Argentine High School - Mustang Yearbook (Kansas City, KS)

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English SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL A good command of English, the ability to write it and speak it, is essential in every walk of life. That is why three years of it are required and a fourth is elective. Stated broadly, it is the aim of the English course: First, to quicken the spirit and kindle the imagination of students, to open to them the potential significance and beauty of life, to develop habits of weighing and judging human conduct and of turning to books for enter tainment, instruction, and inspiration as the hours of leisure may permit; second, to supply them with an effective tool of thought and of expression for use in their public and private life, that is, the best command of language which, under the circumstances, can be given them. Stated concisely, the aim of high school English is two-fold: 1. To give pupils command of the art of communication in speech and writing. 2. To teach them to read thoughtfully and with appreciation, to form in them a taste for good reading, and to teach them how to find books that arc worth while. This year emphasis has been put upon creative work, with the result that a large number of creditable poems, stories and plays have been written. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL Language is the chief instiument for acquiring and communicating what mankind knows. Junior High School English has three functions which arc: First, to increase the pupil's power to express himself, both in speech and in writing: second, to cultivate in him an appreciation of the best things in literature; third, to develop a fund of knowledge of certain essential, fundamental facts regarding the mother tongue. It is through speech and reading that man acquires the truth regarding the lives of mankind, regardless of time and place, the truth which is so essential to a sympathetic and understanding mind. In accomplishing these aims a multitude of devices must be brought into play. The more variety the teacher can secure the greater will be the interest and effort, for joy and pride in work arc, indeed, the most powerful of lures. The pupil finds real pleasure in creating. His originality may take the form of a few verses, a newspaper where the characters of a classic constitute the news, of clever posters, of a group poster, with various figures costumed to repre- sent characters from favorite books, of tournament fields, of the interior of homes, of soap figures, of dolls dressed carefully to portray prominent characters in the stories, of dramatiza- tions, of games, of stories. Many a small creative effort has been the beginning of genuine effort in a study. 1931J Twenty-four

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rg entia tv life and that the laws of mathematics are permanent. We endeavor to present mathematics as an interesting field of knowledge and try to include some of its historical background. Some of the specific aims of our course are as follows: 1. To perform the four fundamental operations with mixed numbers and with decimals. 2. To know the meaning of common mathematical terms such as sum, dif- ference, product. 3. To measure an angle with a protractor. 4. To find the percentage one number is of another. 5. To find the percentage of a number. 6. To find simple interest by the year, the month, and the day. 7. To find by measurement the perimeter and area of a rectangle, square triangle, and circle. S. To find the volume of a box. 9. To open an account in a bank, to write a check and a deposit slip. 10. To find discount and deduct it. 11. To make simple scale drawings and interpret them. This year we have tried to have some creative work in some of the classes. The pupils were asked to make an original drawing and color it as they wished. They also graphed some problem which was of particular interest to them such as the relative cost of feeding the does and bucks of their rabbit hutches, the height of the tallest buildings in Greater Kansas City. I TYPING Most young people who remain in the city, at some FTYv future time will work in a business office. Many rrrk offices require applicants to be able to take dictation in shorthand and to operate the typewriter. There are others who will go to a school of higher learning and it is always an advantage to be able to do one’s own class work on a typewriter. The same theme or paper will secure a better grade when neatly written on a machine. A small number of students find that they are able to work their way through a college or university because of their commercial train' ing. The department has been one of the most successful among high schools of the entire country. This is accounted for by reason of a highly-developed technique in the manipulative arts, typewriting and shorthand, and because of the fine spirit pre' vailing among the students enrolled in this work. A few years ago Interstate contests were won at Kansas City, Missouri, Dcs Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. A National contest was won at Chicago in 1924, the only national meet the school has entered. In the Interstate contest in 1923, and in the National meet a year later, a novice or one-year writer made the very fine record of eighty-one words per minute. The school has been singularly success- ful in typewriting meets with thirty-four consecutive victories and no defeats. In the Kansas state contest, an annual event sponsored by the principals of the high schools of the state, all records in performance, both in accuracy and in speed, are held by Argentine students. Our graduates have always proved equally proficient in the business positions which they obtained upon graduating from the school, and have filled these places with great credit to their Alma Mater. 1931 i Twenty-three

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Science CHEMISTRY By means of newspaper and magazine articles we avail ourselves of the opportunity to show how research in modern science is helping the professional and industrial world. Sue’ discoveries as rustless and stainless steel; the nickel alloy making possible the trans Atlantic telephone cable; some of the synthetic drugs and harmoncs as well as vitamines used in com bating disease; radio waves to treat brain tumors, as well as to locate deposits of petroleum and aid lost airplanes in finding their bearings; neon tubes used in display-lighting and tele- vision and photo electric cells have been discussed in class. Motion pictures and film slides of many industrial operations, as the manufacture of (1) liquid air, (2) glass. (3) steel. (4) rubber. (5) X-ray and radio tubes arc used '.o supplement textbook work. Despite this stress of the industrial side of the science, vocational training is not considered an objective. Considerable stress is placed on laboratory work. We do not necessarily think this the most economical method of imparting knowledge, but we wish to accustom the pupils to submit their information to a test and to form opinions on the basis of facts. BIOLOGY Biology is the only science course in this high school that makes a study of the structure of living things: plants and animals and their reactions to the environment. The course centers around four general objectives: How things live and maintain them- selves; the relation of living things to the environment; the relation of living things to each other: man’s power to control living things. It is organized into seven units with definite specific objectives as requirements for credit in each one. These units arc designed to acquaint the student with the functions necessary to life, the structure and composition of organisms, and the adaptations of representative forms for successfully carrying on the necessary functions under changing conditions, with the result that he may better understand his own body and be able to give it more intelligent care. The project work consists of an insect survey collection and identification, field work, flower collections, bird migration observation, original essay work, plant and animal culture, and original diagrams representing the student’s own conception of various subjects. Twenty-five