Castle Heights Military Academy - Yearbook (Lebanon, TN)

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VIEWING NATURE'S MARVELS mentality is at its best, keen and alert. A class period is forty-five minutes in length-the period being given to recitation, to supervised study and explanation of the next day's assignment. Examinations. Examinations are held twice each year, just before the close of the fall and spring terms. The passing mark is 70W. This grade is computed on a basis of two-thirds for daily grades and one-third for examination. No examination grade below 50, however, will be averaged with the daily grades. Monthly tests are given to every boy and in most classes weekly tests are likewise given. Thus we have a constant means of checking up on a boy's work and a fair basis of deciding upon his grade. Through our carefully planned system of review a stu- dent does not lind these tests irksome, and their value from the teaching standpoint can scarcely be over emphasized. In case of a failure a cadet, within reasonable limita- tions, has the privilege of re-examination. Re-examina- tions are given only to a cadet who has done the prescribed amount of additional study. Rating System. Castle Heights believes that a boy lives his life just as completely during his school days as he ever will in his adulthood, and for that reason we employ a rating system that is designed to make life in school parallel as nearly as possible later experiences. Duty, obligations, rights, and privileges are the keynotes. In life a person cannot be judged solely by one ability or achievement, therefore in the Academy the cadets are rated not only by their academic achievement but also by all other phases of their cadet life. The chief function of the rating system is to reward a boy who does well in the various activities which make up a well-rounded cadet life by permitting him to earn special privileges by his achievements rather than to punish him when he neglects to do what the school expects of him. Ratings are based on the number of points a student receives out of a possible total of one hundred which are distributed as follows: academic 45, deportment 25, military 15, and attendance 15. Bonus points may be earned by boys who receive no demerits or who do special work in activities or any other meritorious school enterprises above and beyond what the school requires of him. For example, a boy who runs zero demerits for a month is given two bonus points each two weeks, These bonus points are added to the general standing of a boy which determines his rating. Cadets are rated as A, B, C, D, or E students according to the number of points they have earned.

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successful way, and our efforts have met with marked success in the great majority of instances. Until the remedy is found, special attention is given the attitude and work of every cadet who is not passing in his subjects. The boy is encouraged in the classroom and during the study hour. The instructors are patient and persistent. They interview boys outside of study hours, explain matters to them, and help them. The boy who asks for extra assistance receives it. If the boy, for any reason, does not ask for help he needs, this help is given of the teacher's own volition during certain as- signed hours whenever the boy fails in his work. Boys Taught How to Study. Practically every good preparatory school devotes considerable attention to teaching boys bow to study but it is our honest belief that we obtain more than the usual degree of success by emphasizing the most modern methods. We actually teach boys how to study. The basis of our work is a pamphlet written by the Headmaster of Castle Heights entitled Learning How to Study. This text embodies the most modern methods of learning how to study, how to concentrate, and how to memorize. An earnest effort is made to familiarize every student with these methods and to see that he applies them in his daily study. Through these methods of study and through our carefully supervised evening study period of two hours and a half, we feel that we establish in a boy habits of study which lead to good marks in his work with us and later success in college. Amount of Work Required. All cadets are re- quired to take four regular subjects, not including spell- ing and military science, unless special authority to do otherwise is granted by the Headmaster. No boy will be permitted to carry five subjects unless he has made a B average during the preceding semester, nor will a cadet be granted a Castle Heights diploma who does not earn four full credits during his senior year regardless of how many credits he may have previously earned. The Academy encourages parents to confer with the Headmaster concerning the choice of course of study for the boy and any special arrangements it might be to his advantage to have made. However, after a boy has been assigned to a certain subject, the Academy reserves the right to say whether or not he will continue in the course or he allowed to drop it. The reason for this rule probably needs no explanation. The academic day is so planned as to get the best out of the boy. All classes are held before lunch when his YOUNG SCIENTISTSIN THE MAKING

