Northwest High School - Silvertip Yearbook (Wichita, KS)

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W were V' , -if Wdeo game popularity mereases among teenagers Video games were big business. In 1981, S5 billion in quarters were fed into arcade games, representing 20 billion games and 75,000 man years of playing time. That was 100 games for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. That S5 billion was twice the gross ofthe movie industry over the same period, as well as twice the year's combined television revenue and gate receipts of major league baseball, football, and basketball games. An additional S1 billion was spent on videogame consoles in that year. This figure was tripled in 1982. Pac-Man alone pulled in S1 billion in its first year in the arcades, and the first Asteroids games brought in 31000 per machine per week. It was obvious that a lot of people were playing these games. The question was: Why play them? There were many reasons as to why video games had become so popular. They offered more of a challenge than many other forms of enter- tainment, they provided an outlet for tension, they allowed the player to have control over his situation factive entertain- ment as opposed to passive entertainment, such as watching a moviej, and they allowed players to escape from everyday life. Approximately 80 per cent of arcade-goers are teens, and arcades often caused problems for them. One of the most prominent was overspending. Three dollars was usually the minimum satisfactory amount for a visit to the arcade, and it took anywhere from S20 to S50 to become proficient at any game challenging enough to be fun. Other problems includ- ed glorification of violence, gambling, health problems such as eye strain and Pac-Elbow, and wasting time. Fortunately, the good points of video games outweighed the bad. It was proven that playing these games improved hand-eye coordination, which improved driving skills. In- terestingly, video games improved reading speed as well as geometrical thinking. Moreover, many educators believe that video games helped improve learning skills and gave more confidence to master complex learning situations. -David Draco

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'i f f . L in am Wi f Q ,s I -s ,gp vlan-Askvlsaiiafblvok Superzmendem' Moms 5,115-grirjjf retires rom 16-year tenure ' f' 1' I'd like ro report publicly to the Board of Education, to all the employees in our school system, and to the community at large that I will be retiring at the end of this school year. In a calm and even tone, Dr. Alvin Morris announced at a meeting of the Board of Education that he will leave the superintendency at the close of the 1983-84 school year. It was a tone which showed no trace of the emotion that had briefly choked the same announcement to his administrative cabinet. The announcement came almost 15 years to the day after Morris accepted his first contract to be superintendent of the Wichita Public Schools. He originally came to the school district in 1958 as assistant superintendent for elementary education, and later served as deputy superintendent. He was appointed acting superintendent in june, 1968, and became superintendent that August. He is 63. His accomplishments throughout the 16 years that he held that position were many. He developed a school desegrega- tion plan in 1971 that later became a model for the integra- tion of many other systems around the country. Morris secured voter approval, in 1974, of the largest school system bond issue in Kansas history - S30 million that since has helped make possible the construction of Northwest High School, Levy Special Education Center, Colvin and the pre- sent College Hill Elementary Schools. He also led other ex- pansions throughout the state's large school districtg expan- sions of vocational and technical school programs and the creation of a transportation skills center to train truck drivers and the Aviation Education Center. Individual Board of Education members praised his work as superintendent, using terms such as superman and island of stability to characterize his leadership through years which saw the nation and its educational systems shaken by racial turmoil and social revolution. -Anita Zelmer Discussing homework load with friends is one thing, but doing it on television is another. Senior Kim Bulman andjunior Derrick Nielsen participate in a local televi- sion program and discuss student concerns on the amount of assigned homework and the quality of education. 'Hs Taking time to visit with other participants at the Regional Educational Forum arejo Brown, Board of Education president, Dr. Alvin Morris, Wichita superintendent of schools, and joyce Focht, a member of the Wichita Board of Education. Nation at Risk '11

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. E I Homework load increases Many demands made for tudents' time As a result of 'A Nation at Risk' report released in April of 1983 on public educa- tion, many teachers felt pressured to assign more homework and make better use of the time spent in the classroom. For the students, however, more homework meant finding extra time in their already busy schedules to keep up with their assignments and studies. For many students, finding an extra hour or two in every school day was extremely frustrating. About 72 percent of all Nor- thwest students worked between 15 and 25 hours a week. Working was not merely an activity that gave students something to dog it was an extremely important part of their lives, and in many cases, a necessity. While some students worked to buy cars, clothes, and other necessary items, others worked to save for their college education or for the future and the needs the might have. Another time consuming activity that oc- cupied many students was being with their families. Most students felt that the time they spent with their families was just as im- portant as the time they spent studying. Be- ing active in community and church func- tions provided students a chance to enjoy their families and and do something for other people. While this may or may not have been true for all students, a social life of some sort, whether it was with family, friends, or participating in school or extra- curricular activities, was a necessary part of the lives of most Northwest students. With many things considered, however, students also spent much of their spare time talking on the telephone, watching televi- sion, and playing video games. These ac- tivities, or habits, were not necessary, yet many people felt they could not give them up. Priorities fell into different categories when goofing around was matched up with the importance of studying and doing the homework that was assigned to them. For this exact reason, teachers were encouraged by The National Commission on Excellence in Education to assign more homework. Students enrolled in advanced courses found that doing more homework was to their advantage. The extra work that they did outside of class helped them to under- stand what was being taught in class. The need for more homework was a con- troversial subject. All in all, the extra homework did not hurt the students in their academic achievement, but in many cases, imposed on their outside activities. It came down to the individual and what his priorities were at that time when he decided whether or not to do the extra work. -Anita Zelmer 162 r .lf MM, .w't 'l Ai, TOP LEFT: Studying occupies much of Senior Mike Gormish's spare time. Many hours are required outside the school day to complete homework assignments. BOTTOM LEFT: Presenting the latest sounds in music the Northwest Radio Club features Kelly Hicks, David Harsoly, Shawn Hoffman and Kelvin Relf on air during first lunch. CENTER: Testing his skill at Ms. Pac-Man, junior john Madden plays at a local arcade during his sparc time. RIGHT: Exhibiting a favorite past time of teenagers, Sophomore Jacque McKim talks to one of her friends on the telephone. ABOVE: Relaxing comfortably at home Seniors Patrick Lager and Brad Heyen enjoy an evening of watching television. Spare Time ' 13