SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS COLLEGE

REPORT OF PRINCIPAL TCJ BOAR]) GB' 1,!AlJAGE!ViENT

November 27, 1930

You.."l.g ..;1Vlen' s Ch ristian Association

Montreal, Canada..

•

SIR GEORGE Vi!LLIAMS COLLEGE

:REPORT OF :F'RINCIPAL TO BOABD OF MANAGEMENT

November 27, 1930

l. REGISTRATION:

The registration of 1075 students in the College, during a period

of depression su.ch as we ruwe experienced, is highly sD.tisfoctory.

Grv.mmo.r School High School Collego I Connnerciv.l

Toto.ls -

November 24, 1930

Registration 1930 1929

148 212 417 356

76 29 4Z7 512

1075 1109

It is interesting to note, t hat, whereas our registration has beon

advorsely affected, by t he dopression, in the Granunn.r School c.nd in

the unit Commercio.l Courses, that e. substantial incree.se in enrolment

has been achieved in the highe r curriculum programmes in the High School

and First Yenr College,

2. REGISTRATION IN COLLEGE I:

Special mention should be made of tho increase in students in the

First Year College course. (From 29 to 76).

registered as follows:

:B.achelor of Arts course 49 Ba chelor of Science " 18 Be.chclor of Commerce " 9

Those students are

It should be noted, in passing, that one of last yea r's students -

Miss Naomi Jackson, took first place at the Senior :Mn.triculation

Examination held by McGill University. In September Miss Jackson

won a competitive scholarship for entrance into t he second yea r of

Arts at McGill. This student took her entire course in the evenings

as she wus employed during the day.

The ages of the stu.dent s in t r,.is yee.r ' s class are r~s follown :

16 3 26 3 17 - 18 27 - 3 18 - 13 28 - 1 19 - 6 29 - 1 20 - 9 30 - 1 l,iedia.n Age 19.2 years 21 - 10 32 1 22 - 2 33 - 1 23 - 3 42 - 1

44 - 1

These students represent a very high level of nbili ty. Actual testa

disclose that the average ability of the cla ss is very much higher thnn

that of the average freshman class of the day college or university. This

should be expected, of course, for those who are determined t o secure their

education through evening study, while otherwise occupied during the a.ay,

naturally possess que.lities of character and intelligence to a greater

degree than the n.verngo of t ,10 gcmero.l popul(1,tion.

3. OCCUPATION OF NE\'! SPAC:E 1-LII D EQU~~:PMENT:

During the summer '-',nd fell .r.:0.w executive offices ruwe been completed, a

bookstore added,~ nurnbe r of new cl~ssrooms opened, and n chemistry-physics

laboratory built and equippe d.

:By next spring the College will be in possession of thirty classrooms, two

science laborntories, n science lecture room, and a general lecture hc.11 -

all with modern lighting and adequate ventilation..

A word should bo said concerning the provision, in the expansion progrannne,

of facilities f or the proper teaching of the sciences. It would be

difficult to over- emph~size the influence of the science work which will

now be possible upon the whole programme of our curricular schools. Over

f our hundred students , this year , are enrolled in sciGnce courses. We

look upon general science, chemistry, physics and l;Jiology , not as masses

of facts to bo acquired, but as avenues t o new worlds, infinite and teeming

with beauty.

4. :RETROSPECTION:

In view of the discussion which is to take pla ce this evening - regarding

the possible expansion of our college-gra de programme, it seems appropria te

that we should review, nt his time, the progress of our work during the

past six years. These few years have been n definite pha se in the history

of the educational work of the Young Men• s Christian Association of Montrenl.

It was at the beginning of th.is period that a decision wa s rea ched to under­

t c,ke the development of our work upon a curricular ba sis.

Six years ago our plant consisted of seven classrooms. Today we have the

plant which I hcve already described, e.nd which you hc.ve ~een personc.lly.

