Julia Richman High School - Spotlight Yearbook (New York, NY)

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cience The Science Department, which includes Biology, General Science, Chemistry, and Physics, is wide enough to interest anyone who has the slightest inclination towards bugs or animals, and a curiosity as to what makes the world go round. Most everyone in the school has at one time taken some course in Science, and never can it be said that there is one of us here who has not had some kind of question to ask about it, even if it were only to know the why and wherefore of personal things that bother us. The world is a mass of scientific problems, and we are constantly endeavoring to find the solutions. Miss Topp, the head of the Science Department, has tried to answer a few ques- tions about why it is taught in the school. 'She believes we should develop a scientific point of view, personal and social tolerance, the ability to self analysis, and to build up sound mental health. Many a girl has a special talent or adaptability for a certain phase of science. For example, she can reprint diagrams, model from life, or formulate problems and see them through in a laboratory. Teaching, medicine, social welfare, laboratory work, research, dietetics, geology, and anthropology, are Helds of endeavor open to women. Mr. Dow believes that the study of science prepares us to live with greater understanding in this scientific world. He thinks that the natural desire of pupils for information shows-the inclination they have towards further interests in this field. Mr. Dorin holds that science'has many rewards-thoroughness, patience, and a sense of personal accomplishment. A good worker possesses courage, alertness, the ability to think independently, honesty, and a love of truth for its own sake. She may become a beautician, with a knowledge of cosmetics chemistry, a journalist for a scientific publication, do museum work, or home economics. In other words, the vocations in which women scientists may engage, are numer- ous and varied. The object of teaching science in the school is to enable us to engage in these positions, and to provide a strong, solid foundation on which we can base our future life. isx

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WafAemafic5 ff r Textile Arts is a subject which one girl will feel is as good as any to make up part of an elective, and for another, it is of more importance. For the girl with not too much money to usually more inexpensive who is really talented in spend on her clothes, this course is a real aid. It is to make a dress than to buy one. Then we find the girl this art. She'may have a flair for the construction of a Or, perhaps she has a knack for making hats. However, study of Textile Arts has provided her with several basic abilities. They have also been taught the value of charm, personal appearance and good grooming. dress or for its designing. to each of these girls the Each of the girls may use the knowledge to a different advantage. The business girl must always present a neat, well-groomed appearance. If she has taken this course she will be able to do just that because she will have the ability to select a ready-made garment with an eye to such things as fabric, workmanship, cut and finishing touches. For the homemaker the knowledge of the construction process will prove a real saving, and also will provide individuality in personal dress and in the home. And for the talented girl, what? Many fields are open to her-for example the field of merchandising, dressmaking, or designing. Some are good at mathematics. Some are not. Most of us, good or bad, however, have been confronted with the problems of why we learn mathematics and what we can do with it in our future lives. Mr. Arnold, the head of the South School and also the head of the Mathematics Department, has been good enough to answer these questions. First of all, and most important to the majority of us, mathematics is meant to teach us a technique of thinking, that is a way of solving our every day problems by clear, straight-forward thought. Mathematics affects us vitally in our every day lives. It is the very founda- tion of civilization. We have seen the role mathematics plays in our daily lives, and now let us turn towards the future. What can we do with our special aptitude for mathematics? Well, letis see. lt is impossible to enter any field of science, chemistry, physics, etc., without a firm foundation of mathematics. Science and mathematics are closely allied. The field of statistics is open only to those who are especially gifted in mathematics. laid. ,446

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nl E, lil E H956 The talent that is the English departments' business to develop is writing. At least that is the more obvious deduction. But in reality, skill in writing is only one result of our training in English. All of us should write correctly. We cannot all have a special talent in writing, however. But there is another great skill to be learned from the study of English that is more important than creative ability. Proficiency in reading is an achievement for which we should all strive. 'GBut, you are saying, UI have known how to read for a long time. There is nothing more than can be taught to me about readingf' Of course at this late date if any of the Seniors did not know how to read, their education would have been a sad failure. But merely calling words off a page is not skill in reading. Have you not often read a sentence over and over again to grasp its meaning? Have you not ever come to the end of a paragraph and found yourself without the slightest knowledge of what it was about? Have you not ever had to read a poem time and time again to understand the thought that was expressed in it? These situations have happened to almost all of us. lt is probably because they miss the meaning of what is on a printed page that some people say they do not like to read. Real reading, real enjoyment of literature is a talent. lt is a talent that can only be developed by living with books and by setting your mind to the task of understanding them. We often have thoughts that cannot be spoken. We often imagine that if we could sit at a desk with a piece of paper in front of us, we could write down those thoughts. But if we ever actually tried it, we would find that writing our thoughts is a talent in itself. It is not easy to convey what we mean by using words. The less of a barrier the paper and pen becomes the greater is the talent. But still greater a talent than the conveyance of thought is the ability to express feeling through words. It is only practice that makes for correct writing. Where our writing is correct, one barrier has been broken down. Clear thinking and sincere feeling will do the rest. MQ V 3 3 I T u , 5 81 1: 7 I ' KY