Perry Meridian High School - Passages Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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judge, phychologist, and policeman all in one. I got the most pleasure out of knowing I helped someone learn something which is very reward- ing. Sometimes being on the ' teacher- side of the desk ' felt great, but it was difficult to have patience all the time. Misty McKay ' 83 found out that children learned about hfe very quickly. She liked to teach math because she helped them with their multiplication and division on a com- puter for speed and accuracy. She took this course to see if she was good at teaching and if she could per- sue it as a career. Arm Miller ' 83 pro- claimed, It felt wonderful being a teacher instead of a student especial- ly when I was covered with smiles and laughs. But still, with all the joy, it was agonizing as well; that happen- ed when I had to put my foot down or some students. Nonetheless, the heartaches and rewards were much more numerous. I took this course to have fun and gain a Uttle experience. I learned to be very patient and how to work with and learn from others. Juha Hilcz ' 83 learned to have a positive attitude which was not so easy as it looked. She hked to teach EngHsh because it had more scope for creativity and imagination for the students. Michele Perry ' 83 stated, The time it took to prepare a lesson was minimal to the pride and sense you received from it. This course gave her a better idea of what the pressures on a teacher were. She earned great respect and appreciation from her teachers. EXPLORATORY TEACHERS 145

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After sitting behind the teacher ' s desk another period. Amy Emsting ' 84 heads back to Perry. Exploraton.- teacher Amy Emsting ' 84 shows Amanda Robbins various ' B ' objects at RISE. Students Can Teach, Too Exploratory teaching was a course where senior students spent home- room and fifth period teaching at cer- tain area elementary and middle schools for one semester of the school year. The student teachers were assigned to work with a cooper- ating teacher in a given grade level for nine weeks. The second nine weeks of the semester they moved to another grade and teacher in the same building. Participating in the exploratory teaching program were Abraham Linclon, MacArthur, and Burkhart elementary schools. The exploratory teachers had their own transporta- tion and had a neat and professional appearance . The purpose of this course was to give the students teaching experience and to give them references they could use for the rest of their lives, Mrs. Hazel Whitesell, exploratory teaching director, said, The purpose was to give students interest in teaching to see if they really want this type of career. Ann Miller ' 83 said, Exploratory teaching taught you to be more patient with not only kids, but adults, too. To succeed in this course, the students underwent much prepara- tion. The first week of the semester was spent preparing students for teaching. After this, they were no longer kept at Perry. Mrs. Whitesell saw them each day at the end of fifth period when they told of any prob- lems they had. She had the opportuni- ty to give instructions and to talk with them. The students prepared for class by thinking about how to deal with many questions and answers, thinking about new and different pro- jects, and going into the classroom with a positive mind. Several people were involved with exploratory teaching. Mrs. Whitesell directed the course. The sudents par- ticipating in the exploratory teaching program were Catherine Hamm, Chris Spence, Julia Hilcz, Ed Brehob, Maureen WUliams, Wihna Newman, Ann Miller, Michele Perry, Melissa Bolton, Tonya Hazelwood, Kathy EUet, Susan Arthur, Misty McKay, and Karan Deardorff. Mrs. Whitesell indicated, The grade for the first nine weeks was the grade that was given by the cooper- ating teachers! The final grade was determined by the cooperating teachers ' evaluations along with Mrs. Whitesell ' s which was decided from the written work they had been assigned and from observations of their appearance, attitude and effort. The students were required to switch to another area, grade level, or sub- ject at the end of the grading period. This was to give them as much varie- ty in teaching as possible. They were required to spend one full day in their classroom during the semester. Getting in front of a group was dif- ficult for some, even if that group would consist of five year old children. This course helped the stu- dent teachers determine whether they wanted to spend four years in college working toward a degree in education. Susan Arthur ' 83 stated, I took this class because I ' ve always wanted to be a teacher. She learned that a teacher had to be a nurse, 144 EXPLORATORY lEACHERS

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ILJL .«!A i.lLU! The Competitioit Is Witltiii Themselves ' Good health was a value many peo- ple had and one of their most precious possessions. Understanding the body and ho Y to keep its fimc- tions working had to be a part of Perry ' s curriculum. The health and physical education department wanted to instill in its students insight and appreciation of good health habits. In a society which had an abimdance of leisure time, the department ' s goal was to pro ' ide students with an imderstanding and desire for ac- ti •ities which developed their com- pounded good health. This required students to have an understanding of their own bodies, comprehend the im- portance of physical fitness and ' itality, and have an asthetic ap- preciation of skillful athletic perfor- mances. Miss Roselyn Miurphy, health and safety, freshman girls ' physical educ- tion, and substance abuse teacher, said, One had to know the system of the body before one could expect to know what was wrong with it. Her object in teaching health was to teach students to be self-sufficient about their bodies. She continued, In health, there was more reading than most other courses, but I enjoyed teaching it because I talked about many subjects and not just one specific area. Many people took the substance abuse class with the thought that it was easy, but I thought, and many discovered, that the class was a little more complex than they imagined. The class ex- plored the nervous system, phar- macological names, family and socie- ty problems, hospital costs, and the correlations between drug abuse to child abuse and spouse abuse to crime. Miss Murphy then com- mented about the new anatomical model acquired for the health classes, It was easier to teach with the model because one saw the different sizes, textures, and whereabouts of systems and organs. She said that she hoped the students learned enough about health that they would never have been swayed by diet fads. She stated that she thought more people should have taken substance abuse, but the single class size should be kept small. Mr. James Roach, health and safety teacher, stated, Semester tests were new because the administration wanted us to give them. The teachers tried to keep updated on new surgical techniques, cures, diets, and 146 HEALTH PHYSICAL EDUCATION