Hamburg High School - Echoes Yearbook (Hamburg, NY)

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THE MONARCH 1928 19 History Department In this age of rapid transitions in the educational system, perhaps no subject in the curriculum has undergone such changes as has history. Fifty years ago history consisted of a detailed study of Greek and Roman life, a little Medieval and Modern European history, and, in the United States, the Revo' lution and the Civil War, with short treatment of the War of 1312 and the Mexican War thrown in, A modern survey of history leads us backward thousands of years before the Greeks. VV hat is more important, modern history, with its wealth of authentic ma' terial, can at last explain why such catastrophes as the World War can take place. In mastering their history, our fathers memorized long lists of political rulers, military chieftains and supposedly important battles. Now we know that it is neither leaders alone nor battles which turn the tides of human progress. On the other hand, deeper underlying factors such as industrial- ization, capitalism, imperialism, applied science, nationalism, mob psychology and secret diplomacy intermingle to move peoples along their course. In the days gone by history was more or less of a necessary evil the teaching of which required no special training. The funnel method of instruction was used. The students were passive recipif ents of the teacher's lectures which they were forced to 'memorize along with the conf tents of a single text book. - A well equipped history department of today is a laboratory fitted with news' papers, magazines, pictures, maps and various texts, used in conjunction with the school library. In addition, sources and actual documents are taking a larger place in the materials used to study history. l Present day history teachers are individuals who have made a wide study not only of history but also the allied subjects of sociology, psychology, philosophy and economics as well as literature and science. The greatest change probably has been that in the student who now makes of his class a place for the discussion of the problems of his nation and of the world and seeks to Hnd a way to better the conditions of both. Norman Downing '28 .-

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THE MONARCI-I 1928 21 The Library Last year under the care of Mr. Vernon Simmons our library was refcatalogued and over a thousand dollars was spent for new books. This year Miss Thyra Be Vier and Miss Ruth White have had charge of the library and a thousand dollars more has been expended for further books and equipment so that we have one of the finest libraries in the state and since the librarians are specially trained for the work, the library is exceedingly well administered. It is one of the most popular and use' ful places in the school. Mrs. Moilitt and Mrs. Buesch have helped make the library a pleasant and businessflike place when Miss Be Vier and Miss White were teach' ing their respective classes. The English Department Possibly one of the most tedious subjects of the school a hundred years ago was English. The study then consisted of English grammar, spelling, reading, and then some more grammar. What a change today! Une of the most interesting and val' uable subjects is English. Miss Gertrude Sanborn has for four years had charge of English I and Eng- lish II in Hamburg High School. In her classes the fundamentals of English gram' mar are reviewed, English composition is interestingly taught and correct forms of English are learned by studying some of the masterpieces of English literature. Since a person uses spoken English almost twice as much as he does written English after he gets out of school, much stress is laid on oral English. The most interesting def hates and open discussions on live topics are carried on, sales talks are given, good books reviewed and discussed, business transactions carried out, afterfdinner speeches made, and various conversational training given in the most practical manner. In spite of the fact that much hard work has to be done each day the pupils all say that English is fun in Miss Sanborn's classes. English III and IV, Public Speaking and Dramatics have been in charge of Mrs. Isadore Simmons for the past seven years. In English III, formal debating. parliamen- tary procedure and public speaking, both extemporaneous and prepared, are em' phasized. The study of the essay, the historical novel, the short story, the drama, and poetry of various types is continued with the idea of construction in mind so that in fourth year pupils may begin to write short stories, essays and poetry. This year the fourth year classes have produced some poetry worthy of consideration. The Senior Essays this year are said to be the best in the history of the school. Probably the most valuable work of third and fourth year is theiinstruction given in the use of the modern library. Pupils learn to use all reference books, card indexes, catalogues, readers' guides, Who's Who, atlases, magazine guides and all such valuable means to an education, They are also taught the classification of books now commonly used in all libraries of U. S. so that they will not be helpless when they wish to find information which they may need. In all this work the li' brarians cofoperate with the English department, making special collections of books on any subject, sending to Albany State Library for books and collecting informa- tion on any subject in which the English classes may be interested. The Fourth Year English Classes each year produce the Senior Annual. This in itself is a most valuable project in English. An interesting survey of the English departments was made this year and the pupils were found to be considerably above the national median or average in English. Alice Roosa '28