Homer L Ferguson High School - Mariner Yearbook (Newport News, VA)

Page 22 text:

Social Studies fuse modernity, antiquity Cassette tape recorders, pro- jectors, and supplementary books were put to good use in the Social Studies Department as NDEA funds became available again. Teachers ran off tests and information on their new ditto machine; creative projects and educational programs were videotaped and played back in class. But social studies center around people, not machines. Many United States History students studied Colonial Williamsburg ' s architec- ture on the spot. In a six-week session. Miss Sylvia Olney and Mr. Bob Driscoll team-taught Urban Studies, with a field trip to Norfolk to identify components of a city. Game-playing government classes learned of international power struggles via “Dangerous Parallel. Economics students spent second semester in individual study and projects. International Relations was reinstated in the curriculum after a one-year absence. Outstanding Social Studies student Lee Dise was voted out- standing delegate to the Model United Nations held at Madison College, where Noel Kornette, Robert Shelton, and Rick Witty joined Lee in representing the United States.

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Unfamiliar faces, new classrooms, and a variety of organizations and cultures opened the school year — one week later than origin- ally scheduled — at Ferguson. Student-to-student communi- cation was hampered, for past school ties dominated student associations; but in time the conflicting identities were dissolved. No longer could one be recognized as a Viking, Trojan, Typhoon, Farmer or Monarch; instead, each came to realize his new Mariner status. Within classrooms and clubs, goals varied; within the different cultures, con- trasting ideals were present. Teachers and administrators also faced change. Half of the facu lty was new to Ferguson; but it was a new Ferguson even to those who knew the building. Every- one had to adjust to a whole new ball game,” a new principal told them, as well as to temporarily frozen salaries (with retroactive pay finally coming in January) and to the absence of eighth and ninth graders. But while people searched for a possible method linking the assortment of aspirations, the development of new and reorganization of old clubs aided in weaving a closer relationship, unifying the goals and Diminishing the Diversity 17

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Social Studies Department: Front Row: Mrs. Marika Anthony, Mrs. Susan Taylor, Mrs. Lin- da Homes, Mr. Steve Merritt, Mrs. Ora Brink- ley, Mrs. Phyliss Eastman, Back Row: Mr. Ever- ett Hicks, Mrs. Janet Kessler, Mr. Earl Ches- son, Mr. Edward Byrd, Mr. Donald Coccoli, Mrs. Thomasine Sneed, Mrs. Margaret Big- gins, Miss Sylvia Olney. With the Social Studies department ' s new materials, Mrs. Susan Taylor adjusts projector. Concentration on the opponent ' s move puz- zles Martin Cross as he watches The City Game. Happy Birthday! Reads smiling cake baked in honor of P.A. announcer Mr. Bob Driscoll . Clutter comes as no surprise to Mr. Ted Hicks, history teacher, as he enters Room 2-A. A break from routine provide teachers with an opportunity to discuss outside affairs. 19