And They Say Students Aren't Religious!
The accusation 'that American students arenot consciously pious in this age may have acertain amount of truth in it but the accusationfalls down when it tries to specify that collegestudents are not interested in religion. The application of religion to active Christianity, theconducting of athletic and Bible classes in communities near Hanover, the holding of entertainments and socials, the furnishing of help to needypeople, all these things students do. In additionthey act as Santa Claus to needy children, andmake their welcome visits on skis. There areabout 100 students enrolled in this work in theD.C.A. alone, and groups of students in each ofthe Hanover churches carry on separate programsof their own. Beaver Meadow, for example, isa community that has been served by members ofSt. Thomas Episcopal Church for many years.
THE Dartmouth Christian Association is conducting a program which is totally distinctive from any other activity on the campus. This is the branch of work carried on in the small communities surrounding Hanover.
There are at present twelve men in addition to twentytwo on the substitute list who devote one afternoon a week to bringing to these communities a rudimentaryknowledge of Christian ideals and principles. Teams of two or three men go to each of four rural schools in Vermont.
It is usually around two-thirty when one of these teams arrives at a school and a twenty-minute recess is called. It would probably be wise at this point to state that the average number of pupils per school is twenty and the ages range from five to sixteen.
As the bell on the roof announces the recess period, the children pour out and divide in two groups according to age. The older ones play football or baseball, depending on the season, or in winter practice ski-jumping. The younger ones have games of tag, relay races or some other form of lighter exercise.
The author well remembers the first football game he was foolish enough to enter. He and his roommate, a quarterback on the freshman team, ambitiously thought they could show the youngsters how football should be played. Two teams were chosen. It turned out the game was to be a real one, for anything as plebeian as "touch" football was scoffed at. The field was rough and rocky.
Things went very smoothly until the author, attempting a wide end run was brought up sharply against an unfortunately hard boulder. Two very short but also very muscular arms were tightly wrapped about both of his legs. Shortly afterwards his roommate fared similarly and two crippled quarterbacks resigned to the safer posts of referee and umpire.
A FIFTEEN-MINUTE LESSON
Soon the clamor of the bell announces the end of recess and all file quietly back to their seats. One of the pupils or the teacher pedals an old-fashioned organ to accompany the opening hymns. The children are allowed to pick three or four of their favorite tunes. Then for a quarter of an hour a Bible lesson is given. As the students selected to lead this work are usually very competent, this part of the work, unlike many Sunday schools, is not considered a hardship. The children pay very strict attention although the lesson is conducted as informally as possible.
From the standpoint of the D.C.A. this lesson is probably the most important feature of the program. There is a church in only one of the four communities and this during the winter is only opened one Sunday a month. For this reason it is felt that the religious instruction is very much needed.
Immediately following the Bible lesson, one of the other members of the team tells a story. These range from detective stories, through stories of adventure or outstanding skill, to accounts of the lives of some of the world's greatest heroes.
The choice of the type of story to be told rests with the student who has been assigned to take charge of the school. His decision is made with the intention to give interest, variation and knowledge. The most popular type seems to be experiences in the woods or in foreign countries which some of the students have been fortunate enough to visit.
Following the story the children are allowed to sing some other songs after which the school closes for the day. Usually several calls are made on the way home when the men get a chance to become acquainted with the people in the community. Oftentimes this proves to be the most enjoyable feature of the work and may sometimes be tremendously interesting.
One wintry day last year when the mercury was around the zero mark one of the men went back eight miles in the Vermont hills to a small school. He traveled in a cutter for the snow was deep. Fur robes were spread both under and over him and a pair of skis jutted out behind. When he arrived the horse was blanketed and picketed to an iron pipe on the schoolhouse wall.
RELIEVING POVERTY
After he had finished the lessons for the day, he inquired about two of the children who were absent and learned that they hadn't been in for almost a week and no one knew anything about them. He donned his skis and headed up the narrow road to their farm.
Knocking on the door and receiving an answer, he entered and found the family of five in two beds around a little stove in the center of the room. There was practically no fire and little if any food. Two weeks previously the farmer had purchased two horses for which he had given a note. Within three days one of the horses died, and as one horse was useless, the other was returned with a heavy debt remaining. To relieve the situation wood was chopped and medicine and food were furnished by the D.C.A. and Vermont Red Cross. The rector of Saint Thomas' Church furnished transportation. All recovered and have moved to a much better house.
This incident is mentioned because it is one of the more outstanding of many hundreds which turn up on every trip. All the boys have numerous stories of attending local weddings, buying supplies in Hanover to bring to the people and occasionally helping in a barn or house-raising bee.
Along the lines of activity in a community, there are many parties and entertainments held during the year which are always very enjoyable. For several of these the D.C.A. is called upon to supply the amusement. During the year there are approximately seventy-five boys who aid by furnishing quartets, orchestras, magical tricks or various specialty acts. The quality of the home-cooked refreshments, as well as the enjoyment of helping the people out, is always enough to secure plenty of applicants.
CONDUCT WINTER CARNIVALS
A children's winter carnival is held every year in each school and sometimes this has been enlarged to include competition between two or three of the schools. The phase of this which attracts most attention is invariably the ski-jumping. This on a home-made jump is oftentimes very thrilling. It is significant to note that one of these youngsters in the Hanover Children's Carnival last year took first place in this event by jumping more than twenty-eight feet on a very small board jump.
All of these things help to broaden the horizon of the children and sometimes are practically, at least, responsible for making them want to progress just a bit beyond the bounds of their own district school. At present there are seven from these four schools who are attending Hanover High School.
Two of these from the school which is fartherest away bring reports every two weeks on their scholastic work to the author's room. These boys have shown a remarkable grade of work considering that one rides sixteen miles a day in a buggy and the other rides horseback or walks the same distance. (He rode his horse for the first three days when he was thrown and injured his back. Being too lame to ride he walked for the next three weeks.) They stand ninth and eighteenth in a class of fifty-four, respectively. This gives an idea of the type of children dealt with.
BENEFITS TO STUDENTS
It is even more interesting to consider the benefits which the college students can derive from such contacts. It is needless to say that many of them get a new slant on life. They are allowed to be with a group of people who were practically unknown by a large majority of them. They also, of course, get considerable experience in teaching and presenting their ideas as well as having an opportunity to think through several of the questions for themselves.
There is plenty of chance for close contact with nature. In fact oftentimes the contact on a blizzardy day is considered too close. Nevertheless the difficulty of transportation often adds considerably to the excitement and consequent enjoyment of the trip.
The thing which really seems to hold the corps of teachers together is the knowledge which none can help but share in, that they're doing something of practical and constructive nature for a large group of people. It is a service which is fun to give and of lasting value to those receiving it.
CORNER OF PLAYGROUND AT BEAVER MEADOWS S. Greene '32 at left
BEAVER MEADOW SCHOOLHOTJSE
GOODRICH CORNER SCHOOL Miss George, teacher, R. B. Dwinell, teacher from D. C. A.
"SKI TEAM," GOODRICH CORNER
A LODGING FOR THE NIGHT
