Football days : $b memories of the game and of the men behind the ballEdwards, William H. (William Hanford)
General
Football days : $b memories of the game and of the men behind the ball
Edwards, William H. (William Hanford)
Football
I know that there are many football men who at different times in their
career have not always praised the work of the college professors, but
now that the games are over they probably look back affectionately to
the men who made them toe the mark, and by such earnestness helped them
through their college career.
It is undoubtedly true that the head masters and teachers in our
preparatory schools and colleges generally appreciate the importance of
developing the whole man, mental, moral and physical.
SCHOOLMASTER AND BOY
Indeed it is a wonderful privilege to work shoulder to shoulder with the
boys in our preparatory schools as well as in our colleges. At a recent
dinner I heard Doctor S. J. McPherson, of the Lawrenceville School,
place before an alumni gathering a sentiment, which I believe is the
sentiment of every worthy schoolmaster in our land.
"Schoolmasters have attractive work and they can find no end of fun in
it. I admit that in a boarding school they should be willing to spend
themselves, eight days in the week and twenty-five hours a day. But no
man goes far that keeps watching the clock. There may be good reasons
for long vacations, but I regard the summer vacation as usually a bore
for at least half the length of it.
"To be worth his salt, a schoolmaster must, of course, have
scholarship--the more the better. But that alone will never make him a
quickening teacher. He must be 'apt to teach,' and must lose himself in
his task if he is to transfuse his blood into the veins of boys. Above
all, he must be a real man and not a manikin, and he must enjoy his
boys--love them, without being quite conscious of the love, or at least
without harping on it.
"The ideal schoolmaster needs five special and spiritual senses: common
sense, the sense of justice, the sense of honor, the sense of youth and
the sense of humor. These five gifts are very useful in every worthy
occupation.
"Gentlemen, none of us schoolmasters has reached the ideal; however, we
reach after it. Nevertheless, we neither need, nor desire your pity. We
do not feel unimportant. Personally, I would not exchange jobs with the
richest or greatest among you. I like my own job. It really looks to me,
bigger and finer. I should rather have the right mold and put the right
stamp on a wholesome boy than to do any other thing. It counts more for
the world and is more nearly immortal. It is worth any man's life."
Another factor in the formation and development of college traditions
and college spirit is the influence of the men who shape the athletic
policy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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