Our annua l enrolment has increc.sed from 400 to 1200. The e.verc,ge number

of hours attended by ~ student each yo~r he.s been incrensed about three

times - from sixty hour s per ,yoa r to one hundred nnd eighty hours per year.

Our work 1:1.t that time was r.. l most entirely voca tione.l in its empha sis,

opportunistic, and offered a s srne.11 unit courses. Tod.e..y we have a

co-ordinated progra.nune, organized in e, series of curricular schools, with

definite educational objectives.

Our sta ff consisted of ten persons. Today the sta ff consists of nea rly

fifty people - l'..dministra.tors, supervisors and tea chers. During this

period tho work has become a unit in the city-wide work of tM Associa tion

o.nd has taken a distinctive ne.me.

In looking at our six yea r panorama , we see that this structure of

organization, equipment and staff, serves merely a s a background throwing

into relief the more signi fic~.:..nt parts of the picture.

The picture is not c pe r f ec t one, it is true, but we derive comfort from

the fact t hat t he :pa. int i s net yet dry e.nd so may be worked and blended

into a more complete hc~rmony of color. Some of the neutral shade s need

more definite tone, and some bold dashes of color would be improved by

greying or softening into delicete pastel shades. At points a stronger

treatment is i:ieeded - vivid_ scarlets, purples, Md other hues from the

e·duco.tional spectrum a re necessary to the sht'.rpening of the definition.

The picture if~ completed. will not be a quiet pastoral, but n

composite portrQ.it - e vigorous contempornry treat ment pulso.ting in

complete hannony vlith life i n our pre sent civilization.

What, then, a re the points of intorest which hi:we be1:m developing

in th i s pano re.mo.?

1. Co~education

When the Bo~rd recommended, E.nd tho Mctropolitnn Bo0,rd sanctioned

co-education, they made one of the most significe.nt steps which hf:we been

me.de in the development of our educational progr nmme. In this d~y of

complete freedom between the sexes, of the almost complete cmancipo.tion

of women it seems utterly incongruous that in educntion the sexes should

be separated. In every phase of life there is complete commingling of

men c.nd women, boys and girls - in the home, church, business, industry,

society - Medievnlism, in this respect, persists only in the school.

In our own schools young tnen nncl women, boys nn.d girls, husbands

r.ncl wives, brothers c.ncl sisters:, fathers r,nct clnughtcrs, mothers and sons,

sit side by side - working together, enjoying together, learning to

approcinte, together.

2. Another interesting aspect of our picture - which takes the form of

a domiru:mt tone extending over its full area is our emphasis upon meeting

the particular needs of ecch individual.

Since the establishment five years ago of o. Dopnrtmcnt of Counselling

end Guidance, our work has experienced complete metamorphosis.

It is hardly correct to refer to this work o.s boing o. "depl'..rtmcmt",

Rather, it is a philosophy which d.omine.tes the whole work of the Co~lege.

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With t he C..cvo loprnent of s cientific metho ds in ec:uc::i.tion r.nd thG stntistica l

o·vr.i. luc.tion of educa tional a c~omplishments, wo must be ctoubly sure t.ho.t we

do not loso sight of t he ind.ivid.ual personality. While few woul~ wish

for the re-e stl'.blishIP.ent of t he "li ttl o r od. schoolhouse" with ,'.'..11 its

cruditfos, [cnd i mpos s ible :psychologica l mothocls, we must not lose the

vn.lues of tho finn c.ncl friendly h2.ncl on the shoulde r of the ;young pe r son,

o.s he fac e s the problems of ·the f utu re.

It is tho funct ion of this gui c°'..r'.nce c.nd counselling work to preserve

those valu e s. In cloing so it hc.s g iven n cer t ['..in C .. irnction to tho vnri ous

a spects of our programme . It hc."1. s influen ce c1.. our approc.ch in personal

interviews, the selection of t eachers , the organiza tion of our curricula,

the metho d s of grouping stuC:.ents, anc!. t h,i content of the va rious courses

of stucly .

