Nokomis High School - Old Nokomis Yearbook (Nokomis, IL)

Page 18 text:

All substances are chemicals; everything we eat, see, feel, smell, or taste is connected with chemistry in some way. All our new drugs, our gasoline, fertilizer, and concrete roads were not happy accidents, and did not just grow”; they were mixed and compounded by chemists eager to improve the world in which they lived. Biology is the study of everything on this earth that grows, or has grown: from the animals that fly to those that crawl, walk, or swim; from the whale to the virus; plants from Sequoia over 400 feet tall to the yeast plant, which is invisible to the naked eye. Biology is the study of life. There General science, as the name implies, is a subject combining many different studies into one. Today’s weather, yesterday’s electric lamps, and tomorrow’s airplane are all studied. The pupil learns the how and the why of his city’s water and sanitary systems, his car, his eyes and cars, and even his circulatory system. When he completes the course, he should have a fundamental knowledge of almost all of our sciences. Few people who aren’t interested in science” know that in every second of their lives, there is scientific activity in their bodies. When their hearts beat, when they breathe, see, hear, or eat, it is science in action. is hardly a spot on the earth where life does not abound. Far out on the oceans, the water is alive with God’s creatures; on the desert, the sharp eye can find living things. People who study biology and learn to watch things live and grow need never have an uninteresting day in their lives, especially if they absorb the physiology and health lessons which are taught in this course. If you have ever heard a radio, had an X-ray taken, or have fallen down the stairs, you have come in contact with the science of physics. Your flat tire is inflated, your telephone rings, or you take a snapshot; there again, the laws of physics are brought into service. In physics, your arms become levers and your eyes, cameras; nature’s laws were not made, and they cannot be broken. When you step on the starter in your car, or turn on the lights tonight, you may thank physics—for it. AGRICULTURE—HOME ECONOMICS Napoleon said, An army marches on its stomach.” By taking one look at our military, naval, and civilian armies, one can see what a job our farmers have on their hands. Our ag” boys learn not only how to raise livestock and grain, but how to keep the ground on their farms up to par, by proper planting and fertilization, and how to combat erosion and diseases. Twelve

Page 17 text:

ENGLISH—SOCIAL SCIENCE—LANGUAGES It is said that a person is judged by his speech. Without a doubt, one who can express his ideas clearly and forcibly will make a place for himself in his dealings with others. A typist who can’t spell, or a stenographer who lacks knowledge of sentence structure, is not very valuable in the armed forces or anywhere else. A marine, a soldier, or a blue-jacket who fails to understand oral or written orders is a liability rather than an asset. When a person leaves a school, he should be able to expound his ideas clearly and logically, and know how to do so with good grammar and punctuation. In his leisure hours, he can take down a book that will take him to any place on earth, or even to the moon. He knows and enjoys the old writ- ers and the new ones. In our library he has been introduced to writings of all periods, on all subjects, and has learned to relax with a good magazine. But why study history? That’s old stuff.” That’s what some of you think. Every thing that happens is history. The more important events are the ones that your children will study, and wonder why they arc studying them. But why study the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, Andrew Jackson, World War I, and all that? Simply because of the effects that those facts have upon our lives today. No one can be a good citizen who does not know about the formation and development of our nation, the growth and mechanics of our Democracy. You don’t really know your own language until you study that of some other nation” is one of the first things a German student is told. This fact and the fact that it is interesting to know how people act, think, and talk in a foreign country make the study of the German language very helpful and valuable to us. Latin is the other foreign language we may learn here, but it is not really foreign. In fact, its chief value is that 50 per cent of our English words come directly from it. SCIENCE Our science courses consist of chemistry, biology, physics, and general science. These four sciences cover a world of territory. Eleven

Page 19 text:

The home ec” girls, who expect to be housewives in the future, learn how to do that all-important job in the most efficient manner; to save time, labor, and energy; and to get the most effective results. MUSIC Music is the art that everyone can appreciate in one way or another. People march with it, dance with it, cat with it, and die with it; they are made sad, sorrowful, lively, or glad by its strains. There is no better way for one to enjoy himself than to listen to his favorite music, since there is a type of music to fit one’s every mood. VISUAL EDUCATION Our school is advanced in the use of visual education. Students in all the classes have an opportunity to see in action the things they are learning. They not only sec their school-work but hear it also. The science classes are shown hard-to-explain theories and diagrams, the history classes sec famous historical events, and so on throughout all of our departments. Visual Education is the newest method of putting an idea across, and we arc indeed fortunate in having this modern facility. Thirteen