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Interviews with teachers at Sheldon Jackson College, before 1959.
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- speakerThis afternoon on the voice of Sheldon Jackson Junior College is
- speakerMiss Elizabeth Peters.Miss Peters is a graduate of West
- speakerWestchester Normal, Bucknell, has taken work at Grove City and
- speakerPenn State. Ms Peters has an M
- speakerS degree from Bucknell which followed her work and
- speakerBachelor of Science. But, Miss Peters, "What is your field at Sheldon
- speakerJackson?"
- speakerI am a teacher in the mathematics department.
- speakerAnd, how does that field fit into the program here at SJ?
- speakerWell mathematics is a very important subject in any school. Here,
- speakerat Sheldon Jackson, it is very much a part of our academic
- speakerprogram: general mathematics, algebra, geometry, trigonometry
- speakerand business mathematics are taught.
- speakerWe hope, as the junior college grows, and teachers are added to the staff, to
- speakeroffer more courses than we can at present.
- speakerNow, what expansion do you foresee in the Department of Mathematics
- speakerto meet the needs of tomorrow's world?
- speakerThe need for a good working knowledge of mathematics is apparent in the
- speakerworld about us. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we
- speakerall come into contact with some kind of mathematics every day of our life.
- speakerSome of us more than others. The new developments in science
- speakerand industry make a knowledge of mathematics and skill in its
- speakeruse a necessity. The growing applications of mathematics
- speakerin science call for many more well trained engineers.
- speakerThis training requires good mathematics in our schools.
- speakerThe growth of research in industries and in government laboratories
- speakerhas called for more research mathematicians. The new
- speakerhigh speed computing machines will call for hundreds of new
- speakermathematicians to operate them and interpret the results.
- speakerWe have enough mathematics in our curriculum at Sheldon Jackson,
- speakernot only to give our students a subject to study, one that is
- speakerrequired by the Department of Education of the territory or to prepare
- speakerthem for entrance to college, but to provide the information,
- speakerhabits and skills to meet the demands of the world in which they live.
- speakerWe want them to acquire those ideas and concepts in
- speakerterms of which much thinking of the world is done, to develop
- speakerthe ability to think clearly in terms of such ideas and
- speakerconcepts. To acquire mental habits and attitudes
- speakerwhich will make this training effective. We hope this training will
- speakerenable them to look for relations and precise
- speakerexpression.
- speakerMay I ask you, Miss Peters. What do you mean by relations? Well, in
- speakerour work in mathematics, we study functional relations.
- speakerHow one variable in a problem, in a discussion,
- speakerdepends upon another for its solution.
- speakerSo you then hope that you will set up in math.
- speakerA look into the relationship of all of these things. Well excuse me for interrupting you. Go
- speakerahead. Would you please.
- speakerWell we hope that this training will also give our students attitudes of
- speakerinquiry. A desire to understand. That is, to get at
- speakerthe bottom of the situation. To develop habits of
- speakerprecision, accuracy, clearness, and the
- speakerability to concentrate and persist until they achieve
- speakertheir goal. Yes, well that's, of course, the thing that we
- speakerwant to do. I want to go on to now the achieving of the goal. How is Sheldon Jackson
- speakerunique in helping a young person achieve a goal? Sheldon
- speakerJackson is a school that gives to young people, not only an
- speakereducation as we usually think of the word, information,
- speakerhabits, attitudes, and skills, but an opportunity to
- speakerlive a fruitful life. An opportunity to grow spiritually and
- speakersocially as well as mentally and physically. Our
- speakerstudents mingle with young people of their own age the entire
- speakerday and with Christian teachers and supervisors, who are interested in
- speakerthem. Our young people grow and develop sharing
- speakerin work and play. They learn many valuable lessons, not in text
- speakerbooks, that will help them in future years to be competent
- speakerChristian citizens. Sheldon Jackson holds before
- speakerthem high ideals and, most important, presents to
- speakerthem Jesus Christ, who can help them with every problem
- speakerin every situation.
- speakerThank you. This has been an interview with Miss Elizabeth Peters.
- speakerWho was one of hers. All right. Would you go on and tell us
- speakerabout the completion of this statement.
- speakerNo I was just going to say that the students at Sheldon Jackson are challenged to
- speakeraccept Christ as their personal Savior and to live in his way of
- speakerlife.
- speakerThank you Ms Peters. And we appreciate the fact that we
- speakercan have such a fine person as part of our teaching staff here at Sheldon Jackson.
- speakerMuseums and other sections of territory I wonder if our listeners might
- speakerbe very interested in what is here in the museum at Sheldon
- speakerJackson.
- speakerThis museum here the largest and complete collection of
- speakerAlaskan things in the territory.
- speakerThe best thing were especially Eskimo articles.
- speakerMiss Hole I think you're actually the curator now, aren't you? Well, I wonder if you could tell us something
- speakerabout your impression of the museum. The title of curator is
- speakerhardly one that I deserve, but I have been working here in the museum.
- speakerI think that we have some beautiful examples of primitive art there in the museum.
- speakerI think they have something rich for
- speakereach one of us. I haven't seen many museums in Alaska, but I
- speakerhave heard many comments from people who come to see our museum that our
- speakercollection is one of the very best.
- speakerI've been very envious of the plate carvings we have in the
- speakermuseum. I haven't seen any as nice anywhere
- speakerelse. I also enjoy very much our collection
- speakerof masks. We have some interesting Russian things, although
- speakermainly our museum has Indian and Eskimo.
