Brookfield Central High School - Legend Yearbook (Brookfield, WI)

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LEARNING THROUGH SECULAR Where does your education end? Is it solely what you learn :Ii school, or does it go beyond that? Can a person enrich his or her storehouse of knowledge through experiences outside of the academic disciplines, or does one obtain education murely from books, instructors, tests and other components of society's structured system of learning? Legend posed these questions to a number of students at BCHS, seeking their individual responses. Outside of school, l'm very involved in my church, and there I have learned to like myself. l've gained self-confi- dence, and now I feel more comfortable in being myself Although factors from both inside and outside of school con- tributed to these developments, it wasn't anything that I could have gotten from classroom experience. fTim Har- boldj When you're out of school things actually happen to you, and you have to face them right there. School can sometimes give you a false sense of security, and shelter you from real- ity. tLaura Jenesy Outside of school, I work at restoring an old barn. Most of ' EXPERIENCES what I know l've had to teach myself, although I have gotten invaluable help from my grandfather and my shop teacher. The school's curriculum could never have taught me the skills or the knowledge that I need for my job. tRob Ziobrol When l'm not in school l've learned how to have a super- excellent water fight with Roger Villmow and Scott Semb in the kitchen and play Life until three in the morning with a few of the Untouchables, while my parents were in Door County for the weekend. fWendi Stavesl I belong to a drum corps which travels around quite a bit, and through this l've met a lot of people and learned to be more open with them. tBeth Campbelly l've learned a lot from being at home. I have learned to take on the responsibility of a babysitting obligation. tBridget Kobel I learn a lot from the mysteries that I like to read at home. tKelIy Groddyl From my extracurricular activities l've learned good sportsmanship and how to get along with others. tJohn Sut- tony When l'm at my job, I know what it is like to work, and I know this will be helpful in my future. tTom Felserl Because I have such a large family, l've had lessons on how to be authoritative, and I have been instructed on the proper method of changing diapers. tKaren Mundschauj You're too busy goofing off at school that you don't learn anything. At home you learn how to talk to people. tKatie Goerkej I work at a horse stable, and I learn more there than at school because I work with both kids and adults. tAndrea Larsonl Out of school, I learn how to take responsibilities and how to budget my money. tJane Hughesj My friends and my close sisters are the most impressiona- ble on me. tLisa Reganl At Jensen Equipment, where I work, I learn about mechan- ics and machinery, but most of all, I learn how to talk to peo- ple. tJason MoselyI Out of school, I travel a lot, and I get to meet a lot of very interesting people. tWendy Wadej I am in the Grand Illusion Magic Company, so I learn how to deal with people and how to set up deals. tPaul Walkerj From my first job, I learned how to follow a schedule dur- ing the summer months. Outside of school, I also learned to socialize with fellow students. tTony Contresceril I have learned that out of school you can be yourself and not worry about what people think. tSteve Walbyj You learn to associate with people and respect another person's views and their ideas. tRick Krause! l learn to get along with people who are older than I am. tJenny Gawelskij While l've been out of school, l've learned manners, such as the table manners that l've learned at home from my par- ents. tPaul Piettet Out of school, l've learned that the application of knowl- edge is more important than the knowledge itself. tKevin Kellemsl Learning X 17

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The impotent G63l?lQlEElllCDl'l The times they are a-changing. A generation ago, this was a rallying cry for the progressive, liberal youth of this country, who sacrificed much to see changes made in our society in areas such as civil rights, discrimination, and foreign policy. But with time, the marches and protests died down and the Me generation of the 70's was born. Ideology was replaced by a more placid demeanor, and W the country as a whole breathed t fs' Q N. in 'ls 'Ewa 1' easier at a respite from the often V. g -at 3 violent era which had so recently i 1 S f l' passed. And now, in 1981, Vietnam and 1 , of . . Kent State are not much more than memories, and so are the it ' eg protests that went with them. True, we have our opinions, and many of us are willing to stand up for them, but perhaps our moderation is working against us, and defeating any goals of positive social change. We seem more relaxed now, and do not become overtly emotional about political and social issues. And yet, as a result of this change in attitude, it is possible that we don't crusade as strongly for what we believe in, which can certainly be construed as a negative development. lt can almost be said li is Y is V lu A W a5taaY time, but the longer it lasts, the more dangerous it becomes. lf people are discouraged from challenging existing thoughts and policies, our democracy becomes little more than a communist state or a George Orwell nightmare. But we are a democracy, and as citizens thereof, we have certain inalienable rights which we should not disregard and cast , .. if . aside. Adlai Stevenson once said, 2 if Freedom rings where opinions ' clash. Perhaps we should be arguing more, and making full use of our freedom of speech and thought. Certainly no one wants to see violent confrontations, but there is nothing quite as enlightening as a constructive discussion between persons of wholly opposite viewpoints. Developing these differences is not only wise, it is absolutely necessary to a free society. It might serve us better to lose our inhibitions and put forth our own viewpoints, not those of the crowd. Our priorities seem to have changed, accentuating the materialistic rather than the idealistic. To a certain extent, humanitarian and social goals have been forced to a back seat, and are definitely not as prominent that we are afraid to take risks. Have we become an impotent generation? lt's possible. Many of us are unwilling to deviate from the mean, to speak out and take a stand. We've become a nation of followers, claims Carolyn Stepp. In the past decade, our country has moved away from the violent conflicts which characterized the 1960's and early 1970's. But has this new-found equanimity perhaps caused us to become a malleable and impotent generation? as they were ten years ago. And yet our basic aim has not changed: that of making this country and this society the best possible to live in. It is the means of achieving this that have changed. Going through There are no leaders. No one is willing to take the initiative. This may well be true. Certainly at Central we can see examples of fine leadership, but the student body as a whole seems to be apathetic. When was the last time you heard of anyone other than the Student Council School Board Representative going to a School Board meeting? Why haven't students audibly protested about vandalism in the school, or attitude grading? Why, with dozens of Central students forced to register for the draft, did no one rebel? In some ways, our generation seems to be losing its individualism. Peer pressure points toward conformity of thought, rather than distinctiveness of personality. Of course, this sort of thing has been going on for a long bureaucratic channels may be a more soothing and peaceful way to conduct business, but it is necessarily slower. Violence is not a viable alternativeg it does not produce constructive and feasible rebellion. lf the crusade for social improvement becomes too radical, nothing will ever come of it, except disorder and distrust. Then too, change and rebellion in itself has little value. Only when it is being done for some positive and progressive purpose does it have any meaning for society as a whole. lt takes courage, there can be no doubt of that. But forward motion cannot be accomplished without some degree of risk, and it is the willingness to take these risks which characterizes the potent and constructive individual. In the words of Camus, I rebel, therefore we exist. The impotent Generation f 19