Archbishop Mitty High School - Excalibur Yearbook (San Jose, CA)

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A PARTISAN REPORT FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD MATH OR RATHER WAS HAD BY MATH WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THEREFORE OUGHT TO KNOW BETTER There are those who would say Mitty's Math Program has everything as backwards as the photograph of the Math teachers and their teaching assistants pictured above. Controversy surrounded the program from the first, some vocal, some as silent and disconnected as some of the less successful students. Major modifica- tions in the program came soon in the year. Too soon for some and not soon enough for others. I-low much credit will I get? My TA doesn't understand me! People questioned, exclaimed . . . just how much algebra does a musician need anyway? How much math is really needed for the man who clearly has no career ahead in math or science? How clear is clear? Is algebra the necessary first step in mathe- matiCS education? Many times the presuppositions about what is college prep work and what is not fail to take into account the vast varieties of higher education. Could Algebra I and II, Geometry, and Trig be salac ious old whores every young man gets sent to as part of some bizarre Twentieth Century American puberty rite for the middle class? What jesuitical device lurks in the crannies of that old lockstep? Was this a needless experiment for seventy percent of the students? What is Qwas?j the Math Program? Let me continue by saying something simple we can all agree upon: two plus two equals four. Right? Sometimes. As I understand it, the Math Program realized the old educational saw Each student will proceed according to his own pace which is exactly what happened -- some guys did well, moving swiftly, others did a little, slowly. You don't move on to the next level until you succeed at the current one which is a very sound approach to mathema- tics pedagogy. Having spent my high school career befogged by Algebra instructors telling me I wasn't working hard enough and then sprinting on to the next chapter while I foundered in the vacuum of their lesson plan propwash, I am convinced the Math Program has the right approach. I see some students way into a second year's work and the second semester is barely under way -- that I sub- mit is super. Super. But what about us DUMBKOFERS who don't get cranapples from cranberries and apples? Well, you let me flounder around long enough till your sure I'm not just lazy. Then you help me by doing a variety of things and one of them is getting the bright guys to lend a hand. Students do learn from one another in every king of thing from basketball to chess, from music to mathematics. There is no question the Math Program flike most Mitty programsj calls for a mature, determined effort from every student, TA, and teacher. As the year went on the Math Program matured greatly -- some students matured and found out clearly they were or were not mathematicians, they learned from one another, and they didn't get swallowed up in some surrealistic mathematical gyre. Hooray for Dan Eaton, Ralph Pardo, and Bros. Rolly Bunda and jerry Gor! Hooray for you Math TAS! Chalk one up for Goodness, Beauty, and Truth. -- Kevin McCarthy Excalibur Faculty Advisor Ex Math Midget

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For some people, the JV team is where it all stops. Little League sensation, SeniorLeague teammate, IV . . . you got your growth early, developed the skills, had some great moments and enjoyed playing for Mitty, being a part of something special. For others, IV is where everything starts to jell: your sense of timing, yotu' strength, yourrecognitionof the importance of an all-out effort, your appreciation of your role as a player. You have a future. There were some fine teams at the junior Varsity level this year, and some fine players: Brandeleis, Kolegraff Riley, Martignetti, Brady, Pena, and Long to name but a few. Mitty's JV basketball teams had never won a league game in the history of the school, till 1971 when they won a bundle. On the other hand, the JV foot- ball team only got one win all season. Things were so bad at one point the quarterback decided to go duck- hunting instead. Win a bundle, lose a bundle. VVhat's it like to be a IV? If you played for Coaches Granados or Townsend this year you won more than you lost. Decidedly more, and learning to win is a lot nicer than learning to lose. 1 mn ,, r 4n.., .. . A

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