Newton North High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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lvlurra Road if i fi 'if f . 'l Murray Road is based on a radical philosphy of education. lt's a school not run by them, obscured figures in the sys- tem, but by us, the students and teachers currently in- volved in the school. ln general meetings, where everyone has an equal voice, the year's schedule, class choices and other decisions affect- ing the vvhole school are discussed and decided. Within classes, curriculum is planned and implemented by students and teachers. This includes choosing books, leading discus- sions, assigning homework and planning field-trips. At the end of each term, students write evaluations of their progress within each class, their personal effect on the class as well as the class itself. There are no grades. Instead, these evaluations coupled with teacher evaluations help to give an in-depth picture of the student. Learning to work with people like and unlike oneself, as this process demands, is one of the most exciting and chal-' lenging elements of Murray Road. ln addition, though 68 students and 6 teachers may sound like a small number, in reality, 74 individuals present a large and diverse group of people.

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House Secretaries 15. 311' T Q 1 ,.,, 1 1' Q C I it f f N ef'-x 2 .I 1 JN V l Marne ixennx Selma Lamkin Esther Aronson . X .J I 1 - -L 4 .as r ' x s N i Katherine DrRusso Florence Festinger Florence Taplin f , . .Z , A -.x Helen Leone Marge Ruggero Cecilia Adams - 5 ' A W. I 74 f pals si Edith Raymond Patricia Caira Winifred Geiger

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4-HP Does this sound Utopian? At Murray Road the emphasis is on people, and, since human beings are not perfect neither is Murray Road. We have our problems, although at Murray Road students and teachers work together in an effort to help everyone discover and meet his own goals. Students and teachers are also encouraged to initiate change within the school. This year Murray Road had a new structure call Focus. This change was developed by students and adapted by the school. During the afternoons, the school divided into focus groups in which each concentrated on one topic and studied it in many different ways. The structure of Focus allowed for use of community resources that included many speakers and field-trips. One focus group created this year studied politics and law. One student, on a related project, spoke to the governor who then decided to establish Dec. 6, 1977 as Murray Road Day. This was in recognition of Murray Road as the longest- running public alternative school in the country. 18 fws tw - . 'NQ Q