Classical High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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Mrs. Helen Landry — language Math That Matters Consumer Math, in its third year at Classical, was designed to give college preparatory students a greater understanding of the practical applications of mathematics to everyday life. According to Mrs. Julia Bale, chairman of the Math Department and one of the teachers of Consumer Math, four major topics are covered in the course — taxes, insurance, credit, and banking. Matters of current interest, such as shopping, budgets, and money management are discussed. Innovative techniques, including speakers, films, and records are widely used in the Consumer Math course, providing students with an insight into the actual workings of the system, its good points as well as its faults. Research projects are another vehicle by which students are informed on such matters as credit policy. By actually visiting retail stores, credit unions, and insurance companies, students gain firsthand knowledge of the financial conditions of the community. Mrs. Bale does not use a textbook in teaching Consumer Math, preferring instead to use publications on insurance and credit distributed by such corporations as Household Finance and current articles in Changing Times magazine. Mrs. Bale emphasizes that the course is constantly changing, adapting to current financial conditions. Mr. James Nodurf — math Mr. Arnold Matz — language Mr. Neil Yesu — assist. principal Mr. John Sawyer — English FACULTY 15

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Mr. Richard Annino — mathematics “I don’t believe it matters what period in history (past, present, or future) that I happen to teach students. What is important is that I enjoy doing the work I do. Hopefully, the enthusiasm I show will be catching. I wish each class period were longer. Fifty minutes is of- ten not time enough to do all I'd like to do.” Mrs. Susan Danton — English “ ‘T'm not afraid of the future because have seen yesterday, and I love today.’ ” Mrs. Audrey Desrochers — gym “T wouldn’t care to move backward through time, but forward. I am a sci- ence fiction buff and my most earnest wish has been to experience interplan- etary space travel. It would probably be a magnificent experience.” Miss Ruth Dickerman — English “While one is often tempted to long for “the good old days” — whatever they were — there is greater wisdom in these words from Longfellow’s Hyperi- on: ‘Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely im- prove the Present. It is Thine! Go forth to meet the Shadowy Future, without fear and with a manly heart.” Mrs. Frances Evans — social studies “Teaching is better now. The trend is away from passive learning. Our stu- dents want more than the status of re- ceptacles to be filled with handed- down education. They want to talk, analyze, get involved.” Mr. Clark Henderson — psychology “The past is over. We should not live in it or desire its return except in the sense of learning the lessons of life that it affords us. Indeed, there have been significant changes in the size, charac- ter, and maturity or lack of it in both students and faculty over the years. Qualitatively, I would say the students seem more confused and the faculty- more defused in its impact upon the students.” Mrs. Helen Landry — language “’Now’ has always been the best time for me! I have learned from the Past and look forward to the Future, but I try to enjoy the Now!” Mr. Arnold Matz — language “I think we have learned from the past to help us with teaching in the present and the future. If the past was helpful in any way, it has taught us that we must adapt adequately to the present and try to be more optimistic about the future.” Mr. James Nodurf — mathematics “The many legitimate sectors of society which are competing for the attention and time of today’s student make teaching today both interesting and challenging. It becomes a function of your resourcefulness and creativity and therefore is invigorating.” Miss Lorraine Plasse — English “I'd rather be teaching now. It was very difficult to teach in the recent past; so much has changed so rapidly that goals seemed to disappear while we were on our way to attaining them. Although certainties are now more apparent than they were a short time ago, it seems to me that students and teachers again feel confident that Classical can best prepare its students for the future by stressing a solid background in basic areas such as reading, research meth- - ods, and composition. Skills such as these would enable individuals to deal with problems that are, as yet, not even imagined. Mr. John Sawyer — English “I would prefer teaching in the future about 100 years from now as I foresee tremendous societal pressures eventu- ally destroying artificial national boundaries (political, racial, religious) and leading to an era where education and reality are no longer at odds.” Mr. Neil Yesu — assistant principal “How past is past? Since that is a time period which belongs to another gen- eration, we should have learned from it in an eclectic manner; up-dated its best to make the present and future better. Today, in teaching, there is a greater emphasis placed on the hmanistic ap- proach to subject matter; the past usu- ally catered to a mechanical method or learning for the sake of learning.’” Would You Have Liked To Have Taught In The Past Rather Than Today? Mr. Richard Annino — math 14 Mrs. Susan Danton — English Mrs. Audrey Desrochers — gym Miss Ruth Dickerman — English Mr. Clark Henderson — social studies

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16 Future Drivers What does it take to be an efficient driver? Sure, you can learn to drive from your short-tempered and impatient father or your nervous mother who screams and clutches the seat as you simply “touch” the gas pedal, but most students choose a better way: they enroll in Mr. Tipton’s driver education course. In his popular course, Mr. Tipton teaches teenagers how to become safe, efficient drivers. The course replaces the thirty hours classroom instruction from an independent driving school, and a certificate is awarded if the requirements, an eighty percent average and near perfect attendance, are met. Unless a student hates to miss one term of gym, there are few disadvantages to taking driver education at Classical as opposed to a driving school; on the contrary, there are several benefits. Mr. Tipton feels that he teaches a better course because there is no boring repetition for new admissions, as in the driving schools. Since all classes are during school time, no extra time is required out of school, and the student still benefits from an auto insurance reduction. Perhaps most important of all, however, is that this free course offers a more thorough training than do courses given by a driving school which charges. With the additional use of audio-visual aids such as films, charts, diagrams, and models, Mr. Tipton presents a very thorough course which is needed greatly today to help reduce the very high rate of teenagers killed per year in automobile accidents. The course helps prevent the precious lives of students from being wasted. Mr. Tipton sums it up best, “In we Mrs. Julia Beverly — math Mrs. Florence Hallbourg — math taking this course, you can either save money or your life. If either of these things are important, then the course is Mr. Michael Ligarski — math worthwhile.” Mr. Daniel Meder - social studies Miss Mary Morris —social studies