Pekin High School - Pekinian Yearbook (Pekin, IL)

Page 33 text:

J. I .. Phillips Minnie Balckc Deans Counselors The morale of any group of individuals must he maintained, and this responsibility necessarily falls to persons who understand and sympath:zc with human frailties. In I C. H. S. it is Miss Balckc and Mr. Phillips who look alter those students who tend to he unruly in classes and study halls, mar furniture in the building, play hooky, or otherwise affect the ethics of the school. Jt requires much patience and very good judgment to preserve order among several hundred high school students without being too strict or unreasonable; however, the deans achieve just this feat. The students respect Miss Balckc and Mr. Phillips respect them for their fairness and willingness to give a fellow another chance; they know that they will get a square deal, but that they cannot “get away with anything”. As has been stated previously, there are more than 900 students in Pek n High School. They must be assigned to certain subjects. Each one must be helped in outlining the course he is to take. Then his choice must be carefully organized and each minute of his time in school planned. Guidance in such matters falls to the counselors, NPss Todd and Mr. Stowe. These advisers also try to ascertain the difficulties of students who may be very near or actually failing a subject, and assist them in such a way that they can improve the status of their work. Miss Todd and Mr. Stowe counsel individual seniors as to schools which will l est meet their requirements, and also aid worthy seniors to obtain scholarships to colleges and universities. These are only a few of the advisory problems which confront the counselors each semester. C». Evelyn Twld F. It. Stowe

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 Lida Johnson Fern Ewing Administration I . C. H. S. is a large and constantly growing institution It ifi of greatest importance that, regardless of growth and change, it should work smoothly and efficiently. The man behind the school organization is its principal. Mr. R. V. Lindsey of the Illinois State Normal College, B. Ed., and the University of Wisconsin, Ph. M. He is assisted by the secretary, Mrs. Lida Johnson, and assistant secretary. Miss Fern Ewing, both graduates of Pekin High. About four years ago a new wing was completed on the building. In spite of this addition to the school, the student body has grown more rapidly than the building capacity. The administration has taken care of this difficulty in numbers by the traffic rules in the corridors. This year two new teachers, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Warren, were added to the staff. One would think the administration’s hands would be full taking care of this rapid growth. The number of students is well over 9 X). However, the department is not just holding its own. This year it has introduced an entirely new system, planned not only to give the student more time, but to help him to get his work. This new system calls for a complete change in time of classes and number of them. It calls for an entirely new method of getting school work. And yet, in its first semester it already works smoothly. This department keeps an accurate record of each of those nine hundred and some students. No student is a minute late, or a period absent, but that it goes to the office. There is kept a record of where each student is each hour of the day, what year of high school he is in, the credits he has earned, and one hundred and one other things. State investigators from the University of Illinois not only have accepted the credits given at Pekin High, but also have commended it highly and made special note of the efficiency of the administration. 28

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.Foreign Languages I.tla Lockett Minnie Ilalcke -Mary Crawford Foreign languages are a vital part of any school system and Pekin High is fortunate to have instructors who are highly competent and proficient, each in his field, German, Latin, and French, respectively: Miss Balcke received her Bachelor of Science degree as well as her Master of Science degree from Iowa Wesleyan. She has also attended Columbia I niversity. University of W isconsin, University of Illinois, and University of Chicago. Miss Lockett has her Bachelor of Science degree from University of Illinois; and Miss Crawford has her Bachelor of Arts degree from Knox. These teachers not only stimulate thinking by teaching foreign languages, but they also help students to gain a deeper appreciation of the motives and accomplishments of the people whose language they study. Such studies give a closer, more human and accurate understanding of the history of those people and, consequently, a keener insight and pleasure in all arts, literature, and history. They give birth to a finer realization of the many things in the immediate environment, things unobserved before. The mind is sharpened, prejudices are mellowed, judgment improved, and artistic appreciation developed. All these things and a great many more are the rewards of diligent study in the field of foreign languages. To state more definitely the benefits received, one could mention how such study increases his knowledge of grammar, improves his use of English, and teaches him to spell; it gives him the happy faculty of interpreting almost any material he reads, no matter how much of it is terminology or foreign expressions. Learning to speak a foreign language is a bit different from any other school work. Its merits may not seem as obvious as those of other subjects, but, because it is different, it is extremely valuable. It directs the mind in unused channels. No education is complete without opening these new lines of thought. No matter how learned one may be in any line, his education is not well rounded and preparation is not balanced, unless he has exercised that corner of his mind which he must use in learning a foreign language. (I suppose there will be many remarks made about how large a corner it takes to get one’s German, Latin, or French.) Foreign languages are invaluable in all of the professions. Doctors, lawyers, and newspaper men would be lost without that knowledge.