Gavit High School - Futura Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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Students penetrate the past I like learning about how the government runs and how the con¬ stitution was written. Peggy Benirschke Senior The Social Studies department consisted of geography, world history, government, and eco¬ nomics. Whether working in¬ dividually or in groups, social studies courses provided students with a basic understanding of our world. Geography, a class usually taken by students during their freshmen year is the only social studies course that is both a requirement and an elective. While students who do not wish to further their education after high school are required to take geography, many college bound students take the one semester course as an elective. Emphasizing the economic and physical char¬ acteristics of the countries studied, Geography I and II students ex¬ plored the western and eastern hemisphere ' s respectively. World history is a two semester course required by all sophomores. Covered in World History I were the prehistoric, ancient, and medi¬ eval periods. The development and contributions of modern nations were discussed in the second semester. A change in pace took place in Mr. Petyo ' s class this year. Houghton-Miflin Publishing Cor¬ poration ran an experimental test on their world history books. By using two control groups and two experimental groups, the publishers wanted to find out how well their book was written. 1. Various types of architecture are dis¬ played by world history student Dorothy Myrzlock. 2. Mr. Auther L. Thompson, Indiana University B.S., M.S., world history, U.S. history, freshman basketball, M.S. foot¬ ball. 3. Miss E. Diane Clinton, Houghton Col¬ lege B.A., University of Buffalo M.E.D., government, sociology, psychology, social studies department chairman. 4. Miss Caryle Feddler, Northern Il¬ linois University B.S., M.S., M.S. history, assistant track coach. 5. Mr. Thomas Zygmunt, Ball State Uni¬ versity, B.S., M.A., American history, government, Senior class sponsor. Academics 29

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Individual attention stressed Many of our students, from both middle school and high school, have specific learning problems. For this reason, Gavit has put into effect a special education program to provide help for these students. Students enrolled in this program were taught the necessary subjects that would aid them later in life; such as the basic skills of math, English, science and social studies. They also could take almost any elective they choose. Our special ed. classes were taught on an individual basis be¬ cause of the differences in the capabilities and speed of progress of each student. In this way, the teacher had more time and op¬ portunity to know their students a little better so that they could help each progress at his own speed. The special ed. program had one main goal: To get students back into a regular program of classes and to help them feel accepted by their fellow students in school. 1. Miss Sheila Skowronski, Northern Il¬ linois University B.S., visually impaired. Drill Team, Twirlers, sponsor. 2. Mrs. Janet Neiswinger, Purdue, Educ¬ ational Media Center. Mrs. Rita Cornell, Indiana State University B.S., Purdue M.S., librarian. Pep Club sponsor. 3. Mrs. Betsy Desler, Ball State University B.S., Special Ed., English, Lang. Arts, Sci¬ ence, social studies, C.U.C. Club sponsor. 4. Jinni Nahod, Ball State University B.S., Valparaiso University M.S., speech, hear¬ ing, language. 5. Miss Rosellen Maddalone, Indiana University B.S., special education, work study coordinator, C.U.C. Club sponsor. 28 Academics

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Students select subjects A junior class, U.S. History I was a study of our country from the beginning of our nation up until the Civil War. U.S. History II stu¬ dents examined the problems and accomplishments of twentieth cen¬ tury America. Government, a one semester course for seniors, gave students a chance to look at and examine our federal, state, and local govern¬ ments. The importance of democ¬ racy in today ' s society was stressed. Seniors studied the economic in¬ stitution of free enterprise in eco¬ nomics, another one semester sub¬ ject. The social studies department of¬ fered four one-semester electives which consisted of far eastern his¬ tory, history of the South, sociology, and psychology. Contemporary his¬ tory, a class usually offered during the fall was dropped because not enough people signed up for it. Covered in Far Eastern history were the economic, political, and social aspects of the Asiatic coun¬ tries as well as the roll of the Far East in world affairs. Students also researched and discussed the value systems of the Far Eastern countries. History of the South students took an indepth look at the Amer¬ ican South. They studied everything from the first southern settlements to current events in the southern states. Emphasis was placed on pre- and post- Civil War. Sociology students studied group behavior and the current social problems faced by some of the people in the world. Students also busied themselves with question¬ naires and papers dealing with crime, social subcultures, and var¬ ious other topics. Psychology, a senior class was an introductory study of the individual. Department head Diane Clinton in first year of teaching the course, decided to switch places with the students and had a student dom¬ inated class. Working in groups of seven, the seniors researched and taught their fellow classmates and basic concepts of psychology. 1. Mr. John A. Swanson, Colorado State University B.S., Stanford University M.A., economics, U.S. history, far eastern history. 2. Mr. Ronnie A. Whitcombe, Indiana State University M.A., B.A., M.S. social studies. 3. Mr. Thomas A. Shimala, Indiana State University B.S., M.S. social studies, H.S. Pep Club sponsor. 4. Miss Louise Williams, Southeast Missouri State University B.S., H.S. geography. 5. Mr. Gerald V. Rouse, Indian a State Uni¬ versity M.S., M.S. social studies. 30 Academics