Riverside High School - Mercury Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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TtlE MERCURY Foreign Languages Many students at Riverside are taking a modern foreign language. While doing this, they become better acquainted with their own language, grammar, the deriva- tion of words, and peculiarities and defi- ciencies. Incidentally, they learn some- thing about the geography, history, litera- ture, and customs of the lands whose lan- guages they are studying. French, and sometimes German, is nec- essary in preparing for certain professions. Tihose who take German for two years at Riverside, have a good foundation, and with further study will be able to read the works of Schiller, Goethe, and other authors. French and Spanish writings will attract others of the foreign language stu- dents. During the first two semesters of modern language study, the students spend most of their time on grammar, but during the third and fourth semesters they study short stories, which they translate and discuss, and which they are required to tell without lapsing into English. Mistakes made in translations provide amusement and laughter almost daily for advanced classes. T1»K1L Ha Klmt r„j. I MtHty-tbrti

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THE MERCURY History Department 1 ime is as nothing in the study of his- tory. When very, very young — when we were Freshies, to be exact — we followed the rise of man from prehistoric time to the downfall of the Roman. In five months we watched him progress through 50,700 years. In the next five months we saw him mark time for a few centuries and then rise to new heights. The next whole school year we studied the problems of Europe from the time of Louis XIV and his absolute monarchy to the great War that was to make the world safe for democracy. Now came the subject dearest to our young American hearts, the story of Colum- bus ' new-found land and the development of it up to the time when Our Roys joined the fight of war on war. The last year we spent in the present and looking to the future. The problems of the citizen, social and political, were studied and manv times almost satisfactorily solved. t4i33 V oodhousc ' While we read history, we make his- torv. Page Twenty -iv o

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THE MERCURY l EAXTf U MISS Hcr y Latin Department Latin occupies a place by itself among the languages. It lis a subject in which one not only learns facts, but also acquires culture. The first year of Latin is spent in study- ing grammar and the foundation of the language. In the second year, we study the works of Julius Caesar, the interesting narration of the Gallic Wars. The third year is devoted to the study of the orations of Cicero, one of the finest orators the world has ever known. And last, as Sen- iors, we study Virgil ' s Aeneid, the story of the wanderings of the pious Aeneas in efforts to found a city for the Trojans whose own city had been destroyed. Our Latin classes are beneficial in many ways. We not only acquire a general knowledge of the language, which helps us in our every-day reading and speech, but we also become acquainted with many inter- esting facts and characters of history. With the constant questions and discussions be- tween the students and teacher, we find that in a very enjoyable manner, we have obtained a certain amount of learning and culture that can be found in no other sub- ject. i , l ,, nly-jmn