1972 School Magazine

il"" JlLogorin. "f ilr. ,$ri'lor. Qirl" Qro*rno, S'lrool DIDTTORTAI, Education is the growth of the whole mtn. No one man is ever the same from one moment to the next. He is constantly changin his one self emerging indistinguishably into another as he moves from sphere to sphet Yet the whole man is a fusion of all the many and varied selves, all the spheres. Educatic is, then, a lift process. It is not, perhaps, until one reaches secondary school that one first gains son awareness as to what education is. Ilhat has once seemed a rather grand nnme for scho work grows. in dimension till one discovers that education is the seeking and finding , oneself, one's relationship to society. It is the search fot the future as well as the presen for basic princtples on which to build. One learns that education is the individw, responsibility. But knowledge of this part alone is not enough. Duing the fiue years of secondary school life we must make that initial and conscio; commitment to ourseh)es, to our education. I do not mean that we must devote evei waking hair to books, and lessons, although this is a vital part. What I mean is that 'v must leam to stand outside oursetves, so see ourselves, the people with whom we mu Eve, the sittmtions in which we find ourselves from an obiective point of view. lile mu learn to reason emotions, but not to see in terms of hard, cold facts. lle must learn take ourselves seriously, to examine our thoughts and emotions, but not to be so seio' as to see our lives on the scale of the great Shakespeaian tragedies. l|e must leam , grasp at opportunities offered us, to make our own opportunities where they are n, offered. l|^e must leam to apply ourselves, to accept the fact thtt there are tasks as well pleaswes dnd deny ourselves neither. lile must find the delicate balance between too litl and too much. This five years is a vital period, the link bet'vveen one world and another, for the chi catmot always remain a child. He must grow. He must undergo the violent metamorphot which will give him the wings to fly, a direction to follow. This five years is, then, t) time of testing of those wings finding that path. Iile are not the puppets of genetical inheritance, of environmental influences. lle a not lumps of moudable clay to be kneaded, pummelled into shape by the whim , desbe of other people, happenings or events. {Ue are unique creatures, the total selfbeir much more than the turn of the parts. Altemately, we must leam that we are the fiwste of our own fate, that we have the right to decide that fate. lle have the ight to he decisians that affect our lives, to hear the reasons behind those decisions, to quesfir their validity, We hove the right to have our questions heard, our opinions considere valued at their worth. Education begins with the conception of conscience, so that on by thinking, by questioning, by caring can we grow. We must leam to commit ourselve to people, to ideas, for W without commitment is not lift at all, but merely formle meaningless existence of a stunted and sterile ego. These are our five years, our lives. lle must commit ourselves to them. B.I