the right time. That umpire wasn’t fair, either, he favored the other side.’’ The girls are elated over their victory over the teachers. One girl, who appears to be a member of the winning team said, “I am so glad we won. The teachers are the best teachers, but we’re the best basketball players.’’ Another group of girls are discussing the play they gave at the last meeting of the English Club. As the onlooker walks down a little farther, he notices a group of boys in one corner. Every¬ one seems interested in the speaker. As he draws nearer he learns that the subject of discussion is the debate of the day before. “The negative side didn’t stick to the point.’’ “How could they when they didn’t have any point to stick to,’’ says another. Two members are debating upon a point when the bell rings which means that recess is over. After the final bell has rung, the students come rushing out, the moderns first and then the anti-moderns. And soon, if the onlooker walks down the corridor, he sees only a vast opening of empty space.

Page 32 text:

I nnnitiiiitamnuniiK ■ jutmmniannicuuaimuwiusumuimiaumuuuisiuinmmanmiiDmaimimiiiisiniDUJiacniiiiuiitacnuuimniTiriuiiiDriiiirTiraanniunQiui i B unu.iuiuoniiiiRiE 3 CLASS BOOK OF NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR I wmanKii—Miiin B UMiimuomuo accomplish at least three things. First, it must turn out young people trained for intelligent service. Secondly, it must pre¬ pare for that social and industrial intelli¬ gence the moral strength and rectitude neces¬ sary to good citizenship. Lastly, it must prepare such individuals as are capable and have the desire to obtain further training in some higher institution of learning. The facts alone are enough to prove that high schools are a national necessity and a public benefit; High school is the greatest business en¬ terprise of the age. The advances made along all lines have been stupendous. Not one part of the business has failed. Today more money is invested in public school property than it costs to run the federal government for one year. Every year each city constructs one or more school buildings. We can see clearly, by the constant and rapid advances, the interest and faith of the American people in secondary education. Within the past decade the increases in the value of property used for high school pur¬ poses and in current expenditures have been inconceivable. Never before have any people shown such willingness to tax themselves as our people are showing today, throughout the entire country. There seems to be universal agreement that our educational system shall be in fact one system with a clear vision that the American high school shall be cosmopolitan in character, offering within its organiza¬ tion opportunity for the satisfaction of divergent individual needs. The extension of high school opportunities by American towns and villages to all is one of the greatest achievements of the century. No other country has ever been able to boast of an educational system that is as good as ours. High school education is no longer a luxury but an intellectual equipment that is not limited to one class or creed. These are th« cherished ideals of democracy at its highest and best. The recognized relation that college-bred men and women bear to the promotion of social and industrial welfare needs no com¬ ment. The higher education of at least a part of the young people of every community is a social necessity. Trained leadership is essential, and the society of the future will in a large measure continue to -look to higher institutions of learning for these leaders. Since the high school is rapidly supplanting most other forms of secondary education, it is the place where many col¬ lege people must receive their preliminary training. The subjects taught in high schools are the tools of Higher Educational Institutions. The relation of these people to the industrial life of the community is also very evident. Here, again, the high school must be th e center from which most start. Since the high school is such a determin¬ ing factor in our system of education and in the development of national prosperity, the people should continue to foster its support as they have done. It is a winning proposition, and the people will always be repaid for the work that they do for educa¬ tion. Weaver High School is an example of one of America’s best high schools. In con¬ struction the building is unparalleled through¬ out New England. The school children of Hartford should realize this and strive to establish a record that will be “ s good as the school.