- speakerWe ask one question here and I'm sure we'll all be interested in hearing an answer to.
- speakerWhy should Sheldon Jackson be teaching art? What is
- speakeryour reaction to that question?
- speakerI feel that art is important for all of us, not that we all be artists, but because
- speakerGod has given us certain creative abilities which we need to
- speakerdevelop. I feel that the person who has had some experience in art
- speakeris a more fully developed person with a richer
- speakerpersonality. I think that learning to do something with
- speakerour hands is often saving for us. Many
- speakerpeople try to escape in things that are bad for them.
- speakerThere is a beautiful and enriching way to escape doing art work, even if one isn't
- speakergoing to do anymore than make a hobby of it. Mr. Wyler, I'm sure
- speakeryou have a reaction to that question.
- speaker. I think that it's good to do anything
- speakercreative. And, as Maud said, I think especially
- speakerto be a good Christian citizen, you want to express yourself in wholesome
- speakerways. I don't know a better way to do that than through painting,
- speakerbecause you get something from it. And, I think, other
- speakerpeople get something from things that you have done also.
- speakerThank you. This interview with Maud Holt and Frank Wyler has
- speakerbeen surrounding the entire department of Art and extension work, which
- speakeris being carried on at Sheldon Jackson junior college.
- speakerThis is another occasion to meet the staff at Sheldon Jackson. Today we are
- speakerinterviewing Maude Holt and Frank Wyler. What is your interest in art, Miss Holt?
- speakerI'm interested in all phases of art. Sculpture,
- speakerpainting, jewelry designs, ceramics, puppetry, silk
- speakerscreen. I think there is hardly a phase of it that I haven't
- speakertried. Mr. Wyler What is your field?
- speakerMy field is painting primarily. I used to teach art before I came up
- speakerhere, but I prefer teaching something else and painting on my own, I believe. Could you tell me, Miss Holt, what
- speakerfields are being taught here at Sheldon
- speakerJackson?
- speakerIn our freshman year, we have a rather inclusive art course.
- speakerWe. We try to teach something in drawing and something in design and a little
- speakerbit of craftwork. This year our freshman class has done some paper mâché
- speakerwork. We're doing some designing right now. We learned something
- speakerabout cutting of stencils and making Christmas cards. Doing a
- speakerblock print. Last year we were able to do some ceramic
- speakerwork in the first freshman class, but our class is too, too large
- speakerto do that this year. In the sophomore year right now we're doing some copper
- speakerenamelling. We have been doing some designing, painting, drawing.
- speakerThe juniors will begin a course mid-semester which
- speakerwill probably begin with some work in sculpture, but also have some drawing and
- speakerpainting because the members of that class haven't had much experience in that
- speakerarea. The Senior year has always been a
- speakercourse of techniques with the idea that each member will try out
- speakermany different media and in the end quarter possibly
- speakerfollow the type of artwork he likes best to do.
- speakerIn our junior college we have scheduled now four courses.
- speakerOne year we teach art appreciation the first semester and
- speakerpainting second semester. In the alternate year we have ceramics in
- speakerthe first semester and drawing and design the second
- speakersemester.
- speakerCan you come to Sheldon Jackson and get a well-rounded course in art as
- speakeryou see it?
- speakerYes. If you are able to elect it each year through high school
- speakerand each year in junior college. However, in a school as
- speakersmall as this sometimes it's hard to take just the courses one wants.
- speakerSometimes there are conflicts. So at present I haven't been able to
- speakerhave one student for more than two years out of the four.
- speakerWell, we're sure as junior college develops, that there will be an increasing interest on the part of some who
- speakerwant more of an art major. Mr. Latta
- speakercan you tell us something about the extension work that Sheldon Jackson is doing?
- speakerThere has been a great deal of interest shown by the community in the extension program.
- speakerWe have had courses in ceramics, copper enamelling, painting
- speakerthis semester. There have been about eight people from the community in the painting
- speakercourse, working in oil and water color this fall. All
- speakerseem to enjoy it very much and the response has been very pleasing.
- speakerTell me something about an art exhibit that is circulating through the territory?
- speakerI guess it's still circulating. Miss Holt and I had
- speakeran exhibit here of our work last spring. From here it went to
- speakerJuneau and was up there all summer in the library.
- speakerFrom there it went to Anchorage where it was on exhibit for
- speakertwo weeks. And, now it is at the University of Alaska in
- speakerFairbanks. Miss Holt. Why should Sheldon
- speakerJackson be teaching art?
- speakerArt is very important to the development of the personality.
- speakerI feel that God has given all of us some creative
- speakerability and as we develop them, we become a better person.
- speakerEven the person who hasn't a superlative amount of
- speakerart ability can learn something about it that will make his
- speakerlife richer. Art makes a wonderful hobby too
- speakerfor those who need something to do with their spare time. It's a
- speakermuch safer way to escape from life's problems than the escape that
- speakermany people take today.
- speakerDo you think then that it is part of a Christian training to have a background in
- speakerthe arts.
- speakerYes I feel that this is something that God meant for all of us to
- speakerhave.
- speakerThank you. This has been an interview with Maud Holt and Frank Latta, who are working
- speakerin the art program of Sheldon Jackson Junior
- speakerCollege
