Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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DURING THE ENGLISH PORTION OF THE CLEP PROGRAM, seniors lis- ten to speaker Tom Kennedy. Mrs. Eliza- beth Morrow taught English, while Mr. Mike Wright offered Govern- ment and Economics. WHILE HER STUDENTS STUDY ON THEIR OWN, Mrs. Morrow works at her desk. The two period class, Mrs. Morrow said, was designed not only to prepare students for the college level exam in Government, but to serve and an enriched social studies course. Photo by Gala Holt. 172 Special Report, CLEP. . . Combined classes combined hours C.I..R.P. By Marjianne Nelson V ,rom the appearance, A-32 did not seem too special. It had a plain aqua door as the A implied and upon entrance one found about 60 marked up desks for students as well as a few for teachers. Decorated with posters and typical student projects, the room seemed normal enough. It didn't have much to live up to, as only a few years back it was boistering with new freshmen in an American History class. Something, how- ever, made A-32 different, for it was the home of a very special class third and fourth period. The class was CLEP, taught by Mrs. Eliza- beth Morrow and Mr. Mike Wright. The class combined the facts of government and English while preparing the students for the CLEP fCol- lege Level Examination Programj test at col- lege. As Memorial was the only school to offer such a class, that made it perhaps even more special. Mr. Wright and Miss Morrow both began planning for the class long before it started August 23, however. We were approaching at the close of last school year, Mr. Mike Wright said, when they were approached by the counselors. We were brave enough to try CCLEPJW, Mr. Wright said, and with that began a summer of search looking for various innovative ways to teach the new class. As the class lasted two straight hours, some definite advantages could be seen. After we have a speaker for one hour, Mr. Wright explained, we can discuss it the next hour while it is still fresh on their minds. CLEP seemed interesting' to many as 55 seniors signed up for the course. There was one small catch, as Belinda Baird explained, however. Once you were in the class, you couldn't get out, she said. While in, however, students experienced a different sort of classroom envi- ronment. With such a large' class, dicsussions were quite open, and perhaps therefore better. Katy Bremer said, We really got into some hefty discus- sions. Timed writings could last two hours instead of the traditional one. '4Some- times they gave us two hours to work on a paper, Nancy Irvin said. Perhaps one of the more imique things about the papers was that they counted for two grades, in government and English, although the student was still required to write only one paper. ' Special projects, as in some other classes, were also tackled by the stu- dents, but Mr. Wright and Mrs. Morrow tried to make each project as differ- ent as possible. We graded different aspects for the different types of pro- jects, Mrs. Morrow said. A ' 5 One of the many projects assigned during the year was that of researching a mayoral candidate. Each student was required to choose a candidate, find literature about him, and finally make a prediction of his outcome in the race. I was lucky enough to get the Nazi Party, Julia Browning said. I called up this one phone number and they offered me S4000 for killing a Black, Catholic, or Jew. The tape was later discovered by Houston officials and dis- banded. Morrow and Wright strayed away from traditional projects, however, such as a research paper. They've done a research paper, they know how to do it, . . . let's do something new now, Mrs. Morrow explained. Only 'K' students were allowed to participate in the program, and for some that was also a definite advantage. I knew I would be in with a selective group of people, Deidre Happe said. Although the teachers did not request 'K' credited students, that is the current standing, according to Mr. Wright. Although the course was named CLEP,'preparing for the college examina- tion was not the sole objective of the course. '6Enrichment is what we're look- ing for, lVh'. Wright said. ' We think the students themselves added a great deal to the course, Mrs. Morrow concluded, to try the course, they became that way too. The stu- dents opinions about the course seemed to reflect IVIrs. Morrow's statement. They said it would reduce the work load,'i John Murphy commented, and it definitely did.

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...,,A,,g?:SEa, .. us. ,t wmejukdqn if 3 , 1 . . Y, 4 . Q v 1, ,qw f A I Q I Im g-31, 1 it s i- y if I , . g ii l ' 1 BURLY f SOPHO- j 3 j . MORE FpoTBf-Ixtlt ,lg ayer o n -, 4, Izloover was if .552 not Only interested in football and girls. as the stereo- type of football players usually goes. rather he also was interested in many other fields as well. Coin and stamp collecting were Hoover's main hobbies. My father owns a coin and stamp shop where I worked dur- ing my slpare time. Hoover said. In Wor d History, he learned about different countries that he sometimes came across in his hobby. I really liked being able to look at a coin or a stamp and be able to know the background or history of that place. Projects were also an interest- ing part of World History for Hoover. ln World History you learned about interesting things and could still have to work for a good grade. said Hoover. According to Hoover. six- weeks projects were the most important and fun part of World History I like doing the research forthe rojects. Hooversaid. Muc of the enjoyment of being a good student was the challenge As Hoover said It takes the enjoyment away if you take the difficulty away I like to work for my credit Kam Cranford ----.-...Q-ngg, I-- ' TOP: WITH BOTH WESTERN AND MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURES represented, Debbie Hil- debrand, Mona Cuenod and Cee Cee Connelly perform a World History skit. Teachers used students plays to illustrate historical events and break up the monotony of lectures. Photo by Kathy Epps. r ni-J IN A DAY OF REPEATED LECTURES, World His- tory teacher Coach Nick Nichols finds time to sit back and relax. Coach Nichols also guided the varsity football defensive line when he was not teaching. Photo by Kathy Epps. History l7l .t

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0 ,THOUGH MR. MIKE WRIGHT TAUGHT ONLY GOVERNMENT CLASSES he and Eng- lish ,Teacher Mrs. Morrow combined their efforts to present the first CLEP pro- gram during third and fourth periods. Mr. Wright lectured to the class during the tirnexallotted to Goveritment arg Ecgamics. Photo by Gala Holt : Q. ' I .- K 'ther than work. some students saw advantages to the curriculum itself. ere was more theory behind the government than just memorizing laws. Qre Joubert said. erhaps one of the largest disadvantages of the class was that it was only red third and fourth period. Many students. such as those participating in etics. choir. Journalism. and advanced foreign languages could not enroll IC class as their other class coincided during those periods. according to lWright. l future years. lVlr. Wright hopes to have an additional class fifth and lt period for such students who are interested in the 'special' class. it that the class was 'special,' as it lured 55 seniors into a very non-obvious sroom. lnsidc. instructors gave them insight into not only English and ernment. hut showed them how to use the failures in the history of Eng- government and for their own success. - 30 - l tudent-induced explosions, fires, and acid burns characterized the more eventful laboratory experiments conducted throughout the year. Although not as instantaneous as mixing known or unknown chemicals is to a chemistry student, dissecting dead fetal pigs is just as fascinating to the strong-stomached Biology II student. Examining seawater, among other things, supplied Oceanography students with labs and psychology students study groups of people . . . Oh well, whatever. Physical Science, Biology, Physics, and even some lnaguages, to name a few, experiment with the unknown, some- times create the bizarre, or disappointingly 'sail in the backwaters' when no exciting lab is in order. - 30 - CLEP ' l73