Browns Valley High School - Thunderbird Yearbook (Browns Valley, MN)

Page 26 text:

The Juniors and Seniors devote two years to the study of English literature, including a good resume of American literature. The work aims to be logical. No criticism of an author is just or satisfactory7 which the pupil takes directly from the text-book. A recitation upon an au- thor’s style is mere parrot work, unless (he thoughts come from contact with that author himself. An original opinion upon the style of Wordsworth is worth a dozen statements learned from the most authentic text-book. Therefore, we believe in studying all literary masterpieces «irrelatively with the study of the author and the study of the author in his proper place in the history of our literature. We teachers of English are builders of air- castles, mayhap. We see in our pupils, develop- ing from year to year, the foundations of the noble, virtuous defenders of our nation. Each lesson assigned and conducted, we trust, will be one step in the development of those characters in our boys and girls, which make for righteous- ness. INEZ A. KELSEY.

Page 25 text:

(Tlir fcmjltsh Department uf Slip Urrnuns Halley timjh grlinol II, was not many years ago, that the subject of English, in our high schools, was considered a mere nonentity, taught once or twice a week and considered, merely as a period of recreation from the routine of work. Today, we are approaching, as we believe, near- er to the comprehension and interpretation of the relative merits of subjects suited to our sec- ondary schools, and lo! the study of English leads all the rest. As we look back, it is with difficulty that we realize how our educators of the past have failed to give the proper attention to this one vital subject. Pupils, themselves, with that instinct by which we accept the re- forms and advances of the age, feel the import- ance of the mastery of the essential principles of effective speaking and writing, together with the appreciation of the great authors, in order that they may fill their place in the world with greater benefit to humanity. In our high school, the work of the four years in English has been correlated as closely as pos- sible . The thought of a firm basis with gradual but steady development is ever in the minds of the teachers. A building upon the known, an advance from the simple to the complex, are the fundamentals of the course. Composition and rhetoric form the basis of the work for two years; and this is strengthened by the study of such fasterpieces of English and American literature as come within the interest and appreciation of Freshmen and Sophomores.

Page 27 text:

Boy’s Basket Ball Team—Mr. Yeager. (Manager) Barrett, Nelson. McLane. Anderson. Gordon, Becker. Mr. HI son. Coach.