General Douglas MacArthur High School - Commander Yearbook (Levittown, NY)

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TO THE CLASS OF 1971 “Patterns seems like an appropriate theme for a comprehensive high school like ours. Our lives form patterns much as do designs created in art or music or shop or English classes. One of the hidden rewards of teaching lies in the percep- tive teacher's growing ability to foresee future developments by patterns or life styles which were begun in youth. By the time of graduation the basic value pat- tern is sketched out: what ensues is embellishment. Only rarely is the change substantive. What I’m suggesting is that all our myriad decisions contribute to the life style, the pattern, the direction our lives take. Some will have lives of quiet desperation: others will curse the stars, but it is the moment of choosing and the following action that determines the pattern — to act nobly or ignobly, with courage or cowardice, honestly or not. in love or with hate — the choice of action makes all the difference. No post-mortem rationalization counts. As our seniors leave us. we wish them godspeed and a life of wise choices. No longer will they account to us: it is now we who count on them. May all the

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Assistant Principals U ' LJ TO THE CLASS OF 1971 In order to get purposeful action from you we have tried to arouse your emotion. We have tried to convince your intel- lect that things we want you to learn are desirable and will be of benefit to you. But. until such time as has awakened in you a desire to do it. until we persuade you that whatever effort you expend is of little consequence compared with the satisfaction it will bring you. our teaching has been lacking a most important ingredient. It is our hope that your years at MacArthur High School, both the good and the bad. have made you a better person for it. Best wishes for continued success in all that you may undertake in the many fruitful years you now have before you. TO THE CLASS OF 1971 The pattern of student life in the public schools of our nation has undergone many changes since you entered kindergarten about twelve years ago. The most obvious changes have occurred in the second- ary schools. When your friends or older brothers and sisters who have graduated visit MacArthur they are sometimes startled at the shorts, blue jeans, long hair, out-of-building lunch and other external manifestations of change in the American educational climate. What they fail to see. however, are the truly signifi- cant changes in the old patterns of behavior. There is a great give and take between students and teachers. The doors to the administrative offices are wide open to any student with questions or problems. We have put an “S in PTA and the pres- ence of students at PTSA meetings is beneficial to all. Student leaders meet regularly with our super- intendent of schools. As a matter of fact, the privi- leges listed in the first paragraph were all initiated by student suggestion and effort. In a few years many of you will be in positions where you work with young people. . Most of you will also function as parents. Try to remember that the patterns are not nearly as important as the will- ingness to change those which are not relevant. Be willing to listen — and to truly hear.