Beloit High School - Trojan Yearbook (Beloit, KS)

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ENGLISH. The chief function of English is to develop the power of self- expression. Self-expression is the medium through which all knowledge is communicated,and through q which that invaluable something, indi- viduality, asserts itself. The English co u1'se in the Beloit High School comprises three full years of text book, classics and research work. Classes complete a text book and' six classics in a year, sometimes more.A An endeavor is made to select such literature as is adapted to theimmediate need of a class. A love for good literature means a love for nature, for humanity, and for Wholesome, helpful living. Tl1e reading habit, rightly formed, means the ability not only to read books, but to read life with an unfaltering trust in the opti- mistic idea that life, clean, busy, pur- poseful life, is worth while. The Freshman class this year have made a study of the typical novel, Silas MARY B- NELSON' Marner,J' thus gaining a' standard by which to judge all novels. It is dangerous to read at random, without some established method of criticism. The Old Greek Folk Storiesw make a good preparation for further lit-erary work because literature teems with allusions to mythological char- acters. Scott's Lady of the Lake, a narrative poem, makes a most interesting and profitable introduction to the study of poetry. g In addition to these, the Freshman class have studied the historical novel, Tale of Two Cities, outlined biographies of scientists, orators and philosophers, and completed The Great Stone Face, a model short story. They are an enterprising, in- dustrious class and have shown a marked improvement in origin- ality during the year. h DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH.

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LATIN. Latin has been and always will be the indispensable basis of the literary course in all high schools, and it is because the value of its study has beeen thoroughly proved. A few years ago one of the principal reasons for studying Latin in high schools seemed to be that of preparing students to en ter the universities and colleges of our country. This is nolonger true, since the requirements for entrance into these schools have been changed. Now it is possible to enter and get an A. B. degree without any knowledge of this subject. From this fact it would seem that the per cent. studying Latin might diminish, but sta- tistics for the last few years show anincrease of 20 per cent. taking FLORENCE MONTGOMERY, the Latin course in our high schools, which shows that this was not the real reason for studying Latin. Three-fourths of all the words of the English language are de- rived irom Latin. Then to be able to understand our own lan- guage -we must have some knowledge of Latin. Another impor- tant reason is, that through the Latin we get the only accurate knowledge of Roman history. The Beloit High School offers a four years' course in Latin. The first- year consists of the regular beginner's work, as offered in Smiley and Storke's Beginner's Latin Book. During the three years following, sixteen books of Latin are read, divided as follows: Four hooks of Caesar the second year, six of Cicero's Orations the third year, and the first six books of Vergil the fourth year. Prose composition is studied once a week through- out the three years, constituting a Very thorough high school Latin course. 1 DEPARTMENT OF' LA TIN.

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The Sophoniores have accomplished an unusual amount of individual research work, becoming acquainted with various authors and their distinguishing characteristics. They have readily interpreted Milton's Minor Poems, which are usually not attempted before the third year. Ro1nola, Crawford,l' Lays of Ancient. Rome and Bryant's Sella have likewise beencompleted. For the provincial type, t'Colonel Carter, of Cartersville, was studied, while Irving's Tales of a Traveler furnished many charming bits of hum or. Impersonations, charac- ter sketches, and debates have been written. The Sophomores have a special aptitude for literary work and always perform any amount with a good natured smile. They have their own way of doing things and it is almost invariably a good one. The Juniors have made a special st-udy of the different periods in English and American Literature, the Greek, French and Eng- lish Drama, and the development of the Arthurian Cycle. They have made a critical, detailed study of Tennyson's Idylls of the King, outlined Sophocles' ' Antigone, ' completed Hawthorneis Mosses from an Old Mansef' read 'iCyrauo de Bergerac, and made a philosophical study of Shakespeare's Macbeth. They have proven themselves worthy of their place as the most ad- vanced English class by their progressive and wide awake spirit. The hours spent with the English classes have been most en- joyable ones. Together we have studied and striven, toiled and laughed 3 together we have learned many lessons which are daily proving themselves practical. ' MATHEMATICS. Another year has rolled itself around. Another class looks backward, not forward, to the four long years of high school work on the hill. During these four years the present graduat- ing class has had the constant company of some member of the mathematical family, except for about eight weeks which was spent on a review of civics. The real duty of the teacher of mathematics lies, not so much in the teaching of the solution of the equation, the rules and methods of factoring, the application of the four fundamental signs, etc., as it does in the development of the spirit of individu- ality and investigative research in t-he students themselves.