Wabash High School - Sycamore Yearbook (Wabash, IN)

Page 27 text:

APACRES ATTEMPT BfUNGU4U£M SPAIN FOR THE SPANIARDS—and also for these schol¬ ars under the direction and guidance of that old Spaniard, Mr. Hunsberger. “Conjugate the verb to be.” Apaches heard this command more than once this year, and it seemed a simple chore—to conjugate the most irregular verb in the English language. But, the conjugating had to be done in an unfamiliar, foreign language (simple?). After Apaches had conquered their own mother tongue—or been conquered by it—they chose from French, Spanish, German, or Latin to satisfy their desire to talk all the time and to any¬ body. They learned not only about a language but also about the history, politics, customs, and people. The facilities of the language lab greatly aided the efforts of the Apaches struggling with a modern language despite the fact that it made them look as though they were grounded airplane pilots. Stu¬ dents memorized vocabulary, read aloud, and trans¬ lated in a vigorous attempt to master a foreign language and to appreciate its literature. If, at any time, it all became too much for an Apache, he simply joined the ancient Roman who said, as Rome fell about him, “Quid facio hie?” “Gaul really is divided into three parts.” Mrs. Lavengood Mr. Hunsberger advances his students’ knowledge of French instructs potential classicists in Roman civilization. from a book-cluttered table in an object-cluttered staff room. 23

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These Apaches may well be wondering, “And what is Poe’s Mrs. Jones attempts to instill in the hearts and minds of relationship to the development of the short story.” these Apaches some understanding of the Romantic poets. APACHES VS. Sf-Af£ESPEAR£. From Macbeth to research papers, book reports to the poetry of Poe, Apaches at WHS were put through a vigorous campaign in the battlefield of English this year. They fired periods and hurled commas and fought long bouts with Wordsworth and Whitman. Sometimes the students won; sometimes they didn’t. However, the Apaches learned. They learned to write their themes with unity, emphasis, and coherence. They learned to appreciate the beau¬ ty and rhythm of poetry and the scope of literature. Pacers, essays, and films helped to increase the speed and comprehension with which Apaches read. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors all spent some time this year underlining the subject of the sentence once and the verb twice. They stum¬ bled through the finer points of a bibliography, and through the iambic pentameter in blank verse. The study of English trained the Apaches in the art of making decisions. They went through a whole year thinking, “Here a comma; there a comma. Every¬ where a comma.” Faster and faster—these students attempt to increase their rate of reading along with their comprehension. 22

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HISTORY NOT BUM “When was the War of 1812 concluded?” History students at WHS might recognize this one of the many questions thrown at them, along with “Who is the director of the Peace Corps and what is his salary?” or “Discuss the Roman Empire.” Apaches marched through a string of wars and learned the provisions of as many peace treaties. They learned about money—how to make it, how to save it, and how to spend it—in economics. A study of major and minor political parties (from those advocating “down with Demon Rum” to the man running on a let’s-be-kind-to-spacemen platform) enlivened gov¬ ernment. Anything goes in the study of history. “And when a financial bill has passed in the House of Representatives, it moves to the Senate for action in that body—OHHH!” Mrs. Squires watches over her students as they trace the growth of the unions in the United States during history class. 24