Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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THE WELL-EDUCATED MAN AND LEISURE TIME In America today the average working man spends fewer hours at his business that he ever did previously. However, he generally works a t a much more hectic pace than he ever did before, too. This means that the wise use of leisure time has become much more important to him than it ever was before. u one coub ‘ sa y U’ht the wise use of leisure time is a prime requisite to a well-balanced life. Thus the working man re-creates himself and gives his life ad¬ ditional meaning and scope. Few men, if any, could live without recreation and fewer still would wish to try. Nevertheless, the amount of benefit derived from re¬ creational activity varies greatly from individual to individual, and is entirely de¬ pendent upon the way one attacks this problem. To derive full benefit from any leisure activity, it i 3 necessary for the man to ' , I ?l V ° raeWhat deoply into his - sub J ect For this to happen three things are necessary (1) The man must be sincerely interested in his subject. This interest may be started by practically anything, but some of the interests derived from school courses often prove to be among the most rewarding. (21 The man must have a great deal of intellectual curosity; this quality of wondering why things are as they are and what the causes of certain phenomena are is usually developed in the school through the interesting presentation of courses. (3) The man must have the ability ™ a e a . th , or ° u fr h , study of the subject he chooses. This must be developed through school discipline and proper habits. To my mind these things are the indication of a truly educated man. It is of small consequence where a man ' s interests lie, as long as they are suitable to his nature and abilities. The thing that does matter is that the hobbyist becomes as expel t at his avocation as his ability and time allow. The deeper one delves into any interest the more interesting it becomes and the more benefit is derived fiom it. The breadth and scope of a man’s life is greatly increased by his under- f f n . d . lag ° f ma y things. It is extremely rewarding to be able to lose oneself in a hob- l ether a ™ an is interested in big game hunting or stamp collecting matters httle if one is thoroughly familiar with all aspects of one ' s interest. It has been said that a man s education starts only when he graduates from school and if one ia aware of this and continues to study diversified subjects after his formal education is over he will have a much richer and fuller life. His formal education the begrnmg: it gives him the qualities necessary for the enjoyment of later overlooked by many students, much to their personal loss. The tiling that we must keep in mind is that we have been given the tools necessary later life. herC at SCh ° o1 ’ and we raust conU iue to use them throughout our Bruce G. Winters CO CO Page

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THE WELL-EDUCATEl) MAN AND THE SCIENCES In addition to the less technical subjects, a well-educated person needs a solid background in science and mathematics. What technical education does a person need ? The answer to that question will depend upon his particular interests and upon what he plans to pursue as his vo¬ cation If a person plans to be an engineer, he will need a solid background in all the fields of mathematics: Algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and calculus. He will also need physics and chemistry from the sciences. A person planning to be a doctor needs biology and chemistry and a general background in mathematics. A chemist will naturally need chemistry and a strong knowledge of mathematics in order to work out his ' equations and mathematical problems. A physicist will need a working knowledge of mathematics and a solid background in physics. A toolmaker will need a knowledge of trigonometry, geometry, and algebra. He will also need a working knowledge of physics in order to determine the expansion and contraction of metals. One can see therefore, that almost every vocation requires some mathematics and science But even if a person does not require a knowledge of these subjects in his work he ’still should have a practical knowledge of them if he wishes to consider himself well-educated. A liberal education will make him more aware of the cultural and social world around him; a technical education will make him aware of the physical world. A person should realize why the seasons change as they do and what causes weather changes in general. He should know why chemical changes occur and how to benefit by them. He should be aware of the advantage of simple machines, such as the pulley, wedge, inclined plane, and lever, and of how to use them to his best ad¬ vantage He should be able to recognize beneficial and poisonous plants. He should know at least how to replace a fuse without endangering himself and his family. Technical education will also help a person to think more clearly and in a more orderly way. Geometry is extremely helpful in this respect, since one must apply logic in proving a theorem. But our technical education must be assimilated with a liberal outlook. Even though our main educational pursuit may be technical, w ' e must realize that a lib¬ eral education is important, too, if we are to understand the technical principles learned. James E. Poulin

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THE WHOLE MAN Although study of the liberal arts appeals to the most varied and subtle combinations of taste, their purpose is not their content but their effect on the in¬ dividual ' s powers of thinking and reasoning. The liberal arts are useful—in fact, formal education itself is useful-only if they can excite an individual s imagina¬ tion and reason. As Percy Bridgman, whose ’.esearches in nuclear physics won him the Nobel Prize in 1946, once said, The participation of the individual is necessary- in every process of intelligence, not merely in the processes of science. Intelligence can be given a meaning only in terms of the individual. What this statement means is fairlv obvious Intelligence and education are not a simple storing-up of facts, names and rules. A mere assimilation of facts is nothing; a tape-recorder can also remember facts and repeat them. One encounters intelligence only when these facts can be applied in some new and useful way, and no machine can do that. Of course this does not mean that everyone has to be an Einstein, making astounding and earth-shaking discoveries. An intelligent individual can often meet and handle many situations, although his technical knowledge of the subject in Question may be limited. He does this by putting together the facts he does know about the situation along with some sound logic and reasoning. In this manner a person can be called handy with his mind just as some people are called handy with their hands. A well-educated person realizes that education is everywhere. This is a sen¬ sible statement if you stop to think about it. A person can learn just as much talking to a carpenter or a mason as he can talking to a professor. True, the learn¬ ing is of a different kind, but it is learning, and it gives the individual a better understanding of the subject discussed, whether it concerns laying floor tile or Dalton ' s atomic theory. Another distinguishing characteristic of the well-educated person is his ability to get along with people. This is most important for the simple tact that we all deal with people every day, and knowing how to get along with them is a basic necessity The well-educated person often will get along with others by conversing intelligently, whether the subject be business, politics, or last night s baseball scores. A much used concept in American industry today is that of the half-man—the man who is only partly there on the job; who is there with his reflexes or part of his brain but not with his heart and soul. It is the mark of the well-educated man- the whole man- that he blends acquisition of particular skills and knowledge with good functioning of personality. Michael A. Pleva ' 59