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These ratings are run every two weeks, and for each class rating the cadet receives a certain number of rating points. The higher ratings automatically give the boy certain privileges, and he may exchange rating points for furloughs and other privileges he may desire. Reports. The semi-monthly report to parents is part of our careful system for continuous check-up on a boy's scholastic work and standing as to conduct. This permits parents to know exactly how their sons are stand- ing from month to month. It indicates the boy's attitude and his progress toward the ultimate success the parent wishes for him. Parents are, therefore, urged to study these reports carefully and to help their sons by appro- priate commendation or reproof. We find it occasion- ally necessary to ask that criticism from the parent, involving some part of the boy'5 program of instruction or other matters concerning which the parent may not have first information, come to the Academy rather than to the boy. The feeling on the part of the student that parents and school are cooperating to help him is the best basis for loyalty to both on his part. The report card is complete and easily understood. Besides the grade given in each academic subject, the standing of the boy in his class is given in order that the parent may know just how his boy's achievement compares with that of his classmates. The boy who has the highest academic average is counted as number one in the class. The card also shows the rating of the boy in his complete school life. At the end of each academic month a grade is given in military science and tactics, and demerits received for misconduct are entered. Although reports are mailed every two weeks, the grades for the first two weeks are merely check grades to indicate the trend of the work for the month and are not entered on the cadet's permanent record. The report card for the month is part of the permanent record. The Unit of Credit. The measure of academic work employed at Castle Heights is the unit. A unit is defined as a year's study in any subject in secondary school, constituting approximately a quarter of a full year's work. This shall include in the aggregate not less than the equivalent of 120 sixty-minute hours of classroom work. Four unit courses is considered the normal amount of work carried for credit toward grad- uation. No cadet will be permitted to carry five subjects unless he has stood in the upper twenty-five per cent of his class during the preceding semester. The Castle Heights diploma represents the completion of sixteen units of high school work and is granted at the end of the senior vear. The Curriculum. Our curriculum covers the units required for entrance by the best colleges and univer- sities, and our graduates are, therefore, prepared for college in the fullest sense of the word. Reputable colleges require fifteen units for unconditional entrance, specifying certain ones as necessary and others as elec- tive. The units which we require for graduation are those specified by colleges as being necessary, and the elective units are those considered to be desirable. Mathematics. Because of the importance of mathe- matics as a prerequisite to successful college work, all cadets who graduate from Castle Heights are required to pres-ent one unit of Algebra and another of Plane Geometry. Cadets desiring recommendation for majors in engineering and scientific fields or who are planning to seek admission to the service academies are required to pres-ent four full units in mathematics. A cadet whose work has been weak in the two units of algebra is ex- pected to compl-ete an additional semester course in his senior year. All cadets are encouraged to present more mathematics than the two required units. Passing Grade. The minimum passing grade is 70. This grade represents a quality of work which is barely passing. lt does not indicate ability to do work of college level, and units earned as a result of a grade lower than 75 will not be certified for college entrance. ln the case of the cadet who enters Castle Heights with advanced standing, the recommendation of his former school will be followed in the matter of the type of credit granted for his previous work. Senior Standing. To receive rating as a senior at Castle Heights, a student must have met the following requirements: 1. He must have earned not fewer than eleven full units of credit before beginning his senior year. ln case he offers only eleven units, he must have stood in the upper twenty-five per cent of his class, otherwise he must present at least twelve units. 2. These units of credit must be such as will meet the Castle Heights requirements for graduation at the completion of the work of the senior year. 3. Castle Heights will accept from the candidates for a diploma not more than twelve units of credit eamed at other schools. 4. One full year of scholastic work must be done in the academy and four full units of credit earned before a senior may be granted the diploma. The Diplomas. In the high school department Castle Heights offers three diplomas-the Academic, the General, and the Business. The Academic and the General are offered for work in the standard high school courses, and the Business diploma is for work in the high school business department. The Academic Diploma. The Academic diploma represents work of the college preparatory nature. Mini- mum passing grade in each subject for this diploma is 75. Subject pattern for each individual cadet will be determined by college or university selected and area of work in which his major interest lies. Pattern for cadets desiring recommendations for majors in engineering and scientific fields should have four units in mathematics and four units in science in addition to other required subjects. Pattern for those cadets desiring recommendations for majors in social science should have two units in Latin, two units in a foreign language, and four units in social