Some resu lts of this n.ppr oach c1re:

a . Hum1..r oc'..s of i nte rviews bGfo r e and. during thG torm, by the staff, With stu dents 2..nC: others On :;,1robl em s Of CC'..u co.tionc.l, VOCD,tional, r.n G. pe rsonc,l r~dJustmen t.

b. A system of C .. e t a il e C. p0:rs0nncl recor ds, conta i n ing :

Forme r school re cord s Employment history Fa mily bnckgr ouncl Record of stu C:~ents ' spec i a l abil itie s

nnc' c.isl,b i l i tie s, B. s d.iscove ro cl Health record , es obt~inod St~t emont of students • inte r ests, h opes,

problems an'. plans. Record. of i nterviews hel d. with stuc.ent, etc.

c. An odent ation course, in t he fi rs t year o f the High Scho ol. Eeg innors in the Hi gh School a re r equired t o a ttend this cl a ss e~ch .woek for eight months. The course i n clude s :

i A perio c. of tra ining in effGctive rnethocls of study c.nd. the orglmization of time .

Students hant i n written sta tements of the ir p r e s ent motho cls of study 2.n d. c..e t a ilecl schec.ules showing the use of the ir time from rising in the mo rning to r e­tiring at night. Those n ro criticised. ~n c. the student is led to a u se of bettor study methods ~nd ~ more efficient organiza tion of time.

6.

ii A period spent in studying some prr.ctical aspects of psychology.

Ra te of reading is mea sured, vision tests are applied, tests for mechanical and other special abilities are administered, etc.

iii A period spent in a study of the topic "Choosing a Vocation".

Stua.ents are urged to choose an occupation upon an i ntelligent basis and are urged to consider t heir life-work as a means of making a contribut ion to society t hrough the best use of t heir abilities as well as a means of earning a living .

Typical occupations are studied syste~~tically from the points of view of social value, special ability and tra ining required, renunerat ion, hea l th, whether overc r ov,ded, et c.

d. !_sy st em of discovering individua l cases of mal adj~~G_El.!:_~~·

Teachers report in wr i ting, at t he close of each cla ss session, upon cases

which in t heir opinion need attent ion. Typical probl0ms a re those of

defective vision, l assitude, nervousness, malnutrition, anti-social

behavior, etc.

These cases e r e immedi ate ly investigated by tho Student Counsellor and

appropric, t o c:.ction t aken.

e. Tho selection of t eachers upon tho bnsis of t heir genuine inter e st in,

c.nd sympathetic a:pproe,ch to, t ho probl01~1s of ovcnin5 school students

f. Tho esi:_nblishmont of c. plr.n of g r~.t\ping students

Students t.r c placed i n g roup s, wit hin t he ir respective gre.dcs, e.ccord.ing

to their ego, ability, ~nd accomplishment in c cc.domic !Ik~ttor.

In this wo.y stud.ants find. themselve s in homogeneou s groups - with othe rs

nho l:4·wo r.bout t ho sc..r,10 c.bility and ['. TO n.b out t ho same age c,s themselve s.

Thoy fool hD,ppy in thi s situa tion E..nd c. ro stimulc.t od t o extend· t he ir best

effo rts.

3. Curriculum

Ono of tho most di f ficult problems in educa tion is t hc.t of d0voloping

adequnto courses of st udy . In our oYm situo.tion t ho difficulty of tho

sol oction of suitnbl o mntorinls is intensified by t he f ~ct that our students

have les'!:i time to spend in the classroom than those in corresponding

day courses.

There i s a grave danger, :j.n education, that the materials of

instruction be nade the chief interest and concern of teachers and.

students alike. Tl:.ere is a t endency, even a p r act ice, of focussing

attention and effort upon subject-matter, such as a rithr.ietic, algebra,

Latin, etc., r a t her than upon the p ersonal ities of t h e students. The

most i mpo rtant f actor is t:18 stu dent, not t h fl subject-matter.

