George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

Page 171 text:

Further diversifying the Social Studies program, a course in Psychology was offered for the first time. Interested Seniors had an opportunity to study this controversial subject. Among the course's objectives were the study of human behavior and the discovery of the motivations of the mind in relation to its actions. 8y probing their own problems, the students aimed to gain a more accurate understanding of personality development in themselves and in the people around them. Studying self-expression led to interesting class discussions on body language and recognizing what other people are trying to say. Many traditional values were questioned as students began establishing themselves as individuals in a complex society. In addition,the history of the field of psychology was studied to augment the course. Feelings about the value of the class weighed heavily in its favor. A large majority of those taking part in the new program were enthusiastic about the variety of material offered. They felt that the class was especially effective in giving them insight and a greater perspective of themselves. A few students, however, felt that the class lacked participation, motivation, and a goal. But those in favor of it felt that the course's benefits far outnumbered its drawbacks.

Page 170 text:

 Through nonverbal communication. Dusty Kuzma teaches Scott Henshaw how to do a push-up. £ a c o ■ MB o Role playing, building model airplanes, leading the blind” on trust walks, visiting Inner City High Schools, touring St. Elizabeth's Hospital and spending the day at Gallaudet College for the Deaf were all exercises for Humanities students. Officially a class in communications, it was a half-credit, one semester course that included experimental approaches to human communications at various levels. These levels included personal, social, and mass communication. Aptly termed a communication laboratory , learning was based on experience and supplemented by discussions in the class. Students were presented with the basic philosophies and background of an exercise. They then formed groups to work on these and other activities. One such activity was a student exchange with Woodrow Wilson High School, a predominantly black school in Washington, D.C. Each student from Marshall was assigned a buddy who served as a guide to the school. Many buddies took the Marshall students to their classes and around the campus. In exchange for their hospitality, the Wilson students were invited to spend a day at Marshall. Humanities students enjoyed new freedom not available in every class. To many, this course was the high point of their day because it had evolved into a deeper, more personal class than most. One student described the class as a laboratory science without science, English without formality, art without a tangible medium.

Page 172 text:

■■ lT’5 A 5D-5D PROPS Gambling in class? Not real gambling but rather the analysis of various games of luck. This was only one of several projects undertaken by the students in the Probability and Statistics class. The semester course was open to anyone with a background in Algebra II. Nine weeks were devoted to the study of probability, and for the remainder of the semester statistics were investigated. While studying statistics, the students did mathematical analyses of standardized tests for the Guidance Department. After compiling their calculations, the students looked for patterns in the results. Although Probability and Statistics was not a new course, the teacher was. Mr. Jeffrey King was assigned to it after the retirement of the original teacher. A different approach was used, and the students were free to decide what to study as a class. Most of the usually tedious math work was eliminated by the occasional use of electronic calculators. Even though this recent addition to the Math Department receiver! little recognition, the students involved increased their knowledge in the field of mathematics and had fun doing it. - c Proving and reasoning play important parts in Mr. Arthur Holdt's geometry class. With the uso of the overhead-projector, Mr. Ed ward Anderson explains some of the basic prince pies of Calculus. I