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The Spike: or, Victoria University College Review October, 1920

Notes from Training College

Notes from Training College

The rain and wind still beat on Kelburn Hill and incidentally upon motley bands of students wending a weary way to their white-walled College. Many are secretly wishing to get wet enough to be sent home, and others are looking forward to the days when such unpleasant toilings will be left behind. Still, when better days come—and there have not been many grey days—we find that with sadness we view the time of our departure, and we realise how happy has been the year. The breaking of the saying, Early to bed and early to rise," &c., has not prevented the sp. riding of many jolly, wholly happy, care-free days We are a band of good friends working for the same cause.

One of the happiest points about the year has been the increased number of returned men amongst us. They have been a great asset to our social life and have passed on to us the benefit of their wide experience. Early in the year the Minister for Education unveiled a Memorial Tablet on which are inscribed the names of all old Training College students who fell in the war. Beneath are written the words, "Pro patria et ante diem periit," and what better can we say of them?

Our exuberance is marred only here and there by the blank despondency of those who, by reason of many lectures, have been bored to an attitude of indifference. For the rest, that teacher's third sense, humour, comes to their aid. It gives the seniors immeasurable satisfaction to see the juniors, out from their Method Lecture, indignant or amused over the same old jokes which have come down through the ages. At present we are discussing "teaching by suggestion" allegorically symbolised by "Give the scones a fright, Charlie!" Our elevated position, as judges of the controversy of Webb v. Welton, which has for years been swaying the educational world, has now been handed over to the juniors, whom we deem far too inexperienced for a question 80 momentous. Still, our minute attention is directed towards the use of slang in schools. "To be in a hole" is to be passed. "To be in a fix" is such unquestionable slang that some of us are page 55 afraid that our "marriage to blackboards" will leave us tongue-tied.

Our many old students will be glad to learn that we still study hygiene and have an occasional examination, preferably or Capping Day—that we have proved by intricate calculation that the Library is sufficiently lighted, but that the ventilation of the Geography room is lamentable; also we have decided at the earliest opportunity to change the hot water heaters for open fires.

Life up at Training College, scholastic, social and athletic, is intimately bound up with that of the University, and so we wish to recommend several new books which we have proved of assistance up here:—

"Hints on All Sorts"—Prof. Bl-ke.
"Small Talk for the Library"—G — ce Ap — n.
"Tit-bits of the Mother Tongue"—Webb.
"The youngster, eh - - h"—N — Go - Id.
"Are we school boarders? Yes."—Stevenson (R.L.?)
"The Etiquette of Handkerchief Drill"—Wald - n.