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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-01-30, Page 3`.The lyingbarp Advance- Talent idva Q • • IT LOOKS EASY but it takes a lot of practice for Andy Heim, 14, of Madill, as he works on the horse vault in prepa- ration for the gymastic meet. FINAL MARKDOWN A�2 READIMAN CLEANERS AND MEN'S WEAR WiNGHAm IT WAS STANDING, or rather squatting, room only in the Madill gym as students crowded to enjoy the Winter Carni- val talent contest. Parting thoughts of a graduate It's rather peculiar to realize that it's finally over. Thirteen years of my life have been neatly packaged away in report cards and IQ results, in secret records or some sort of summation of what a lot of people think I am (or am not), to be used at some fu- ture date like a second class credit rating agency. And !hat's it! I don't know what kind of sensation I am supposed to ex- perience at this point ; there is no jubilation, it is too soon for real relief. What is present is a vague sense of bitterness, disillusion- ment; and loss — loss in some way of the last five years of my life.. I had expected something marvellous to occur in high school I don't ' know txactl Survey of School Beginners for September .1975 ln.Huron County... If you are a parent of a child born in the year 1970, we would like to request that you complete this lform. Please return it by February 14, 1975 to: HURON COUNTY HEALTH UNIT Court House Goderich, Ontario (Clip out and mail this) • i CHILD'S FULL NAME • • ADDRESS • • 1 r• + SN FATHER PARENTS OR GUARDIANS • i 1 • DATE OF BIRTH .: • PHONE NO. FAMILY_DOCIOR • SEPARATE SCHOOL CHILD WILL ATTEND • • .• •PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILD WILL ATTEND • 1 • 1 MOTHER • • T on 'wha el " (although I may be one of the few who can identify the feeling) . I have acquired a deep sense of disillusionment about the educa- tional system, if it can be called that. For the most part, I found, it's not what one studies that is important. Courses of study are peripheral to the real ideas being taught — the perpetuation of middle class, last generation values, and styles of living. If a student doesn't remember any- thing about ° Biology,. or Chemis- try or Latin or Geography after high school, that isn't important.. What is important is that he .re- mem'bers to stand in straight lines, be clean, and dress accdrd- ing to code, ;and not bother any- one too much or criticize the sac - red cows of his society. It is important also that, if he is in Grade 13, he go. to university, study nothing in particular, and -get a B. A. so that he can have a good job with two cars and a big house. (I sometimes wonder if one of the reasons that the Four- year students are treated with some condescension is because they can't perpetuate the myth that far -- that is, go to college!) What is not important? No stress is put upon finding oneself in high school. Involvement is only encouraged in certain areas — usually good, clean, non-parti- san athletics. Learning by doing doesn't seem very popular either. Heaven forbid, finally that a stu- dent think for himself — he thinks . what the teacher wants him to , think, or he , doesn't get the markis,trmo'.•ii—P!tt. • tft , '\ '5; Marks? — ahh, now there is one of the greatest myths. You can't learn without marks, they en- courage self-discipline. provide motivation. B.S.! Strangely en- ough, I learned how to walk, talk and dress myself in my tender years and without marks. I learn- ed how to play the guitar myself, without marks. I learned how to write before I was five, without marks (and then was promptly told that I couldn't write in Grade 1!) . Motivation? The only thing that marks and grading encourages is cheating, and every `good' high school stu- dent has probably done it in his time to make sure he •made the grade necessary to go to college. Marks? Gerry Farber once wrote that if we were graded in sex, the entire human race would prob- ably die out. Think about that. The tragic thing about it all is that there are very few students that ever fit perfectly into this system. Some are "misfits" or "rebels", others drop out, . suit - others live precariously on tran- quilizers. Most tragic are those who resign themselves to it all and don't really care at all. Per- haps the majority are in the last category — perhaps this is the source from which apathy stems. And, of course, the most ludi- crous paradox of all is, that in an educational system, the students have the least priority, followed by the teachers. - There has to be hope — that is the onlyanswer I can find to it all. There are good teachers, re- sponsible and dedicated. And there are students who are the same. I believe that it is the re- sponsibility of teachers to be dedicated instead of securely doing just their jobs, and of stn= dents to be involved in the educa- tional process instead of being the pawns of the educational sys- tem. It is necessary that these two groups complement each other, work together instead of being antagonistic. I believe that it can be done. Already I can hear the people accusing me of being negative or of being idealistic. I offer no de- fense. I've been here for five years. I only know what I've ex„ perienced. Kathi Kreuter Perception Bag, June 1971, STARTING NEXT WEEK MADILL JUNIOR GIRLS battle the Exeter volleyball team in the first game of the Huron Talent On Thursday afternoon, the. Winter Carnival Talent Contest was held in the gymnasium. "The contest got liner way v4th a great beginning, Owing to mum; Popularity, the. Grade 13 mixed choir harmoniously sang two spirited songs, "Blown in rhe Wind", and "Ain't She Sweet ! ". The costumed `girls' who helped the choir were Keith, Raymond. Doug Corrin and Steve Caslick. These people wore extremely re- vealing dresses, and displayed shapely legs, with just the right touch of lipstick. Special thanks goes to these girls (or guys)! The next act was presented by the Drama 301 class. It depicted a hillbilly band and their barn dance. It was complete with r straw hats, rolled -up jeans and stringed instruments. They sang "Stop Kickin' My Holl nd Dog Around". Two Snow Queen contestants provided the next,act. Karen Cur- rah and Irene Parker, both in costumes, performed a delightful little number quite well. Irene played the part of a plump motherly person who, when she turned her back, lost her baby down the sink -drain. Both girls sang while they performed. The Drama 401 class supplied much humor with their comedy act. Their play was a rehearsal of "Daddy's Dead", depicting the five different ways one could pre- sent the play to an audience. Another w conteok tant, Annette 1 u ,moi pleasing song entitled Bird', Fran Exel, another"chiefill testaat,coStUMed in a little; i'' dress with large1011i► in hand, pertor med ail appealing number. r.She sang an. old f rvo rite,. 