Nevertheless, these mate rials of instruction a re t he instrwnents -

influenced of course "b y the personD.l i ty of the teacher, - t hrough

which education must t ake pl c,ce.

Our own philosophy of the curriculum ( if one may call it a phil-

osophy) is a social one. Our young men and women, boys and girls,

e,re faced with the p roblems of adjusting t hemselve s to a. s ocia l environ-

ment. The curriculur,1 should be i:) rimarily concerned, t herefore , with

meeting t he c.. ctuQl li fe needs of t he stu.dcnts.

A Ill:'..',jo r criticism of the conventiom·,l school is the tremendous gap

,.rhich exists between it c.nd current life. Such schools do not

r e cogn i ze , appa rently, t ho fu.ndc.,.,,me ntr..l soc io.l changes t hn t lmvc t [' .. ken

pl~ .. c e in life - and which will continue to tc~ke plnce. Naturnlly,

therefore, if t ho school does not r eco6nize current needs, it cannot

be prophetic in its curriculum. In so fe r £.s such schools recognize

life noods c.t 2.11, t hey r e cognize only the needs of a past civiliza tion.

No othe r institution, except possibly tho Church, is so slow to react

to current-thought. Yet we should expect such a fund.? .. mental socia l

institution ~s the school to be by-per-sensitive to current needs.

In this situation we find ourselves, in our own schools, betwe en

Scylla and ·Chc.rybdis. If we submit to the domination of the convention..1.JL

systemt whi&h effects us through such external examinations as the

University matriculation, we shall with certainty be sucked into an

educational whirlpool. If we avoid this end by refusing to be

conventional in our outlook and method, the rocks of educational

ostracism await us. Our hope of a safe passage +ies in our ability

to steer a steady course and a belief that a worthy vessel, bearing

nourishing cargo to hungry souls, will be guided by the Gods to a

safe harbour.

During t he past five years, in spite of the handicap which the

external, conventional view imposes upon us, we have been able to

make some progress.

We have had a number of tee.chers• committees, each specialized

in a particular fi eld of subject-matter, which have given continuous

and careful study to the problem of det ermining the content of a

number of our courses of study.

The English Committee has developed, oxpcrimontally, a series

of courses which aim to develop, on the pa.rt of the student, an easG

and fluency in oral and written expression; and an appr eciation of,

and desire to road, good litc raturo. Those objectives arG in contrast

with tho actual practice in the conventional English course of mJre

drill in the rules of grammar, and the memorizing of so many lines of

poetry for later rGgu.rgitation at the cxruninor's pleasure - though it

is difficult to appreciate why this latter process should give pleasure

to either oxamincr or oxarainoe.

The ·Mathomatics Committoe has done an. excellent piece of work in

gradually evolving a course of study in this field which contains only

those aspects of arithmetic, algebra and geometry ( and these are

integrated and related as they should be) w~ich arc useful to the

students now or likely to bG socially useful to them at a later date.

9.

We have beei'l somewhat gratified to learn th.at this course of

study has been adopted by t h e schools of the city of Sherbrooke and

has been used enthusiastically by them during the past two years.

The Co1ami ttee on General Soience has produced a course of study,

the only one in this field in Montreal, which is intended to introduce

students to the wonders of modern science and to develop their apprec­

iation and 1.mderstanding of the contrib1Ation which science is making

to individual and commu. ... "lity welfare - in matters of sanitation,

prevention and. tree.t ment of disease, heating and lighting, clothing,

industrial processes, etc.

A g r eat deal of fruitful work has be en do ne i n the arrangement

of prograr:unes of studies in the Evening High School. Courses in

econor.1ics, biology, :public speaking, spacial English cours e s, and

courses on tontemporary problems of int ernational relationships are

included. Vocational courses such as mechanical drawing, commercial

art, oloctricity, bookkeeping and stenography may bo taken as a part

of the programme. Such :p rogrammes arc not available in the day High

Schools of this city.

