Mishawaka High School - Miskodeed Yearbook (Mishawaka, IN)

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Students, administration work to improve attitude, curriculum As change was a factor that played a role in every facet of Mishawaka High this year, so change was a dominant influence in the aca- demics of the school. Obviously, things had to be rearranged to suit the new requirements of the faculty and student body: course contents reviewed and upgraded, new classes instituted, others dropped, and a general reordering of priorities taking place everywhere. Academics involved the greatest single influence on the students' lives-what they were taught in the classroom and the learning materials available to them. The administration and the school board took direct responsibility for these. Although property tax intake for this school year was not the best hoped-for, to satisfy all the increased operating costs of the high school, the quality of education did not suffer for it, The absence of unlimited funds in the budget meant that many innovations the administration had hoped to provide, could not be tried, but no existing classes were curtailed as a result. Dr. Koger, Superintendent of Schools, felt that the School Board was, holding the line against a cutback in the academic program, while, with the aid of federal funds, going ahead in selected areas. The overall philosophy, which determined everything that went into academics this year, was that school curricula should fulfill a defin- ite need of the student and be flexible or inventive when he requested it. The knowledge presented in the subiect should be relevant to today, and prepare young adults for post-grad- uation life, both mentally and spiritually. New courses were begun where interest was shown, and revisions made in older classes, when needed. Answering the challenge of keeping abreast of new academic developments was a big part of the work for the teachers at Mishawaka High School, and they were constantly busy with the task. Department heads planned the year's for- mat for each of the subjects in their field and conferred with their colleagues as to the content of various courses. New methods of presenting material were experimented with and textbooks were reviewed and replaced. Principal Smith, Executive Vice Principal Rice and Head Counselor, Miss Audra Rea, all shared a hand in the organization of the school's academic program during the year. Students, too, had a major role in the shaping of what they were to study. Mr. Niemann, of the Social Studies department, headed a Curriculum Council that received student re- quests for new or revised classes, and passed them along to the School Board for considera- tion. A minimum of ten students was necessary 16-Academics to form a class and some of the proposed courses that were not begun this year are still being reviewed by the Administration. Examples of courses new this year were the Alcohol and Drugs class, taught by Nlr. Danaher, morning vocational training classes taught at Elkhart, and the year-old Auto Mechanics class. Another feature was the policy of permitting students to participate in the selection of textbooks. From the Math Department to the field of Industrial Arts, change was the key word in all classes. History students elected subjects from Freshman Social Studies through World History. English teachers experimented with combining the Grammar and Literature phases, and upper- classmen were taught a revised Library Resources unit. Science, at all levels, retained the traditional standards but featured more student investigation. For the first time, French was the only language with a third and fourth year, and Business Education offered two new advanced courses in secretarial and clerical work. The Home Ec Department of Mishawaka High School realized a revolution, of sorts, in its first year of male attendance in the classes. As the nature of academics at Mishawaka High School underwent change over the past school year, so, too, did the students. They realized their freedom to determine their individual and collective development and took the initiative to work with the faculty and administration. USING NEW ELECTRONIC equipment, Miss Audra Rea and Mr. Al Dalkowski review college material. PIZZA IS PART OF ENGLISH for Mike Addison as he demonstrates how to make it in a class demonstration. nl. v if o 1, -..Ari

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THERE IT lS ' Nancy Weeks celebrates a discovery in bnology class with her partner, Anita Thomas. ai 's X x? X n 4. 18-Academics xxx Xa . EARTH SCIENCE STUDENTS practice what they were taught about the measure of geological time. SECOND YEAR CHEMISTRY student, Jeanne Scheibelhut, works on one of her many experiments,