Wells River High School - Chatterbox Yearbook (Wells River, VT)

Page 29 text:

THE CHATTERBOX 27 hardly a University in the United States or in Canada that does not have some of Mr. Bentley’s slides for use in class work. You wonder what our Snow King does in the summer? We find that he keeps himself busy by making pictures of dew drops. Although his dew pictures lack the extraordinary variety of the snow crystals, in some ways they are most beautiful. There seems to be something about water, in all its forms that fascinates Mr. Bentley. He has made hundreds of pictures of frost including wonderful photographs of window panes, which Jack Frost has so artistically decorated. He has photographed curious forms of hailstones, rain- drops and clouds, but it is the snow that really commands hi: passionate interest. Mr. Bentley is very content with his role in life. In his own words he says, “As you see, I am a poor man, except in the satisfaction I get out of my work. In that respect I am one of the richest men in the world. I wouldn’t change places with Henry Ford or John D. Rockefeller for all their millions! and I wouldn’t change places with a king—not for all his power and glory. I have my snow flakes!” And We? We Vermonters? We Graduates of Wells River High School? We have Vermont and all she has pro- duced—patriots, a president, authors, teachers, artists and a king. M. GLADYS LATURNAU. THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education, to some, seems to have reached perfection; and to understand the means by which the present standard has been achieved we must delve deep into its past history. Learning had its start in the middle ages, during the twelfth and' thirteenth centuries known as the Renaissance Period—the time when the desire for advancement in all lines of human activity dominated all classes. The learning of that day, scanty as it seems to us. contained one main point, the stu-

Page 28 text:

2G THE CHATTERBOX This modest man, a scientist and artist, whose work is be- coming known and studied not only all over this country but in England and on the Continent as well, makes his home in Jeri- cho, Yt.. a small town in northern Vermont. Mr. Bentley knows more about snow flakes than any other man in the world. To him a snow storm is an exciting event because of its possibilities; he never knows when he is going to find some wonderful prize. The best and most perfect flakes are found in the “Low”, as the area of low pressure is called, be- cause there the air is calmer and the flakes are not so crowded. They have more room and are not so blown about, and are larger and finer. During a snow storm in which Mr. Bentley wishes to secure specimens, he stands at the open door of a cold room and allows the flakes to fall on a little wooden tray painted black. This tray is held by wires at the ends so his hands can- not touch and warm the wood. He then carries the tray into the cold room, removes the snow flakes from the tray by means of a wooden rod. and then inserts them in front of the lens of the microscope. Mr. Bentley must work very c|uicklv, as even in freezing temperature each separated crystal quickly disap- pears, not by melting but by evaporation. The largest snow flakes are not the finest. The best speci- mens are usually not more than a quarter of an inch in diameter. Some of the very finest ones are only one-twentieth of an inch in diameter and so tiny that you and 1 wouldn’t give them a second glance. During the past forty years, Mr. Bentley has made thou- sands of photographs and found that no two are alike except that they all have six sides. Some appear to be very plain while others are fancy—all lacy and feathery. Some years ago Mr. Bentley sold over two hundred pho- tographs to Tiffany, and from them, as patterns, many beautiful brooches and pendants were designed. Other jewelers, metal workers and silk manufacturers are using the crystals for de- signs. Many of his photographs have been reproduced in scien- tific publications, both in this country and in Europe. There is

Page 30 text:

28 THE CHATTERBOX dents held their instructors in the highest respect and remained ever grateful to them. The greatest help to education at this period was the royal support. Kings and Princes were favorable to the decreas- ing of illiteracy for the good of their kingdom and for the wel- fare of the people. At this time Universities sprang into prominence. The oldest of these were at Paris, Bologna and Oxford. Later Fred- erick II founded one at Naples. Italy and invited students from other countries to attend. These universities were not large stone structures with massive Doric columns, as we think of them today, hut often rude, unfurnished buildings in which the students sat on the straw covered floors. 1'here were no text- books, and instruction was given in lecture form and by conver- sation. No examinations were given to students, no diplomas were granted, no degrees were conferred. The very features that we have come to consider essential requirements and honors in university life were entirely lacking in these early institutions, but the educational system of today is the outgrowth of these early forms. Education owed its greatest advancement in the sixteenth century to Francis Bacon. He studied at the University of Cam- bridge. England. He possessed a remarkable intelligence and great intellect. He made it a point to search the field, freely ex- press himself, and detect the faults which other men had not even thought of. He maintained that since the day of Plato and Aristotle the field of knowledge had been broadened, so instead of limiting the course of instruction wholly to the teaching of these philosophers, he believed in applying the knowledge al- ready gained to matters of general interests in the time in which he lived. mong other men who saw the benefits of knowledge and education were John Milton, John Locke of England and Jean-Jaques Rousseau of France. These were the foremost educators of the seventeenth century; the most critical period in which education passed its greatest test. The great advance in the nineteenth century was made when a special course of instruction for teachers was required.