Lack of time p r events a fllll d.osc r iption of this work.

4. Collogo-~r ~do work

To roturn to our canvas, we should mention n section which is

merely ! kotchod in but is gr c dlli.'.lly t aking form - tho experiment with

collog'()-gr a do work in thG evenings.

As tho mat tor is to be discussed somewhat thoroughly this evening

there is no need of making a sto.t er.1ont in this r eport except to state

t hn. t it is our convict ion t hat we have an une q_ur.llod opportun ity to

l eo,ci to ::-. more sr.tisfyinE, level oi' living mc,ny r,Km e1.nd women, supe riorly

endowe d montally , who look to us to provide for t hem an educational

opportunity sirnill'.. r to t h~t b eing provide d at the High 5chool leve l

for t ho ir b rot:1ors c.nd sisters.

10.

In bringing this report to a close it is appropriate that a statement

should be included as to why the Young Men's Christian .Association should

have entered the field of so-ca lled formal educational work and why its

resources in money and personnel should be directed to its maintenance and

continued expansion.

The answer is a simple one - but not so simple as some believe who say

that because there is a 'demand ' it should be met. The an swer is tha t t he

Y.M.C.A. is one of the gr eatest Christian Educational Moveme nts of the day.

Its primary function is CHRISTIAN EDUCATION - not t ha t of pr oviding mere

mechanical training for occupat ional eff iciency .

The emphasis in this report upon what we believe to be the signi f icant

happenings of the past few years shoul d show the direction of our interests

and our efforts.

We believe i mplicitly tha t through t he d~velopment of formal curri cula r

progre.mmes the Association has one of its f inest opportunities to achieve a

fundamental purpose - t he deve lopment of the t;ype of person who will find .

satisfa ction in tho ·"Good" life.

The following words fro m a "frayer f or Teachers", by Glenn Frank ,

should be stimulat ing as we consider our 'mission' in education:

"O Lord of Learning and of Learners: Our shortcomings sha me us for we a re not a lone in pay ing the penalty fo r them; they have a sorry immortality in the maimed minds of those whom we, in our blundering, mislead. We have been content to be merchants of dead yesterdays, when we should huve been guides into unborn tomorrows. We have put conformity to old customs above curiosity about new i deas .••• We ha ve be en peddlers of pe tty accuracies, when we should have been priests and. prophets of abundant living .• We have schooled our students to be clever competitors in the world as it is, when we should have been helping them to become creative co-operators in the ll1P.king of t he world as it i ·s to be, We have regarded our schools as training camps for existing society to the exclusion of making them working models of o.n evolving society . • • • We h t~v e tried to teo.ch our students what to think instead of how to t hink. V!e hc·we thought it our business to furnish the minds of our students, when we should he.ve been laboring to f ree t he ir minds. And we confe ss that we have fallen into these sins of the schoolroom because it ha s been t he easiest way. It has been easier to tell our students about the motionl ess past that we can learn once and. for all than to join with them in trying to understand the moving present t hat must be studied afresh each day . Fro m these

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sins of sluth may we bo freed. May wo realize that it is important to know the past only that we may live wisely in tho present. Help us to reaiizo that, in tho deepest sense, we cannot teach anybody anything ; that tho oost we can do is to holp them to learn for themselves. Savo us from the blight of spoci~.lism; give us u rovorcnco for our mnteriuls, that we rrk."-Y mc.stor the facts of our p.::.rticul r.. r fi e lds, but help us to soc t lcc,t a ll focts arc dead until they c.ro r cla t od to the re st of knowledge and tho rest of life. Holp us to sec thnt educat ion is, c.ftor o.11, but the a dvilnture of trying to make oursol vcs 8. t homo in tho modern v1orld. Mr:.y v,o 1)C sho:phcrQs of tho spirit e. s well 1:.. s m;-,sters cf tho mind."

Respectfully submitte d,

F. Owen Stredder,

PRINCIPAL.