Student Activities

The Church Schools. Student Activities.* BY W. W. HENDERSON. Student activities may be defined as the activities which the student indulges in outside his regular class work. These activi- ties are not generally considered necessary to graduation. The student may graduate with honors and never have taken any part in the activities of the school. They are optional in most of our schools; the student generally suits his own tastes in regard to them. Athletics, debates, musicales, contests of various kinds, and student societies, may be cited as examples of student activi- ties. Student activities are constantly growing into greater import- ance. Nearly everybody in the schools, and the majority outside, believe in them. Occasionally a teacher is found who opposes them, because heobjects to excessive indulgence, evidently believ- ing that the activities cannot be properly regulated. But we all discountenance excessive indulgence, and believe that the activi- ties can, and should be regulated to prevent it. A few students oppose, or are indifferent toward, them because they think they cannot afford the time. They want every minute to grind at their books. They have not learned the truth that engaging in student activities is the sharpening of the mental tools which will then cut smoother, easier, and more in the long run. Some par- ents object to the activities. They say, "If a student needs action, let him chop wood," and we are compelled to answer that there is no wood to chop and no corn-fields to hoe, in the crowded cities where most of our schools are located. The modern conveniences of city life have worked the student out of employment, and act- ivities should therefore be provided by the schools. Some will assert that the text-book and the class room furnish enough pass- time for the student, but they greatly overestimate the power of the school. The school does not meet every need of the student *Read at the Teachers Convention, Salt Lake City, June 5-9, 1911.

150 IMPROVEMENT ERA quite so thoroughly as the patent medicine claims to be a universal cure-all. Some parents dislike the activities on the grounds that they are expensive; a gymnasium suit may be necessary, or an occasional twenty-five cents for the game. A parent recently denied his son graduation, because the diploma fee was one dollar. These objections are not general, and most will agree that they are of very little consequence. The student gains many advantages out of engaging in the activities at school. Thorough and systematic exercise is now considered to be a necessity. One's good health is fostered by it. President Eliot has recently stated that the substantial vigor which he enjoys in his old age is largely due to his life-long practice in indulging in regular and frequent exercise. Over forty per cent of the human mechanism is muscular; and it is like many other machines, in that, inactivity is more destructive to it than proper use. Inactiv- ity corrupts more than labor wears, and the active body is always sound and efficient. Stagnant lymph is as depressing to the cells of the body as is a stagnant swamp to a city located in it. Vigorous exercise sets up a rushing blood flow, and the rushing blood stream is as refreshing as a mountain torrent or a canyon breeze. Physical exercise also increases mental efficiency. Ability to think well depends on bodily vigor. No mind can be clear and capable of real substantial thought unless the body is in a sound physical condition. Abuse of the body will actually bring on a lack of mind-control, and good care will certainly have an opposite effect. Recent experiments have proved the necessity for inducing frequent muscular fatigue in order to give the mind a period of substantial rest during sleep, which is followed by greatly increased ability to do mental work. Student activities provide an opportunity for the student to be practical. Not in the sense of bread-earning, but in giving him a chance to show, and to properly cultivate, his individuality. It is here that he can show how his education influences his way of doing things. The class soon brings out the student's manner of doing school work; the activity will show how he converses, plays, opposes, contests, and behaves, when he has a period of re- laxation. If he is witty, or quick-tempered, or composed, these things show themselves, and in the properly guarded activities the bad may often be removed by the good.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 151 Some boarding schools have been justly criticized because they never provide a time when the student gets a chance to show his individuality. He is called from his bed at a certain hour in the morning, must act according to definitely prescribed rules until breakfast, and is then rushed into his classes for a definite length of time. When school hours are over, his afternoons and evenings are definitely prescribed, and at the same hour of night everyone is rushed into bed. The critical question comes, "When does the student act for himself." In the student activities of our schools, he has a chance to act for himself. We seldom know just what a student is until we see him act for himself. One student completely surprised every member of the faculty when his leading characteristics were brought to light for the first time, in the senior class exercises, the night before his graduation. He had never shown himself before. He had never taken part in the student activities. Student activities promote and encourage self-confidence, which is one of the chief essentials to success. We are usually not much more nor much less than we think we are. Self-esteem is a necessary possession. Students lack self-confidence. They are be- wildered and confused when before the eye of the public, or student body. Many fail to do themselves justice even before their classes. They need to get before the masses more, to wear away the em- barrasment and build up self-reliance. When a student for the first time takes the platform before a large audience to debate, he sees the multitudes looking at him, and usually discovers, and apparently for the first time, that he has two superfluous hands, and he spends his full time in trying to find a place for these hands. They are thrust into and out of his pockets; they fumble at his watch-fob, roll up the bottom of his coat, fold and unfold the paper he is holding, and swing at his sides, until his knees smite together in sympathy. His anguish is intense; he does not know what he says; \ he looses the debate. Every person with any sense of modesty, whatever, possesses this same weakness in some degree. It is overcome only with practice. The debates, oratorical and ideclamation contests, speeches before the student masses, etc., give the student a much needed practice which cultivates ease, grace, readiness and ability to express himself in public. Student activities often awaken the interest of the student.

