Belleville Township High School East - Yearbook (Belleville, IL)

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SHOW BIG CHANGE During our trip down memory lane, the subject of vandalism was brought up by quite a few of those faculty members interviewed. Mrs. Chaney explained, “When school first opened, rooms never had to be locked. Nothing was ever taken or destroyed. There’s so much destruc¬ tion now. I think it’s because everything is ‘cheap’. Kids think it’s all paid for, so it’s their right . . . Before lockers arrived, kids had to stack their books underneath the stairs in the cafeteria. No one touched them. There was no theft, really, and not so much smoking. Drugs were non-existant for the first five years.” Assis¬ tant Principal Thomas stated, “Vandalism is not as great as it was a few years back. Kids have more leisure time, and they sometimes have nothing better to do than break a window.” Mr. McCoy ended his comments by saying, “I enjoy my work very much. A high school prin¬ cipal who doesn’t enjoy his work should probably not be a high school principal. It is rare in a person’s lifetime to start a new school from scratch. I’m sure there have been many mis¬ takes, but there is a certain satisfaction that goes along with it all.” “The students looked better when the dress code was In effect. They liked It. They wanted It.” Exactly what does education mean in today’s society? When asked his definition of education, Mr. Asbury replied, “Learning in all its various forms, Learning is important—much more so than grades.” Mrs. Gabel defined education as “a program whereby students learn how to get along in society.” “School is just a tool,” ad¬ mitted Mr. Blaies, “Education is a learning process that continues throughout life. School will hopefully enhance it.” O. C. Thomas stated, “Education is the ability to make decisions and to better prepare for life.” What is education? Mrs. Chaney answered in one word, “Inquiry.” “The development of an individual so that he ' s able to function In society”, said Mr. Isom. At the present time, student participation in extra-curricular activities is a somewhat con¬ troversial subject. Kenneth Schoenebeck, Ger¬ man Club sponsor, believes that “student apathy” is a problem, as does Fred Hott, year¬ book advisor. When it comes to school publications (the yearbook and the newspaper) student participation is at an all-time low,” Mr. Hott commented. On the other hand, according to Assistant Principal Douglas Bush, “A very significant portion of the student body con¬ tribute to and in turn benefit from our well- rounded student activities program.” Has the number of students who go out for sports increased or decreased in recent years? Do more or less students support the sports ac¬ tivities? Coach Mike McGinnis, a faculty member for ten years, replied, “The situation is pretty stable. As for athletic participation, the answer is the same as always—sometimes more, sometimes less. It operates like hills and valleys—fans always show up when you’re hav¬ ing a good season. The number of kids who try out for sports is about the same, but there are less kids who stick with it in the final analysis.”

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