Air Academy High School - Vapor Trails Yearbook (USAF Academy, CO)

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Working in groups is an excellent way to study. Carolyn Rishavy and Jeanne Blackman benefit from this method because of the third member of their group. Mrs. Helen Muterspaugh who helps them solve an equation Ctop left, middle rightj. A.P. Chemistry demands hard work and help sessions after class to understand this complex science. Mrs. Pat Smith understands the students' needs and helps John Carroll, Keith Robinson, Lisa Wagner and Colleen Strain prepare for a test Cmiddle left, bottom rightj. Watching the wheels go 'round and 'roundf Mr. Doug Lundberg's pets are trained to wait patiently for their turn Cbottom leftj. 'S 4 I Academics! 9

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Mathematicians Prove -b :L-llbl-4oc 2a Computer Math, considered by Mrs. Helen Muter- spaugh as a class where students try to beat the computer, was one of the most interesting classes Air Academy had to offer to students. Students had to write programs to solve the quadratic equation along with other mathematic formulas using the computer languages Fortran and Pascal. During first and sev- enth period, Mrs. Muterspaugh took students to the Air Force Academy to use the Burroughs 6700, a S5 million computer. Many students who took the course were interest- ed in careers in engineering or computer science. Jim Steinborn, a student in the closs, explained, Com- puters are the way things will go in the future. The class was a challenging one, but Mrs. Muter- spaugh tried to have fun with the students. Some students got a chance to join the 200 Club, a club for those computer programmers who made 200 or more errors in one program. Students who joined the club did not mind, as it could take only one or two errors to cause all 200. Calculus, considered one of the hardest math courses offered, showed a much different attitude than those in other math classes. The students in this college level class enjoyed comraderie, keen compe- tition and o great feeling of accomplishment when they figured out a tough problem. At the end of the school year, as in the other advanced placement courses, students took a test in which they could earn one or two semester credits in college. Mrs. Muterspaugh's goal, however, was to Work the poor students to the bone, but have a great time doing it. 81 Academics

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Arabic Proves Challenging But Relevant Approximately eighteen Air Academy students were among a select few nationwide who were able to study Arabic in high school. Mr. Ric Ward, who has taught at the school for 22 years, was the instructor. Born in Jerusalem and raised in the Middle East where he learned to speak Arabic, he supplemented his knowledge of the language with four years of study in high school and additional study with a private tutor. Because there are so few schools offering Arabic, no textbooks are produced in the United States. To fill the gap, Mr. Ward collaborated with a professor at Har- vard to develop a comprehensive high school course to teach basic Arabic. He emphasized that although Arabic is quite differ- ent from English, Spanish and other major languages, it is a very enjoyable foreign tongue. Arabic follows all of the rules that are set down, he said, and there are no exceptions to them. Over 90 million people speak Arabic, according to Mr. Ward. Most of them live in the Middle East and adhere to the Moslem religion. U ' ,l'i ln an age when the OPEC nations have a great deal of influence in the world, commented principal Mrs. Julie Fairley, l think the language is not only interesting but also relevant. We are fortunate to have a man of Mr. Ward's background to teach the course. Mr. Ward allotted one month to teach his students the alapabet of 25 letters, not including three light vowels which are represented by accent marks. lndi- vidual letters may be written at least three ways and sometimes up to six. There are actually three levels of Arabic, Mr. Ward explained. Modern Arabic, the form he introduced to students, is considered the spoken language and is used between most people informally. Anything writ- ten or spoken on television or radio is called Classical Arabic. The third level is called Kitchen Arabicand is used by the servant class. This form is the furthest- removed type of Arabic because it uses a different vocabulary and letters. Students found learning the language a great chal- lenge but worthwhile in the end.