Lawrence High School - Red and Black Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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14 ‘Wagon’ cast shares family Because this was a year of many strong male voices, according to Millard Denny, drama teacher and director. Paint Your Wagon, a musical with more parts for males, was performed. Paint Your Wagon deals with Ben Rumson, played by Chuck Mead, who is a widowed prospector chasing a dream and hoping to get Vich. His daugh- ter, Jennifer, played by Andrea Stammler, also is search- ing for her dream, which she finds in a young man named Julio, played by Bill Woodard. The musical was postponed one week because of football playoffs and district choir auditions. Denny said that with nearly 70 people in the cast, crew and orchestra, many of them were in- volved in band and choir. Be- cause the band played at foot- ball games, rehearsing on weekends was next to im- possible. A cast becomes a family and it shares an experience that no one else can understand, and the mem- bers will never forget it, Denny said. Clockwise from above: Ben Rumson, played by Chuck Mead, sings to his daughter Jennifer, played by Andrea Stammler, and wishes his wife v ere still alive to teach her about young love; While Jacob Woodling, played by Eric Scott, counts his blessings, his wives, Sarah and Elizabeth, played by Miokc Aangeenbrug and Wendy Wyatt, arguo about simple matters; Kevin Albert, as Jake Whippany, flashes a disgusted look in response to a slighting remark; Two miners, David Shumway and Josh Waters, as Edgar Crocker and Mike Mooney, try to persuade Rumson to send his daughter back East; Jennifer applios medicine to Julio, played by Bill Woodard, the man she loves.

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Editorial By Rayannc Glass, editor •Staff cuts damaging; I stunt school’s growth Lawrence High underwent many changes during the school year. Phase II construction began with a science wing and swimming pool addition, changes were made in the attendance policy and the passage of a teacher referen- dum were all considered to be a step in the right direction in providing high school students with an exceptional ed- ucation. One change, however, struck out against the growth and progress that District 497 was making-that of staff cuts. An outline from the administration suggested that with declining enrollment the student-teacher ratio should be 21- 1. This recommendation was reviewed by the board of ed- ucation, and staff cuts became a surprising and sad reality. Almost every department at LHS was affected by the cuts by changing full-time teachers to part-time, requiring some to teach at more than one school, increasing the number of classes per tqacher or not offering some teachers new con- tracts. When the 21-1 student-teacher ratio was figured, the entire school district was included. Individual departments with required courses and, therefore, more students, were not given special consideration. The English Department seemed to be hit the hardest with five teachers being affected. Actu- ally 21 students in a class to one teacher is desirable, but this ratio is ineffective in the English Depart- ment because of the larger enroll- ment. This will become a tremen- dous burden to English teachers. With more students and more class preparations, they will have less time for individualized help and as- signment grading. People who are concerned about the quality of education generally set a maximum number of students for a class, but only a min- imum number of students was set here, a minimum of 30. The crowd- ed classrooms will have an effect on the quality of education because generally students learn more in smaller classes and a better student- teacher relationship can be develop- ed. It was ironic that at the same time that cuts were being made, the Kansas State Legislature was looking into the possibility of student competency testing and was question- ing whether Johnny really could read and write. Despite the damage to the quality of education, changes must be made to deal with the declining enroll- ment. Staff cuts were a reality based on seniority with con- sideration given to minority staff members and those who make special contributions to the educational system. The administrators defeated the purpose of offering the best ed- ucation possible when they followed this system. A newly- hired teacher who may be better than a teacher who has had more years of experience, will in fact be cut simply be- cause of the seniority system. Is this what education is all about-cutting staff mem- bers who have more to offer than those who have been a- round a while? Because staff cuts seemed to be a necessity in dealing with the declining enrollment, the idea of merit is appeal- ing. A good system when dealing with staff cuts would be based on merit and seniority. With the interests of students and teachers alike, this system would be the best of both worlds. It would give special consid- eration to seniority but also take in- to account merit based on adminis- trative and student evaluations. A faculty committee would need to be formed to advise the administra- tion on where cuts could be made with the least harm to the educa- tional system. A good educational system is very necessary. Even Baron Henry Brougham, a British lawyer and statesman in the 19th century, real- ized the importance of education. He wrote, Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impos- sible to enslave. Staff cuts may be necessary, but to maintain a high level of teaching ability, a merit and senior- ity system should be used. Other- wise, students will only suffer from a regressing quality of education. □ Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave. Henry Brougham