Neil A Armstrong High School - Gyre Yearbook (Plymouth, MN)

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ldealistically, our primary and secondary educations would be both social and intellectual experiences. The classroom curriculums would encourage learning for learning's sake, and avoid grade motivation and busy work. Learning would be based on the individualized concept, and grades would be replaced by informal written papers and interviews with the teachers. Learning would not be the long, dry process that it is now, but rater a vibrant, colorful, and stimulating experience that would encourage people to learn and to grow all their lives. Socially, we would mature learning to accept and understand persons of all origins and creeds. Individuality would be encouraged and students would be willing to share their talents and knowledge with their peers. This could be Armstrong. e My experiences at Armstrong have been so varied and diverse, that trying to generalize about the overall effect the school has had on me is difficult. I found, however. that the quality of my educational experience has had a direct relationship to the strength of my teachers. During my three years at Armstrong, I have had some V V wonderful teachers. Those teachers challenged me to really think on .my own, and encouraged me to explore further those areas of special interest to me. They stressed the hard work and dedication needed to make the most of my opportunities. They cared about or me as an individual, which means more than anything else. Of course, not all my experiences have been as satisfying. There are always those' teachers who can make a course seem almost worthless. by not requiring the student to remember facts, by allowing definite procrastination, or by simply not demanding that the student think and reason on his own. This is frustrating, because I really want my education to be worthwhile. But growth only takes place by making it through the unpleasant as well as the satisfying times. My greatest concern about the effect that Armstrong has had on me has to do with the future. Am I ready to make it on my own? I'm not sure. And yet, if I leave here with an awareness of how much there is yet to learn, and a curious, open mind to the world and those about me, I'll be ready for anything that comes my way. 9 :39 m

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four answers What effect has 'ArmStAfong had on you? Armstrong is very different from my school in Finland. We had little choice of subjects in Finland, where here I can take what I want. This makes school more interesting for me. In Finland, we have no free mods as such. We just go from one class to another. At Armstrong, it's up to me what I do on free time. I have the choice of either working or doing nothing. The openness of Armstrong makes me feel very responsible and independent. I like it because I feel like I'm trusted. Armstrong's system is good because it helps us learn to make our own decisions. We are independent here, as we will be after. high school. odmga filmed, 6 Despite all the hassles Armstrong caused me, I found a part of me that I didn't know existed. When I skipped class, or didn't do what was expected of me, I was forced to explain myself - to myself. Examining myself in this way, I recognized the person inside of me, thinking her own thoughts and coming to her own conclusions. The fact that I was honest about how I felt and saw things, in spite of the disapproval of others, helped me in becoming the person I wish to be. Whether I graduate from high school or not will be as important as the person I am becoming. , . w dmm

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three F more answers What effect do you hope to have on Armstrong students? 5 The student of 1976-77 can expect to spend about half of his existence in the next century. Even a conservative projection of contemporary dilemmas demonstrates the need to cultivate a new dimension of thought: a consciousness of humankind's interdependence. My task, as I see it, is to communicate an awareness of this dimension today in the hope that the citizen of tomorrow will not: - view world resources as 'lyours and mine , but as HOUI'S. - consider global issues in terms of national prejudice, but in global perspective, - look upon his neighbor as a black man, a white man,-or a yellow man, but as a human, - - cling to the I win, you lose ethic, but evolve toward a community outlook; a code of we win, or we lose. To the extent that my students adopt a selfless, supranational approach to life, I have succeeded. To the degree they do not. I have failed. One thing is certain: if today's student continues to view the world as we of the 20th century have - in terms of our time, our culture, and our selves - serious confrontations will follow. One example: How long will the world allow 77: of its people to consume 30-507; of its resources? In the 16th century, Copernicus, the Polish scientist, awakened the world to its proper place in the universe. It was a revolution in perspective. For Planet Earth, the mandate of the let century is a second Copernican Revolution. I cannot hope to match the efforts of a genius, but I can alert my students to the need. Hopefully, someday they will prove they were listening. 9 aedeag-