152 IMPROVEMENT ERA Arousing interest in attending school is one of our primary objects. It is for this purpose that we advertise. Boys and girls are not always attracted by the more substantial elements of a school. Two boys were arguing the relative merits of two schools; one maintained that one school was better, because the basket-ball team won the championship; the other held that the other school was better, because the student paper had the funniest jokes in it. The announcement that a certain school was to have a new gym- nasium did wonders toward making a substantial increase in attend- ance, while there was no noticeable increase beyond the ordinary, in another school, which announced a new building to be devoted entirely to class work. One of the main things which attracted me to college was the swinging apparatus which I saw in use at a well- equipped gymnasium. Once in, there is a good chance of awaken- ing in the student a desire to get an education. Schools which circulate the book of views are always liberal in showing pictures of student activities. The winning team, the athlete in the act of scoring a point, the celebration with banners flying, the military band in uniform, etc., make up a large part of the subjects for the view-book. The schools have learned that this kind of advertising is attractive, and brings more students to school than a picture, for example, of the bench on which a student sits while he takes his final examination in Latin. Having shown the value of student activities, in increasing physical and mental efficiency, in the cultivation of his ability to be practical, promoting self-confidence and arousing the interest of the boys and girls in attending school, we may now proceed to enumerate some of the advantages which the school itself derives from these activities. They furnish one of the means of free advertising open to the school. It is a difficult task to get the work of our schools before the public through the daily press. The schools cannot afford to go into the paper every day with a large square, equal to that of some business firm; and still, it does seem as important that our schools be kept before the public, at least as well as the business of any merchant. The press might even be a little more generous, in this connection. It is often difficult to get our school notes in the paper, for it is claimed that many of them advertise the school, and must therefore be paid for, or cut out. Many good things which transpire daily at every school are not considered to be as

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 153 important as the associated press dispatch that a motorcyclist colided with a telephone pole in New Orleans, and many other far-distant and unimportant events to be found daily in our pa- pers, which have absolutely no relation to our interests.* There is always a substantial public and press interest in student activities, especially in athletics. This is indicated by the fact that every news-paper of importance in the state has a sport- ing page; and it might be remarked, in passing, that not one has an educational page. If the school goes into print at all, it is more often through the sporting columns. There is always a reporter at the game, and the managing editor will often give a prominent place on the first page to the write-up. This is our opportunity to bring our schools before the public without charge. Student activities beget loyalty for the school. The student is aroused in his feelings when he sees his school in contest with another. The game brings out his support. He feels more strong- ly, then, than at any other time. This is the time when the songs arejin order, and the cheers and yells come out spontaneously. He^ gives his nine rahs, blows his trumpets, waves his flags, and declares he will fight or die for the school. Such loyalty is never broughtjDut except through the student activities. This gets the public curious and interested. The people come out and join in the glee and enthusiasm of the student. They declare the school to be better than any other, and they get a confidence in and enthusiasm for it. Gifts begin to come, in con- sequence; we have heard this year of several business houses in the state giving sweaters, robes, trophies, etc., to the school-team winning the championship. This is our opportunity to secure a loyal public. A well-known newspaper of the state came out last fall with an editorial in praise of the work of the foot-ball team. The editor really seemed enraptured, and in strong terms pointed out how the *It is only fair to our newspapers to say that some school items are not published, simply because they are not written up in news- paper fashion. A news item should be written up as a news item, not as an advertisement which has to be paid for. Newspapers are anxious to get the news — all the news. But they want news written as news, not as mere boosts. Let the schools study the special art of newspaper-writing, and few of their happenings will be turned down. — The Editor.

