SKCS Yearbooks - South Kortright Central School

Principal's Address

To the Class of 1974,

I am pleased to extend congratulations to the members of the class of 1974 for your many achievements during the years you have spent in the South Kortright Central School. On behalf of all the members of our staff, I extend our very best whishes for much happiness, success, and personal fulfillment in the years that lie ahead for you.

If our systems of education and community life are working well, your lives up to this point have been characterized by growth of several kinds. Hopefully, the increase that you have made in physical stature since your days in elementary school has been matched by a corresponding increase in the basic intellectual skills of our society and, even more important, in wisdom. In a free society, wisdom must be honored and sought with passion. It is the ultimate goal of all learning; the keystone for justice in a democracy. The ability to think clearly; to seek solutions for the problems and issues of life with reason and objectivity is essential to the reservation of freedom and rights which our nation is founded. It is my sincere hope that our school and community have helped you to begin the search for truth and wisdom effectively and that your pursuit of these ideals will continue through all your lives.

Good luck and may God bless you always!

IVAN W. BEAMS
Supervising Principal

I read "The Robe" some years ago. This novel tells the story of a young Roman noble who was converted to Christianity at the time when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. One line from the book has remained with me and I would like to remain it with you. Saved from arrest and execution by his Roman Senator father, the young man is moved to remark that his father would have made a good Christian. In answer, the Senator says that "honorable men have always done honorable things." I call upon you graduates to remember this and dwell on it as you enter the larger world of which we are all a part.

At a time when people everywhere are experiencing a higher level of disenchantment with other people, the future of our society depends on the principles of decency and justice. Whether the sense of distrust and dissatisfaction is between labor and management, government and those govered, adults and adults to be, or whatever, people need to do the "honorable things" in order for us to rebuild the trust which marks a truly free society. Your challenge, it seems to me, is to treat other people with justice and decency so that you may be a part of the strength-

PHILIP K. CHIEN
Administrative Assist.

1974•2