Cathedral High School - Pantherpix Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 95 text:

2 1 Working in one of the booths in the reading lab, Pauline Boucher makes marginal notes. 2 Prose and Criticism, a new Senior elective, of- fers Deborah Renzulli a wide choice of fiction and nonfiction, and a chance to express her own opinions. 3 Something catches John Lambert's eye as he leafs through a book. 4 Group discus- sions make students aware of others’ views, and also their own. 5 Confronted with Thoreau’s ideas on civil disobedience, Susan Hopkins formulates her own opinions. 6 At the Fine Arts Seminar in December, Steve Rivers and Ann Boudet view a small collection of distinguished paintings. 7 English doesn't interest everybody. 91

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English Department emphasizes individual’s needs English students this year experienced the freedom and res ponsibility of selecting their own courses according to their personal tastes. They could choose from a wide range of electives. Humanities was offered to both Juniors and Sophomores. It involved itself, in general, with three questions: What is the good man, the good society, the good life? Juniors undertook comparative study of Russian and American cultures; Sophomore Humanities observed man in three distinct civilizations: ancient Athens, medieval Florence, and modern New York. The Senior Curriculum, also designed for individual interests, offered courses varying from Shakespeare to Critical Reading. Freshman courses dealt with an introduction to types of literature including works of many cultures. Not a direct offspring of the English Department, though relevant to its curriculum, a Fine Arts exhibit was presented, highlighting the literature, music and art of the 18th century. At other times during the year paintings on loan from the National Gallery of Art were available for student's viewing. , 4 3 f } 3 90

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Students gain from Language Department changes By changing the curriculum the Language Department put an emphasis on the individual. Students in German I and I] classes dealt with grammar and reading skills. German III students used their skills to write compositions; the work was put on transparencies and projected on a screen. Corrections were made so that everyone benefited from them. The success of the ALM method in Spanish and German led to the use of ALM French. So, in addition to improving their reading of a foreign language, the students refined their pronunciation by listening to a native speaker. Spanish students found themselves in smaller classes which gave the teacher time for more personal instruction. Classes were split into small groups p roviding students with the opportunity to learn from each other. A new text was used in Latin. It presented more material in a shorter time than previous texts. 2 3 1 ‘Learning German only hurts this much,” says Sr. Nancy Sparks. 2 As Kevin Barbeau knows, to do anything right you start at the bottom. 3 French IV student, Robert Ormsby, contemplates the advantages of attending class. 92