Fairmont West High School - Dragon Yearbook (Kettering, OH)

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position. Students spend time writing original poetry about friends and people whom they know. Literature in the junior year stresses American writings, life in America, and American authors. Moby Dick and Our Town are required for most juniors. It is also in the junior year that the student writes his auto- biography. The senior year is the most interesting to the student. During the year students make pre-collegiate studies of grammar and enlarge their vocabulary. They con- centrate on original composition. Each student is given the chance to speak before an understanding group, and he learns to express himself well. He learns how to write a perfect letter of application. No student graduates from Fairmont until he has written a perfect letter. Teachers require students to read such classics as Pygmalion , Macbeth , and Ivanhoe Pointing out corrections on an English theme to john Zeisler is Miss Ruth Heitzman, senior English teacher. Fm' a Well-Balanced Enqlish Program. Mr. Eugene Smith is demonstrating to the class and Tom Sawyer the use of the reading machine to push that reading speed.

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Over l0,000.books dealing with everything from the simplest form of life to social problems may be found in Fairmont's library, one of the student's most valuable sources of information. Literature and Grammar Prnville the Framework Scanning poetry is among the studies in Miss Mary Frances Claggett's junior English class. One of the most important areas of study at Fairmont is English. Students at Fairmont take three years of English which gives them a background in literature and improves their ability to express themselves. In sophomore English, the student reviews the basic grammar he has learned prior to entering Fairmont. This includes learning how to outline and how to write different types of letters. He also learns about manuscript forms, and the importance of accuracy in spelling, how to use the dictionary, and how to develop the vocabulary. He studies various types of literature, both American and English, but the high- light of the sophomores year is the reading of Shakespeare's Julius Ceasarf' The junior in English finds outlining becomes more complex and interesting. His vocabulary increases and his spelling becomes more accurate. The junior at Fairmont is taught public speaking and original com-

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Study nf Humanities Brnatlens Views nf 'I'ntlay's Mudern Wnrltl The reason for social harmony is taught by Miss Verna Harcourt in a senior social studies class. Subjects from prehistoric man to the American ex- plorer were studied and analyzed by social science students this year. In world history classes, students learned the story of man's conquest to build and pre- serve civilization. This story developed man's social, political, economic, moral, and cultural progress through the ages. Junior American history classes studied a general account of American history emphasizing the posi- tion of the United States in our interdependent world. Topics covered included the discovery of America, development of the English colonies and their contributions to our social order, the war for independence, and economic problems such as de- pressions and inflation. Mr. John Stuckey, American history teacher, points out to the class the exploits of DeSoto.