Joliet Junior College - Shield Yearbook (Joliet, IL)

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HIGH SCHOOL 1922 Like a sturdy youth who grows so fast that his clothes are unable to keep up with him, the English Department overflows into all nooks and corners of the building, but like the same youth it wastes no tisne lamenting its lack of frills, for it is chiefly concerned with a healthy and substantial develop- ment. Foreign Languages Foreign language study aims might be said to be two-fold, pleasurable and practical, were it not that what is worthily pleasurable is, in the high- est sense, practical. In Joliet schools foreign language study opens gates into pleasant pastures of joyous compre- hension of some of the world ' s best literature. It assists in giving proper historical perspective necessary for present day problems. For this a working knowledge of the particular language studied is necessary. The first year work is therefore devoted largely to the devel- opment of power. The tools of language such as vocabulary and a minimum amount of gram- mar are given. The student is taught how to find his way in this, to him hitherto uncharted . field of expression, oral and written. In the muJern languages oral work is emphasized through direct method class room work. Later more attention is paid to the thought con- tent. The student becomes more aware of the author ' s message as expressed on the printed page. He gained in ability to use the power ac- quired in the previous classes. It is not always the amount of foreign language possessed at the close of a course that measures its value. It is not easy to determine progress by content. There must be content, but the power gained may be so great as to overshadow this in value to the stud- ent. The power may be an interest paying in- vestment in which the interest is frequently com- pound. The student who has by patient exacting work acquired the use of a foreign language, has at the same time learned more of his own language and literature. He has done this by the neces- sary comparisons and contrasts drawn in the class room. Over five hundred students in the Joliet Schools are now taking advantage of the opportunity to broaden their thought by means of foreign lan- guage study. I ' aare Nine

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JOLIET TOWNSHIP Departments of the School English The English Department is a life-sized one, hav- ing enrolled in its fifty-six sections of high school and college work 1,550 students. System is its watch- word. Mr. Trams, head of the department of thir- teen teachers, issues each year a manual which out- lines the aims of each course, the texts used, depart- ment regulations, questions for outside reading, and a calendar of work which is followed week by week. An equal amount of work is covered in all sections of one subject, and at a given time each class is working at the same problem. In the Junior College every student is provided with a manual outlining the requirements in a similar way, but containing in addition a schedule of daily assignments. The work offered is similar to that of other schools, three years of required English, electives of American or English Literature or Public Speak- ing in the senior year of high school. Rhetoric in the first year of the Junior College and English and American Literature offered as electives. One dis- tinctive method is the alternating of literatu re and composition throughout each semester. Special at- tention is given to cultivating in the students good reading habits. Diagnosis is made through stand- ardized reading tests. The pupils learn the use of reference books through study and practice based on Hopkins ' Reference Guides. The Junior College students work out weekly library problems and pre- pare extended bibliographies. This year a new plan for outside reading was de- vised. The books on mimeographed lists prepared for each semester are credited according to their length and value, and a minimum number of points is established as a requisite for passing a course. Pupils file simple reports on printed blanks. In the advanced work these reports are made more detailed and demand finer critical ability on the part of the students. The plan has proved so successful that a thousand copies of the books listed will be added to the high sehool library to take care of the demands which the public library could not fill. Members of the public speaking classes render constant service to the school in speaking before the home rooms and in the Auditorium in behalf of school enterprises. Each year they furnish several fine entertainments, finishing off their achievements with the Junior College Play in February and the Senior Play in June. Page Eight

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Home Economics In the Department of Home Economics a four year course is offered for those who wish it. The aim of those instructing in this department is to lead the girls toward certain ideals which center about the fact than an ideal home is not an accident, but is created from the co-operation of the different members of the family, each taking his division of labor and responsibility and doing efficiently those things which fall to his lot to do — and the fact that for most girls home-making is at some time or other some part of her work if not the main part. With this in view, the hope of those concerned is that the girls may be brought to see that home-mak- ing includes much more than proficiency in only two phases of the work in a home, that of garment construction and meal preparation, each for its own sake. The girls begin to appreciate that be- sides learning to cook they must know much about food stuffs, their source, how 1 to buy them, how to prepare them and why, not merely for pleasing the family tastes, but for the sake of maintaining the family health. From an interest in clothing themselves the girls become interested in clothing the family. To do this efficiently they must know something of the various textiles and how to buy them wisely. They must also know when to make their own clothes, when to buy them ready-made and when to have them made. Attached to the question of economy in clothing are the problems of artistic choice, good taste and personal hygiene. Eventually the girls are led to understand that one needs not only to know how to feed and clothe the family, but how to plan, equip, and decorate a house that it may become a comfortable and beauti- ful home and how to plan the distribution of the income that the family may attain its greatest possi- ble development under the existing circumstances. The girls learn to know that they do not need wealth to make a home, but they must look upon home-making as a business to which they must go with enthusiasm and for which they must prepare if they would be successful. Mathematics In the department of mathematics three and one- half years of work are offered in the High School with an additional two years ' work in the Junior College. The high school courses include one year of com- mercial arithmetic, one year of elementary algebra, a year of plane geometry, a half year of advanced algebra, a half year of solid geometry, and a half year of trigonometry. The Junior College offers courses in algebra, trigonometry, analytic geometry, and a full year of calculus. In the Junior College department of engineering a semester each of general engineer- ing, di wing and descriptive geometry, a year of surveying, one semester of theoretical and applied mechanics and a one-hour course in the theory and use of the slide-rule are offered. It is thus possible for U:e student to secure six years of training in mathematics and engineering in the High School Mid Junior College enabling him to enter the larger universities as a Junior in these subjects. This means that many students who are unable to spend four years away from home are now able to secure university degrees with only two additional years beyond their graduation from the Joliet Junior Col- lege. Social Studies The Social Studies department is composed of the subjects that formerly were given under the heading of History, Economics, Civics, and So- ciology. This department was re-organized in 1914, and today the following subjects are required of all students ; in the Freshman year, Tuesday and Thursday Occupations ; in the Sophomore year, Monday, Wednesday and Friday Civics ; in the Junior year, five times a week a course in World Survey of History, and in the Senior year five times a week, the first semester Ameri- can History and in the second semester, either Economics or Sociology. Beginning in Septem- ber, 1922, the course given the last semester of the Senior year will be changed to a course called Social Economics, which is a combination of both Economics and Sociology. This outline of the Social Studies curriculum takes the student as a Freshman, gives him in- struction in the various vocations in order to help him to a clearer understanding in the choice of his future occupation. Then in his So phomore year he studies American government beginning with local government of his own community, culminating in the study of the State and Nation- al government. As a Junior the student receives a year ' s survey of the development of civilization and the problems that face the world today. As a Senior he devotes his time to the history of our own nation and to understanding the economic and social problems that face us as a nation. The aims of the Social Studies department are three fold ; first, To teach a liking for the sub- ject; second, To teach a skeleton knowledge of the subject ; third, To impart the knowledge of where to find information on any subject. The department feels that when a student has com- pleted these courses, he has a strong foundation in the field of Social Studies. Physical Education for Boys The field of physical education is to assist in improving human nature. The department should be concerned with phy- sical training from the stand point of hygiene, correction of defects, recreation and education. If emphasis is placed upon the last named value and the right methods of training are used, then the hygienic, corrective and recreative benefits arc obtained at the same time. In other words the purpose of physical training should be to de- velop the inborn trait of cooperation ; to con- Page Ten