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

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Anaeomp provides neiv experienees. The social studies department made changes to better the 1984 school year. One such change was the addition of a new course called Ap- phed Economics, sponsored by Jimior Achievement and taught by Mrs. Ginger Faber. She formed a company called Anaeomp. The students sold stock in their company and also received salaries. The Anaeomp Com- pany sold paint brush note pads and safety lights for cars. The teachers taught a wider variety of topics, en- couraged motivation, and gave the students more of an opportunity to earn good grades. Some classes in the department were involved with new and in- f . Mr. Ron Cunningham gives Brian Armstrong ' 85 some assistance with US History. I) ' )iig May ' 8.5 does some quick sHulylnK of the Constitution before u US teresting projects. The government classes made up their own minor political parties to which they made platforms and chose mascots. Props, such as dressing up like a politician and confetti, made it seem like a real political gathering. Students com- pared other countries with the United States economically, politically, and culturally. They created a video game on civil rights, made interviews with people of all ages and wrote editorials on various topics. Mrs. Joann Brown, geography and U S history teacher, said, I gave the student an idea and they had to create something im- aginative from that. She mentioned an example where she told the stu- dent to create an island large in size, and create a name, a place on the earth, government, agriculture, religion, and other specifications. The most well-liked of all activities in the social studies department was mock congress. The students were expected to write a bill on the na- tional level, to research it, and prepare a primary supporting speech to give should it reach the floor for debate. The students were members of standing cormnittees to discuss bills which they received. They were asked to dress up to encourage them to play the role of a congressperson. Social studies teachers were hop- ing to see some courses approved. Mrs. Evelina Brown, government teacher, stated, I would like to see government be offered a fuU year with students having a choice of continu- ing or choosing an elective. Duiing the second semester, teachers would teach about state and local govern- ment. Mr. David Moultin, sociology and government teacher, indicated, I would like as E S sociology course be approved in our department cur- riculum because I feel that there is a need for excelling students in this area. Other coxirses wanted were an Indiana History course, a world ' s culture course which would study about the world ' s people, and a world ' s religion course which would study about all the various religions of the world. The benefits of taking a social studies course ranged from preparing for life, learning to express oneself, 162 SOCIAL STUDIES

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viser and biology teacher, took charge of the planetarium. He replied to some questions about it. The planetariimi was used to present pro- grams about all aspects of astronomy to every age level kindergarten to senior citizens. It v?as used to teach concepts of astronomy and supple- ment classroom instruction. It could be utilized by almost any class science, foreign language, English, etc. The planetarium originally cost 315,000 which only included the planetarium projector and dome ceil- ing, not the room. Most of the time, the planetarium was filled with elementary schools, parochial schools, scouting groups, and other schools outside of Perry Township. Mr. Nichols taught an evening astronomy class in connection with lUPUI in which the planetarittm was used. The planetariiim was valuable not only for its cost, but for all the knowledge learned. David Wright ' 83, the 1983 science department award winner, had to say some things about his award. First, I was going into the field of chemical engineering because I had a great in- terest in it. I was honored to receive the award because I have always worked hard in my science classes and to be considered the best science student during the last four years. David finished by saying that if one wanted to get a good science educa- tion, he could have gotten as good an education as in most science depart- ments in the area. The science department held its first aimual fair. It was a chance for Perry students to exhibit scientific skills, let the school see their crea- tions, and win prizes for their crea- tions. First prize was a home com- puter, second prize was a pro- gramable calculator, and third was an AM FM stereo with headphones. It was designed to get students in- terested in science and to pursue it. Duane Miner ' 86 said, Earth science was not an ordinary class. We did all kinds of experiments and did not sit around all of the time. We did experiments on temperature, weather and climate, and the metric system. The new science fair, the gradua- tion requirements, and the every-year things raised questions about many areas in the science department from the earth to the universe and life itself. All of this proved Ufe really was a science in the science department. SCIENCE 161 m

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Mr. Bernard Sauter has fun and jokes around with his students while helping them take notes over the chapter with an overhead projector. preparing to be a good citizen, and learning about government. Popular courses were economics which studied about economic condi- tions, problems and solutions. Mrs. Rebecca Wooden, also a history teacher, stated, Phychology was a popular course because it studied human behavior. The ES classes of U S History, taught by Mr. Ron Cummingham, par- ticipated in some tum-of-the-century roleplaying. In Mr. Cunningham ' s first period, one student, David Schulz ' 84 got a special assignment. David said, Mr. Cummingham gave us a list of people who could be role- played. I was volunteered to do Teddy Roosevelt, which I didn ' t want to do, but I went along with it, anyway. He researched information from two books and wrote 12 pages of notes. He memorized a 12-13 minute speech, and tried to mimick Teddy ' s clothes from a picture in a book. He wore a tweed jacket, a Falcon homecoming hat, some old wire glasses, and a moustache. He brought in a teddy bear which he had made. It had wire glasses and a moustache. After the presentation, the rest of the class asked some questions about the president. Mr. Cunningham was very pleased with the presentation and gave David a perfect score. The advancing frontiers in the modem world had created changes in issues and problems which social studies courses helped students to understand. Goals of the social studies courses were to learn understanding of the relationships among individuals, groups, society, and the world; to learn skills in gathering and organizing information; to learn to believe in democratic pro- cesses and willingness to assume civic responsibility. SOCIAL STUDIES 163