Winterport High School - Riverside Yearbook (Winterport, ME)

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THE RIVERSIDE 17 000006000000000000000000000000 VALEDICTORY 000000000000000000000000000000 000000 000000 Members of School Committee, Supt. of Schools, Teachers, Parents, Cnssmates, Friends: ' On an occasion such as this it is natural for us to look not only over the past, but also into the future. It behooves us not only to congratulate ourselves on the advantages that have been ours, but to ask ourselves where and how we are going to put them to use. There are still too many who enter the arena of life with only a mearer knowledge of what will confront the1ng who are ignorant of the weapons they bear and unacquainted with the obstacles in their pathway. Four of the most important things which help to overcome these cb- stacles are: Character, Scholarship, Leadership and Service. Character is in truth, what a person really is. Few people are fully rounded char- acters. Some rise to dizzy heights in some lines while they grovel in the dust in others. The world needs sane balance if it is to have the best char- acters in it. And how different men are. Some become afflicted with a swelled head and make no efforts to- wards self-improvement. This is a mania common to Sopho- mores and is called sophomoritis, but only in a few aggravated cases does it persist beyond a few years. The mental trend even then is at least hopeful. A greater menace to progress is the malady of magnifying your own weaknesses. Contact with others emphasizes the weak spots and folks get to brooding about them. That's all wrong. Common sense suggests attention to them. The wise man substitutes the ideal opposite for the weakness and strives to compel himself to realize the possibility of attaining it. 1t's a mark of weakness to yield to an obstacle. Foryremember it is the hard things that fit us to do the big things in life. The great men of the world are for the most part men of low estate. Goaded by poverty they have learned to make the most of oppor- tunities. When such men get a chance there is nothing that can hold them back. Adversity is the ink in which they write narnes that endure while nanes more lightly inscribed perish. It is a law of nature that struggle makes men strong. There is no good stopping place of weak resistance if you once begin to decline and follow the course. l With the loss of self-respect you also lose mental and moral stamina. With these gone you are-just a con- venience to be uesd when neded. To be in demand you must be of the positive, constructive type that be- lieves in itself and is not afraid to look the world in the face. The definition of Scholarship is given as attainments in science and literature. It is said that Bacon considered

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16 THE RIVERSIDE for it, cut out and make it without assistance. The boys turn their at- tention to the caning of chair seats, mattress making, and the tuning of pianos. In the physical training of the blind, the system known as educa- tional gymnasticsu has been found productive of the best results. The gymnasium for their use is equipped the same as that of any other school and the pupils derive much benefit from it. The sightless student is not de- prived of the study of music. He willingly and gladly gives his full at- tention to this subject, which is in a thorough and well-graded course. The instruction of the deaf, dumb, and blind proceeds like the methods invented by Dr. Howe for the world- famous pupil, Helen Kellar, the first person thus afflicted who was ever taught the use of language. As soon as they have learned to use a sufficient number of words, they receive the same physical, manual and literary training as the other blind students, the only difference being the presence of a special teacher for each pupil. Their education begins with the con- struction of several articles, to which are attached cards bearing, in raised letters, the names of the articles. In this manner they become familiar with objects that surround them. The teachers converse with their pupils by making the letters of each word in the child's hand. Thatany blind child should be de- prived of the manifold advantages of such a home by reason of the lack of money seems heartless. The school for the blind is the first step in the direc- tion of making useful members of so- ciety who might remain so long un- aided that the best possibilities' of their lives would be permanently blunted or destroyed. The difference betv een the neglected and the edu- cated sightness student is almost in- credibly great. While one goes through life like an unkept creature, the other, gladdened by the warmth of knowledge and fitted for perform- ing duties and general usefulness, takes his position in society and en- joys the privileges and fulfills the obligation of citizenship. The blind man who possesses a spirit of independence and is an earnest seeker after knowledge can- not be considered by any one asan object of charity. In bringing this essay to a close it must be added that the blind have availed thmselves of the advantages offered by the schools and have proved that in the stream of life, they are not mere straws, thrown upon the water to mark the direction of the current, but that they have within themselves the power of strong swim- mers, and are capable of striking out for themselves, of struggling with the waves, and directing their own independent course to some extent. Thus, they have furnished a remark- able illustration of what may be af- fected by the energetic development and exercises of faculties, the germs of which are in every human heart. MILDRED A. MCDONOUGH.

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18 THE RIVERSIDE all education his province. The sciences of today are so many and complex that a Baconian view is no longer possible. From this realization several attempts have come to co- ordinate the sciences and permit a urifying view of the whole. If we pause to state clearly the case against the standardization of education the absurdity of it is very plain. There are, however, reasons for attempting this hopeless task. One of the chief causes is human optimism which leads us to think that any desirable thing is possible. lt is obvious we could proceed along cetain lines to an entirely new system of thought and scholarship. But these new lines are as yet only vague ideas to us. Once we attain the point of view the plan will de- velope into a philosophy helpful in solving our most difficult problems. The next great word we shall con- sider is 'fLeadership, which is per- haps best illustrated by General Ulysses S. Grant. When the civil war broke out in 1861, U. S. Grant was thirty-nine years of age. He hastily uniformed and drilled a volunteer company from Galena, and presented it to the gov- ernment. For some time he was clerk in the adjutant-general's office at Springfield. But his knowledge of military affairs caused him to be pro- moted until his highest ambition had been realizedg he had been named the General of the Union forces. It has been said of him that He always gave his commands in a low, pene- trating voice, thus revealing his power and the trust his men had in him. His presidential term was marked by great achievements. Al- though, because of reconstruction in the South, Grant had many difiicult problems to solve, he slowly and sure- ly restored order. Had he not been well adapted to Leadership this country might today have been in ruins. Few men are better examples of Service than Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt was a man of ex- traordinary powers and, to tho-se who knew him well and understood him, a man of most attractive character and qualities. Doubtless he was sometimes gravely misunderstood, his mental processes were so abnormally rapid that he often seemed to act with little or no reflection, although he had in fact, considered the question at issue most thoroughly and conscient- iously. He was of great Service to his country in. several ways. It is in great part to him that we owe the success of our fleets in the war with Spain, for he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy and it was a great pleasure to him to promote the efficiency of the navy by his energy, eminent talents for administration, and fervent patriotism. As a president of the United States he served faithfully and well, and his efforts were steadfast and untiring to do all in his power to make a better Union. To Parents and Friends: We wish to extend to you our sincere thanks