Episcopal High School - Whispers Yearbook (Alexandria, VA)

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Sophomore English requires the fundamental approach also, and rules and definitions must therefore be memorized once more, and the applica- tion of rules is stressed. Mr. J. R. Taylor, Mr. J. C. Boggs, and Mr- W. R. Deeble hold down the teaching end of second-year English. They teach the basic types and terminology of literature, and introduce the pupils to the works of some major authors. When a pupil reaches junior English, the functional approach is emphasized by his teachers, Mr. R. E. Karlsen. and Mr. Taylor. lt is assumed that the rules of 4'The Grey Gospel have been memorized enough by the junior year that the average idiot will have learned them. Since most E.ll.S. boys are at least average idiots, no memor- ization is required, although application of rules is still stressed considerably. English literature is mafdemafica 1-1- generally surveyed, with occasional brief looks at the historical background. Senior English offers not only a broad look at world literature, but also an introduction to the standards by which literature is judged and appreciated. Unhappily, but necessarily, the students of Mr. Karlson's and Mr. Ravenel's fourth English classes are forced to behold the damnation of their favorite pieces of literature under the critical analyses of the aforementioned pedagogues. Ultimately, however, the student becomes better able to appreciate all the literature the world has to offer. Also, there is a happy excursion into the realm of higher methods of composition 4'Don't say ain't J, which Mr- Karlsen chose to introduce thusly: If you'll pretend to be interested I'll try to look interested toof' A study of early American literature and reams of notes terminate the course. el0al fl'l'lQl'lf Mathematics at E.H.S. consists of a medley of chalk-evading and hours of long, arduous study each day. The chalk-evading is necessitated by the chalk-throwing of Mr. G. V. Tompkins, head of the Math Department, whose theory it is that a well-aimed piece of chalk helps to eliminate false concepts about mathematics. The long hours of study are necessitated by the extensive homework assignments of the mathematics professors. The six members of t-he Math Department of E.H.S. are all top-notch men in their fields, who are more than capable of teaching anything from arithmetic to differential and integral calculus. On account of the necessity for a broad knowledge of mathe- matics in college and in later life, four mathematics credits are required for graduation from E.H.S. As Thomas Edison once said, Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspirationv. Most of the perspiration which is worked up by the pupils of Mr. L. M. McLaughlin, Mr. L. R. Emmons, and Mr. R. K. Butler in Hrst year algebra comes as the result of learning the fundamentals of mathematics. The fundamentals learned in first year algebra are employed in the more elaborate and complex studies of second year algebra. Under the tutoring

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l-' Cl sses The ultimate academic goal of each boy who comes to E.H.S. is graduation. In order to achieve this goal he must have sixteen credits, each course in a major field of study counting as one credit. By taking the normal four subjects per year, a boy may easily graduate in four years. Getting oneis diploma, however, is not as simple as it may sound. The studies at Episcopal are not easy. They are not meant to be. They are meant to require conscientious effort on the part of every student. Boys who will not make this effort are justly rewarded, usually in the form of having to spend five years getting the diploma that normally requires only four. Some boys never graduate at all. But those who are willing to make the effort find that a great deal may be learned merely by putting oneself in the right frame of mind. To the non-student, these studies are just a group of subjects taught at a high school in Virginia. To the students they are the personifications of the masters who teach them. What little we have learned we have learned because there was a group of patient, unselfish men who were willing to help us in our endeavors. This is a fitting time to pay tribute to them, to their unselfish devotion to the training of the boys of the school, not only in the classrooms, but in all phases of life. flgdffk Qepdftnienf The English Department forms so integral a part of our E.H.S. 'education that it has become the foundation upon which many other branches of school and later life operate. This department is notable for 'the corps of erudite gentlemen who comprise its faculty-3 it is also notorious for the English Reference Book, which is irreverently termed The Grey Gospeln by students who, regard- less of circumstances, maintain strict adherence to all its edicts, laws, and orders, which are better known as rules and definitions. Too much praise cannot be given to Mr. Ravenel, who in his few short years at the helm of the department, has molded it into the outstanding one among Southern preparatory schools. As stated by Mr- Ravenel, the objective of the English Department is to develop in each boy the ability to read with comprehension and a reasonable degree of speed, to cultivate in him an appreciation of good literature, and to give him adequate control over the tools of language so that he may speak and write effectivelyn. Believing that a little learning is a dangerous thing, the llnglishinstructors insure that pupils imbibe magnitudinous quantities of nthe Pierian spring. These imbibings begin with swallows of fundamentals under the tutelage of Mr. Ravenel and Mr. .l. C. Boggs in freshman English. 13 a

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of Messrs. Callaway, Emmons. and McLaughlin, the students of second algebra learn the theory and systems of quadratic equations. exponents. progres- sions, the binomial theorem. and logarithms. When second year algebra is completed. an entirely new ty pe of math is taken ups- geometry. Geometry is the world of squares. circles. triangles. and other polygons. ln geometry Messrs. C. V. Tompkins and P. ll. Callaway are successful in teaching the Pythagorean and the four hundred and nineteen other accompanying theorems and corollaries. Every student in fourth mathematics is required to take trigonometry for the first half of the school K year. After finishing trig, each boy must choose between complicated numbers or confusing figures tadvanced algebra or solid geometryl, depending upon which is required by the college that he is planning to enter. Both lVlr. Emmons and Mr. Walker attempt to cram the fundamentals of trig into some of the non-Euclidian minds, with a great deal of success. During the second half of the year. Mr. Emmons handles the figures, while Mr. Walker takes care of the numbers. For the real mathematical geniuses we have fifth and sixth math courses. Both of these, which include analytic geometry and differential and in- tegral calculus, are under the direction of Mr. D. S. Walke1'. ncienf ofanguagefi Shakespeare had little Latin and less Creekf' but the modern student, as he is unlikely to be a second HSwan of Avon. would he ill advised not to take advantage of the comprehensive Ancient Languages program here on the Hill. As well as its being a fine training ground for the mind. who but a Latin or Creek scholar could appreciate e pluribus unzun, lioi polloi, or non illegilinzis carborundum? The pedagogucs of this all-important phase of an E.H.S. education are Mr. R. P. Williams and Mr. R. L. Whittle. lVlr. Williaiiis. who is completing a half century of teaching here, is alone but excellent in the teaching of the three Greek courses offered here. If a student has completed three years under Mr. Williams, he has read Plato and Homer in the original and has done considerable prose composition. Mr. Willialiis also overlaps into the Latin division of the department. of which he is the head. ln this field knowledge of forms and basic grammar are drilled into the student until he has become thoroughly grounded in the basic features of the language, and then ancient authors are taken up in order of difficulty. Considerable attention is 3 . 15