'Wo,,, Much Isthat;^Dogg . Window? '. The doggy was large pink -stuffed dog barking was provided by Francis Mahe. A piano solo constituted the next act. Ansley Currie, a Queen contestant, played The theme from "Love Story".: The contestants from the Snow Kind Contest performed the last three numbers. Rod Renwiekv complete with a cowboy hat, boots and a guitar., Impersonated Stompin' Tom, The audience, splitting with laughter* joined .in with handclapping as Rod sang and stomped. Rick McGlynn Por- trayed Tiny Time as he' "tiikew flowers and sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". The last number of the contest was quite n" humorous. Dave Hartin gave various imitations of several famous people such as Paul Lynde, Johnny Carson, Jimmy' Stewart and Phonsie from 'Hap. py Days'. The winners of this contest, have not been announced as yet so will be, punished next week. tr'' Letter to the Editor GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL There was n volleyball tourna- ment at F. E. Madill SS on Janu- ary 23. Four other schools parti- cipated: Exeter, Goderich, Clin- ton and Seaftirth. The seniors played Exeter, winning 15-5 and 15-10. Their sec- ond game, against Gode `rich, also resulted in a victory With scores of 15-12,16-14 and 15-11. All games played were very close. The juniors .played their first game against Exeter: Exeter won this match with scores of 15- 13 and 15-11. Wingham's second game, against Goderich, was a victory with seores of 17-15, 15-11 and 15-11. —by Mary Anne Alton 0-8—'0 BOYS' BASKETBALL Madill vs, Seaforth Seniors:.The Senior Mustangs played a strong game against the Seaforth Golden Bears. In the last few minutes of the game the score was very close: Although the Mustangs played a very tight game at the end, the Golden Bears defeated the Mustangs 58- 54. Top scorers for the Mustangs were Ray Nicholson, 14 points, and Bruce Jermyn with 12 points. Juniors:. The Junior Mustangs had a good first half, unfortun- ately the Golden Bears came back in the second haf to defeat the Mustangs 52 to 41. Top scor ers were Paul Dickson and Greg Simpell with 14 points each. Midgets: The Mustangs had a very good game. They tied 19 to 19 with the Seaforth Golden Bears. Top scorers are David, Douglas with 8 °points and Tom Callahan with 4 points. 0-0-0 STUDENT -TEACHER"''"' BROOMBALL GAME - Wednesday, January 22, mark- ed another exciting day in the F. E. Madill winter carnival. Class- es were shortened to 17 -minute periods, so that there would be a 1:00 p.m. dismissal. Then at 1:30 p.m., all the students, as well as the teachers; assembled at the Wingham arena to view the excit- ing annual teacher -student broomball game. And what a game it was! Both the students and the teachers put up a good fight, so good that the game al- most ended with no scoring on either side. But of course, the stu- dents, who we really knew would win in the first place, scored in the last five seconds of the third period. Student John Henderson scored the winninggoal. Throughout this thrilling and thoroughly - enjoyable njoyable- gamer the ent`husi`astic fans were a great support. And speaking of sup- porters, some very energetic and lively cheerleaders were present to lead the fans on. These cheerleaders also dis- played their talents with a half- time show, while the players had a rest. Their unique outfits as well as their comical movements drew a lot of attention. Following the game, students and teachers of the school were given the opportunity to enjoy ars afternoon of free skating. And so, Wednesday was quite an eventful day at F. E. Madill. Dawson City, transfer point for the 40,000 people who poured into the Klondike gold rush, was narned for Dr. George Mercer Dawson, a Canadian government Dear Editor. As I sit in my cluttered room at residence I muse over the article written by the not -too -anonymous author about Herman Schwarz. It seems to me that Herman is speaking a great deal of truth. It saddens me to seg some students at F. E. Madill accept their e ds- tence and the school's existence so nonchalantly. Grade thirteen for me was a climax for all of my school years. They were good years filled with memories of the drama club, creative writing club, effective . speaking, Canadian Lit. class, Tuck Shop, school dances, Foot- ball games, etc. and the beautiful people who were my classmates and teachers. I dearly miss those people and activities now. . The last year of high school goes so fast and before youyknow it a a're say.i a `farewell speech at your gracjuatiion ban- quet, wondering where yesterday disappeared to. In Grade thir- teen, in September, I made a ter- n rible mistake -when I wrote in my notebook, "I wish it were the 'last day of school." That act ..`of'.', foolishness was deeply regretted in June and lamented over ''the first days of -university:'• Don't let your school years slip by without trying to reach -out and grasp all of the wonderful exp periences Madill has to offer, Sure, sometimes , it is rough going, but is life. that ,eaey? Det involved and boon to all the good times there to have. Life is too short to stagger around ina drunken daze at a dance and ends too quickly to just sit back and watch others and complain. What I'm really saying is that Madill is a great school. Don't let your school years slip' by unnotic- ed. . To my teachers who let 'me be ' their friend, to' people like Her- man Schwarz and to my fellow classmates: thanks so very much for those beautiful memories. Grad. 73-74 -Kate Pattison Referee McLennan makes a call on the play in ttie student - teacher broombalI game. KEVIN STUART, 17, of Madill tries m difficult pose as he