Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-09-08
IMPRESSIVE EXER C|SES MARK
OPENING JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
DR.. LITTLE PRINCIPAL SPEAKER

The New Junior High school was
formally opened to the citizens of
Waterville yesterday afternoon and
evening. Starting at o'clock In
| the evening exercises were held in
the auditorium of the new building
Inc principal speaker of the even
ing was DR.. Clarence O. Little.
president of the University of Maine.
DIR. Augustus o. Thomas, state su-
perintendent of schools was the
guest of the city and gave a short
address Both DR.. Little and DR..
| Thomas congratulated Mayor Leon
o. Tebbetts and the citizens of Wat
crville on the erection of such a
magnificent school building.
The exercises We're opend by Mayor
Leon .. Tebbetts who was chairman
of the evenig. The mayor called on
| Rev. r. A. Pollard Jones. pastor of
| the Methodist church to offer prayer.
| Drews orchestra played a selection
and then John f. Choase sang a bass
= solo which was encored. NIayor Teb-
belts introduced President Little as
| a young man who since his coming
to the state of Maine has excrted a
great influence for the good and one
one whom the committee in charge
! of the exercises was exceedingly
|
| for the occasion.
DR.. Little at the very beginning of
| his address said 81 want to con-
all of you who have put money or
! effort into this beautiful monu-
ment. this magnificent building"
| I'VE are apt to thing of this build
ing as school," said the speaker,
| but it is not school but an OPP
portunity. The school is not the
| building of the boy or girl but it is
! what goes on inside of their heads.
Book learning is not education for a
person may quote pages of facts
without being educated. The educat-
ed person is the one who has learned
| how to shape human effort and use
it conveniently just as we use a
hairbrush or a toothbrush. A per-
son who has never seen a college
may be better educated, than one
| who has received a doctors degree
in one of the largest institutions of
learning"
DR.. Little declared that education
was made up of important parts that
! one would not always think of as i'm
portant but which are vitality impor-
tant. The first one he mentioned was
competition. He spoke of the compe-
tition of youth in games and sports.
He said that the person who did not
try to compete did not get ahead. The
doctor urged healthy competition. but
not necessarily physical competition.
You never heard of Colby Bates
and Maine competing in an essay con-
test on the subject of Community Bet
terment." affirmed DR.. Little. but that
is the kind of competition that ought
to be fostered"
Another part Of education that DR..
Little emphasized was recreation. He
said boys and girls take naturally TO
recreation. He explained recreation as
doing something different from the
regulation routine work. He said 1t
was not necessarily lying in boat
fishing for bass. but it might simply
mean reading good book or going out
for a walk in the woods.
DR.. Little referred to adaptability
as the cornerstone of education. He
said people have to adapt themselves
to physical surroundings in order to
live and in order to learn must adapt
themselves to mental surroundings.
He declared that the reason why young
people learn more quickly than older
people is because of their adaptability.
The speaker scored the colleges or
today for teaching students nothing
but how to increase their earning pow
or. He said this was not higher men
tally or morally, but only higher In
expense.
DR.. Little averred that there should
he no such thing as spare time. He
said no one should have any spare
time. If there should be any time
other than for work it should be for
recreation. He called the two words
! a nightly poor phrase.
The Doctor declared that practt-
cally every one of the SOO people
present at the exercises Will live 10
see a. great change in the amount
of discipline given young people. he
said that he did not like to be the
goat but he had started having more
discipline in the University or Maine
not because it was the worst college
hut one of the best. He said that
if he were president of some OF the
biggest institutions of learning of
the country he would feel like
throwing up the sponge and admit
ting defeat because conditions are
so deplorable. He stated that ne
believed that young people Will
really be grateful when this change
takes place.
In closing DIR. Little said: And
once again wish to congratulate
the people Of this city for the OPP
portunity that they have produced
that will live through generations.
Mayor Tebbetts next introduced
DR.. Thomas.
First off DR.. Thomas congratulat-
ed the citizens and the mayor on
| the achievement in building such
a wonderful building.
when your mayor came down to
Augusta with those plans for TINS
building, I knew that Waterville mad
a vision" declared DIR. THOMAS.
| "And this town having MAYOR SO
interested in education ought to pc
proud of him. (Applause.)
DR.. Thomas declared that the OPP
portunities produced by the erection
of such a school far overshadowed
| the money costs. He said that 1t
was a mark that showed the COM
munity had spirit and was progress
sive, During the latter part of his
| talk DIR. Thomas discussed the pres
ent school system and declared that
| II had improved greatly during the
past 20 years.
Those who sat on the stage at the
exercises were Augustus Carey, Mrs.
n \. Larsen. +. Harold Dubord, DR..
clarence C. Little, Mayor Leon Q. Teb-
hetts. Superintendent Augustus y.
Thomas and Rev. E. A. Pollard Jones.
A beautiful basket of gladiolas pre-
scented to the mayor by the contractor
Augustus Carey, sat on the PLATFORM.
and in the back part of the stage was
a fine new Edison phonograpn Win