The Valley of Heart's Delight
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MONTEZUMA MOUNTAIN SCHOOL FOR BOYS
Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, California
Blossom
Time- 1920's Montezuma School
Eleven years ago, Ernest A. Rogers and William J. Meredith, both
teachers in the schools of California, became dissatisfied with the
restrictions imposed, by the methods of instruction employed in the
average school, upon the initiative and opportunity for the expression
of personal convictions by teachers. Through years of teaching
and studying methods of instruction and the results accomplished they
saw a great gap between what the public school is equipped to do and
what is demanded of it. They had reached the point where their
experience pointed to a better way of doing things intimately related
to
the very foundation of human education. Since they did not have
the opportunity for putting their ideas into practice while teaching in
the public schools nor the natural environment conducive to natural
education, at their own expense and by making scarifies, they
established the Montezuma Mountain School for boys in its present ideal
location in the Santa Cruz Mountains, high above Los Gatos and the
Santa Clara Valley. In 1912 they were joined by Homer J. Lloyd,
who was not only deeply in sympathy with the idea, but also
possess keen business ability. Largely through his sacrifice,
his untiring efforts, and his sound financial judgment, the school was
able to maintain itself until public recognition was assured its
founders that the experiment was entirely sound and practical. It
was an experiment and they found defects in their system, corrected
them and experimented further until their method became more nearly
perfect. The sum total is that the method now employed at
Montezuma is conducive to the highest degree of three-fold development
of boys physical, mental, and moral. The aim is to promote, by
expert guidance, the change of disposition, the choosing of attitude,
the formation of habits that will fit a man to function at his best in
a democratic society. It is meant to give a boy such instruction
and training that he will choose to do the right thing unhesitatingly
because he knows it is right and sees that it is best for his
community, state, nation and the world. It includes actual living
in a self- governing community, until good citizenship becomes
habitual,
and , in a sense, instinctive.
The student body is an actual democratic state in miniature,
selff-governing through a mayor and board of commissioners, acting
under a simple constitution nd elected by ballot, holding office
subject to recall on petition at the pleasure of the electorate.
Legislation and administration are actually subject to review, of
course,
by the faculty, which functions in this respect as a court of
appeals. Constitutional amendment and by-laws are initiated from
time to time by the commissioners, or petition, as experience shows the
need. The personnel of the school is world-wide. A large
proportion of the boys come from outside of California, east to New
York and New England, north to Alaska and Canada, and south to Ecuador
and South Africa. There have been boys from england, France and
a number whose parents, though American are living in the Orient,
Hawaii,
and the Far East. The boys lead an outdoor, pioneer life, in
keeping with the principles of the school.
They sleep on the open porches of the school dormitories, where
they are
constantly under the supervision of directors. The open air
gymnasium, the library, the assembly hall, the swimming hole, the pond
with its boats and slides, the teeters and the merry-go-round add
varied interest ot the day's program of events after school hours.
The school is equipped with electricity, modern kitchen and
dining-hall, sanitary plumbing with tubs and showers. The drinking
water is piped from mountain springs on the place, insuring a pure and
constant supply. Boys are not admitted without evidence of
good health, as well as good character and good mental ability. A
well equipped infirmary, however, with an efficient nurse in charge,
provides for emergencies. The Aztec style of architecture is
being used for all the new buildings. Recent additions bring the
school holdings of land up to about two hundred acres of orchard and
forest. The board of directors of the school corporation are
Ernest A. Rogers, president, Charles B. Rogers, vice-president; Homer
J. Lloyd, secretary and treasurer and Dora C. Rogers, Dorathee R. Lloyd.
Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California,
published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 1269
The school is now Presentation Center-"Twelve (12) to fifteen (15) persons can have a small meeting in
Montezuma Hall, which is also the archival room of the Montezuma Mountain School for Boys, with all its colorful
history. It is ideal for history buffs!"
MONTEZUMA SCHOOL REUNION-2001
LOS GATOS HISTORY
SANTA CLARA COUNTY-The Valley of Heart's Delight