Benilde St Margarets School - Sangraal / Benilden Yearbook (St Louis Park, MN)

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Benilden Volume 15 Editor Mark Williams Associate Editor John Walsh Moderator Sister Angela Schmaltz General Index Fall.............................8 Winter..........................30 Spring .........................56 Faculty.........................62 Organizations...................72 Teams ..........................84 Students .......................94 Senior Index...................132 Farewell.......................140 Dedicated to Mr. James Ryan

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BENILDEN 1972 Volume 14

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In the five years he has been at Bcnildc. Mr. James Ryan has come to exemplify the educational philosophy of this school. He embodies the philosophy of a strict basic education, yet leaves room to mold this type of structure for personalities which suffer from a strict system. As chairman of the English Department, he has helped it become one of the most innovative and diversified in the institution. As an instructor, he has opened the doors of the fine arts to a large number of Red Knights. For these accomplishments alone, he deserves praise. The paradox of this man is that these can only be considered some of his minor accomplishments. Mr. Ryan, through his teaching, tries to uncover the wonders of the world and the complexities of life for his students. Whether he is discussing a sonata by Mozart, a play by Shakespeare, or a love sonnet by Donne, he always offers his views (which have been known to differ). While he allows his pupils to appreciate art forms because of their surface appeal, he continually offers reasons to explore the complexities involved in the creation of a work of art in order to achieve the highest possible amount of pleasure from it. His teaching technique centers on his ability to prod pupils into thinking. The principal rule he constantly re-emphasises is that only through an irrational thing like art can a person express the range of human emotions. Every person who has experienced him. whether in a class room or through conversations. has ever come away the same. Although some find his emphasis on the supra-rational AND logic either contradictory or distasteful, the great majority find it hard to describe how much encounters with him have changed them. They are indebted to him and the only price he asks is that they listen.