Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1907-05-31
Commencement as Joy and De-
Iiqht.

q Commencement as a 10y and De
r light.
A commencement is good deal lii
a wedding. The participants lake
much more seriously than the spect,
tors. The principal may have MOI
Authority in determining the form tha
the minister has, but if he thinks it
he the people come to see, be ought t
send out questionable. | go to tn
wedding to see the bride and the maid
OF honor; so do you.
The main thing about graduating
exercises is the graduates. The peopl
don't want to hear long speeches OF
educational topics; they do not go t.
graduation exercises to hear Ions
speeches on any topic; they want tt
zee pretty young girls in white gowns
and fresh young boys dressed in theil
best; they want to hear the youthful
voices speaking and singing; they want
t clap their hands at them. So do
you; SO do |. Commencement day
III axes us all renew our youth. No
boiy fools us with the teachers essay
rea by the girls with tremor in her
voice. We know those dear old peri
Odic sentences. Did We not get them
ourselves from Miss Smith in the Bell
town Academy in rs, and roll them
out at the evergreen palma non sine
p llvere tackled up high at the other
end of the hall ? When Harold Nc
Grath shall step to the front of the
stage ON the 23d of next June and with
a dry voice and how-didI I-come-here
expression proceed to burst the trusts.
d. you think bis audience would be
better pleased even with Mr.. ROose
velt on that particular occasion2 Go
to. Does not every man in that au
dieDce live once again bis dear old youth
in Harold McGrath, feeling again the
shaking of the knees, the pinchlng of
thu collar, and the mysterious disap-
pearances of all those sources of mois-
ture that ordinarily keep the tongue
fabricated? The joy of commence.
ment day lies deeper in the heart than
any pedagogical ratiOcinatiOn of yours
or mine can reason away. They want
it. They want the white dresses; they
want the flowers. but most of all they
want, not the distinguished speaker,
but the boys and the girls. especially
the girls.
What to do? Schoolmaster like shall
we disregard the popular appetite and
bring out cold, cnaste, intellectual
service "abolishlng in totC." as a writ
er in the Educational Reviews recon-
mends, every Idea of entertainment,
diversion, display, or exhibition ?''-
8 lall We substitute "a public discus
sion of educational subjects of current
INTEREST,"" DO you really think it
would bring your scnOol closer to your
people or arouse a deeper interest in
education?
Why not take the commencement
spirit as you find it and use that as
as you can, to advance the
good things you stand for The peo-
pie want to see the children perform.
Tnen use as many children as you can.
Give them chorus singing; give them
physical training; give them flag
give them recitations. singIy
and in concert.
The most inspiring graduating ex-
ercises ever saw was presented by
twenty-eight bright teachers in New
York last June. They employed over
six hundred girls in the production.
Every feature of school life was pre-
sented on the stage; algebra, cooking,
geometry, physical training. type
his tory, ETC., one set of girls !
coming forward on the heels of an
other set without moments hesita-
tiOn. so that in one hour, sitting In |
your seat, you had gone thru the en-.
tire course of study of the school and |
had seen some work of every kind of |
class. The preparation of this program
Was as simple as it seems elaborate. A |
chairwoman designated the subjects
and the girls to each of the sub-com-
mittees. "Think up way to interest |
the audience for three minutes with
z geometry," she said to one; to an
other, present chemistry in three
minutes. Now you can see that the
amount of rehearsal for an affair that
IS to last three minutes cannot by any
exercise of ingenuity be made irksome |
NJ Y lady of the German and Mad am of |
the French were working entirely in
dependent of each other and of every |
one. They called their girls together
and said. "Think. Think of some
bright way to suggest French to the
audience on commencement night. -
By and by one girl would have an
idea; this would provoke another. |
They would try the different sugges-
tions. At last they hit upon what they
thought would go. Then they all had |
one rehearsal together about 2 weeks |
before the close of term. The general
mana ger, seeing the affair in it's COM
pleteness. was able to make sugges.
tions here and there. The only other
rehearsal was a rapid one the day be-
fore the event, cutting out all except
the opening and the closing of each
of the % parts That was a great dis
covery. In fifteen minutes you can
nearse the whole thing if you make
each group practice only it's entrance
and its exit. Ihpv can narfact tho imam