Ithaca High School - Ithacansian Yearbook (Ithaca, MI)

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CCMMERCIAL The commercial department prepares the student so it is possible for him upon graduation to secure a position in the business world without any further training, and to fill competently positions such as accountant, stenographer and typistg thus giving the student who does not go to college the means of making a living wage by immediate use of the training he has acquired from commercial courses. The courses offered are: one year of shorthand, one year of book- keeping, one year of junior business training, one half year of busi- ness arithmetic, one half year of commercial geography, and one and one half years of typing. These give the commercial students of the high school a good selection, and are beneficial to the average high school student regardless of his future occupation. If he goes into business he has the added advantage of commercial courses as his back- ground and if he goes to college, these same subjects will be an im- portant aid to him. He will use some of the information he has gathered regardless of his future. Thus it is clear that the commercial department serves a definite need that cannot be excluded from our modern curriculum. Homer Irwin, B. S.

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AGRICULTURE Vocational Agriculture as offered in our school includes the fol- lowing subjects: Farm Shop and Biology for freshmeng Farm Crops for sophomoresg Animal Husbandry , Soil and Agricul- tural Economics for the juniors and seniors. The state and federal government pay about one-half of the expense of the department because they think the training is necessary for the coming generation of farmers. This branch of our system is primarily for those who are inter- ested in making a business of agriculture. It is not only for boys, as girls seem to be a very essential part of farm life. In fact, it is not uncommon for the wife to make as much of the family income as the farmer himself. The business of agriculture as mentioned above, 'is not limited to those who actually intend to farm. It also includes people planning to teach in rural communities, agricultural high schools, county agents, extension workers, county nurses, farm statis- ticians, soil surveyors, agricultural chemists, ice cream makers and hosts of other lines dependent upon farming. This department is not for the out of date person who thinks he will try all other lines first and then go back to the farm fand no doubt make a failure of that because he lacks trainingj. Vocational agriculture welcomes students who realize that this industry is our greatest business and as such offers unexcelled opportunity for those willing to grasp it. .-....... Foster Mitchell, B. S., M. S.

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ENGLISH Wlien he was president of Harvard, Dr. Eliot emphatically show- ed the necessity of studying our own language. He said I recog- nize but one mental acquisition as an essential part of the education of a lady or gentleman, namely, an accurate and refined use of the mother tonguef, In our complex civilization, where people are highly interdepend- ent, communication is absolutely necessary. Studying correct oral and written expression gives student command of the most common means of communication, it provides a key which unlocks opportunities in business and in society. Learning English, however, includes more than acquiring a means of communication. Literature, the second division of an English course, has great rewards. The study of Iiteratary masterpieces gives power to think more clearly and discriminately, to understand the present in the light of the past, to choose only that which is good and true. The series of literature books used in our school littingly is called Literature and Life , for literature reflects life, interprets life, and enriches life. Eileen Bitzer, A. B.