Sheridan High School - Yellowjacket Yearbook (Sheridan, AR)

Page 189 text:

Since I began teaching in l948, the small high school has disappeared from the scene. No longer can we put the whole tenth grade in one classroom or take the senior class to the state fair in one bus. But we do have modern gym- nasiums, well-equipped laboratories and a much broader curriculum than we did in those days. Now that we have these fine facilities along with faculties with bachelor's degrees or higher, one would expect these improvements to be reflected in the quality of students, but, I must say it is not. ln the late forties, when rural Arkan- sas first got electric lights, many stu- dents went to school for the purpose of raising the standard of living for them- selves, their families, and their commu- nity. Most of the ones who graduated had a real purpose for earning a dip- loma, the drive to achieve came from within themselves. We still have good students, but many of them are neg- lected because we teachers are so busy dealing with the great numbers of non- motivated students who have no real purpose for going to school and still less purpose for studying. This problem is further complicated by the universal drive for personal liberty that has aused the public to demand laxness in discipline. Some things never change. lt is still a sheer joy to work with young people, and I wish I could teach them fifty years. Mr. Fulcher I 11 if ll 'V ' , ' Students graduate - others come - then go. New buildings are con- structed - old buildings remain - but through this sameness and change runs the thread of the purpose of our school system - to provide an education that will prepare a young person for his or her launching into the adult world. Over the years our enrollment and our school plant have grown in num- bers and size respectively. In spite of what some students might think, rules have become more lenient and to some extent students have more freedom. Sometimes, there is too much thought given to this and not enough to the preparation for life as the student gets out on his own. Quite often as students show thier ability to take responsibility, more freedom is given to them. We attempt to give the student prep- aration for physical, psychological, social, and spiritual readiness for this launching into life as well as basic sub- iect matter. Some students accept this and work toward this readiness while others decide to wait and think about it tomorrow. Hopefully, students and teachers can work together to make this an outstanding school, not as a show place, but as a center for helping young people prepare for a well rounded life now and in the years to come. Mrs. Lancaster I , . . .H l ' A 5 va ' T V - 1 P '4-I-'wr 'sf-itkvf ' 'S L - fm - , ' :Sis ' .f f if H- f ., mfs' 1 , . rf f, s .- 'vs'-'pK ' . . ,.E-:steals -i a , . 11? ii if E,-iy ..., --Y ' -. , ' r - 1 ' ' f 'ws 'V -fi A --.--' ' ' . , v - '.':52-' - .' ,f v CL 25- Year Teachers Share Their Views For over a quarter of a century these five teachers have taught school, putting forth an endless number of students. They have shared with students many a moment of sor- row and success. Throughout their twenty-five year experience they have seen many changes take place, not only in the school system but also in the students themselves. The annual staff decided to ask these teachers? ln your years of teaching, what significant changes have you seen? Were they for better or worse? What changes would you like to see? The following is their response. 25-Year Teachers! I 85

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each ers Become 1I1.ldl1U1l Fighters There are quite a few things to be said our economy on the local and national However most of them aren't very If that catagory is reduced to the condition of teachers in Arkan- the picture certainly doesn't improve. as is forty-ninth in teachers' sala- and despite promises from the state lwhich has over twenty million in surplusl, things don't seem to be any better. Consequently, many of faculty have to take on other iobs summer iobs in order to make ends Luckily there is no end to the interesting that an industrious and intelligent can get into. Many go into farming raising stock while the fields repre- range from real estate to engineer- Plunkett has a little company as he makes the s on his farm.