154 IMPROVEMENT ERA team had shown that the school merits the confidence and support of the people. Not a single editorial bearing on education has appeared in that same paper since the close of the foot-ball season. Student activities should include physical activities, and men- tal activities. The physical activities should include gymnasium work — marching, stepping, arm, leg, bending, and dancing exer- cises. These have the advantage of being inexpensive, as they can be done without apparatus. They teach the necessity for instant obedience to commands, and train the ear to interpret and put into action quickly. Grace and ease of posture and carriage are secured, also, besides all the good that is done the organs of the body through physical exercise. Apparatus like wands, Indian-clubs, and dumb-bells should also be made use of, in connection with the arm exercises. They aid in making the movements more steady; and, since they add weight, also give strength. Heavier apparatus work has supreme advantages also, but it is not the duty of this paper to discuss these in detail. Games of various kinds, especially tennis, hand-ball, and basket-ball, make excellent indoor activities. The merits of these are no doubt evident. Field work is very commendable; this has the advantage of being done out of doors where there is plenty of fresh air. Fall and spring should see plenty of outside activities. Baseball, basket-ball, tennis, and golf, are good games; and, in its revised and improved form, it is possible that foot-ball should be added to the list. Foot-ball is pre-eminently a fall sport. Baseball will not do; it is not appropriate for fall. The boys must have some kind of activity, for most have been used to hard work all summer; and the school needs the loyalty, the support and the advertising that it can get through foot-ball, in the fall. The small danger to life and limb characteristic of it has been reduced almost to the vanishing point, and it does seem that foot-ball might well be established again in the Church schools. Boys like it; it makes them heroic and manly. Mental activities should include declamation, oratory, debates and musicales, for reasons given earlier in this paper. It is not so certain that the opera should exist. On this point there is a divi- sion which seems to have about an equal number of followers on each side. Excellent results have been brought about by the opera,

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 155 and students have been known to fail in their regular work because of it. It may be said that the student will not lose any more from the regular work than he gains from the special—the opera, but it will be found that interest lost in regular work is not often regained even after the opera is over. Certain societies might well be organized. The student body organization is a good one. It establishes unity in the student body, and gives an opportunity to act together on many matters pertaining to other activities. Class organizations should be effected for the same reasons. An occasional meeting of the class does much towTard giving the students practice in parliamentary procedure, and helps to form a determination to stay together until graduation. The fraternity should have no place in the schools. It has recently been banished from the whole system of Chicago schools, because of the low grades of the students who belong in them. Ex- President Eliot, of Harvard, and President Shurman, of Cornell, have spoken strongly against the fraternity, for the same reasons, and also because the fraternities have not shown that they are doing any good. It is largely on this account that I think frater- nities, and secret societies, should be kept out of our schools. It should be understood that the student activities be well regulated and carefully guarded. It is possible that some students would spend all their time in the activities and never do anything else. These should not only be limited in quantity, but others should be induced to enter. Necessity for exercise, opportunity to be practical, needed interest in attending school, promotion of confidence, necessity for getting the school before the public, arousing interest and loyal- ty on the part of the people, and many other good reasons make it imperative that every school indulge freely in good, clean, well- regulated physical and mental student activities. The Standard Oil Company, in obedience to the recent court decision . began September 1 to distribute among its stockholders the shares of the 33 subsidiary corporations making up the oil trust. It is expected that by December 1 the distribution will be completed.