Shawnee Mission East High School - Hauberk Yearbook (Prairie Village, KS)

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FACULTY .. 4 L . 15' ffiff 71. fi i Q Yi ' 3 .. NN 2 hy ,h., X LARRY DEARING While in the Navy, Larry Dearing was sta- tioned in Cuba, where he was introduced to Spanish, and Haiti, where he first heard French. This year he introduced students at SM East to the two languages. Besides his travel experiences with the Navy, he has been to Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. l-le plans to go to England this sum- mer and hopes to visit France next year. Given the opporitunity to do anything, Dearing expressed a desire to go to Rio de Janeiro for the carnival. When he is not teaching or traveling, he likes to get to- gether with friends. HARRIET DUNN Walking past room 214, one can hear the sounds of students reciting their French lessons. Harriet Dunn, who originally took Spanish in high school, found it easy as well as interesting and was inspired to pursue a career in foreign languages. She has taught both languages, but for the past seven years she has concentrated mostly on French. Dunn, who enjoys trav- eling and has been to France four times, believes traveling is a good experience for everyone. She said, Most teachers want to join the administration someday, I don't. I like teaching and hope to contin- ue here at East. . i. ire, f MARALIN NOBLE Maralin Noble departed from her town of Corn, Oklahoma fpopulation 400j, follow- ing her twelve-student high school gradu- ation. She came from a wheat farm to the wheat state, fearing that she was des- tined 'to be a Spanish teachers for the Indians at SM East. Now married, the Nobles reside just across the creek from her grandson, Ryan. Their many- acred lot, complete with horses, allows Noble the space for her passion of lands- caping, A post-retirement goal for the No- bles is to establish a country inn. -I FOREIGN LANGUAGE 28 f . M, 5 5 l JOYCE FINLAY When she gets mad, she still smiles, stated Sherry Thomas, senior. She is talk- ing about Joyce Finlay, Spanish I and French l teacher. Agreeing with the ma- jority of the students, she thought that five minutes between classes is not suffi- cient: lt's a challenge getting from 218 to study hall in time because of traffic jams in the halls. Finlay said that she likes teaching the older students, fsorry sophsj. Finlay went to the University of Tulsa for her bachelor's and to Purdue for her master's. She also studied French for a semester at the Sorbonne in Paris. For entertainment, she plays the piano and the organ, jogs, and boats with her hus- band. as -5 . . f - fs . ., T g 1 M -2 eggs: 1. It . RH- fi 1 l. NORA PINKSTON Nora Pinkston said that teaching Spanish in the United States was the farthest thing from her mind when she was growing up in Peru. But that is exactly what Pinkston has been doing for the last 18 years. l've had so many memorable experiences, said Pinkston. For example, a few years ago she took a group of students to Mexi- co. They got so involved interacting with a group of Mexicans at a dance that they didn't want to leave. This emphasizes a point that she tries to convey to her stu- dents: People might speak differently or look different, but inside we're all the same. - 3 , X .E 2 X JOEL NAGEL Joel Nagel is one of 25 teachers in th United States who went to Germany la: year as part ot the Fulbright Teacher EJ change. He became interested in Germa during high school and studied for tw years in Europe at the Universities c Bonn and Zurich. Last year he taught at gymnasium, no relation to athletic: where the top 25M of the elite stt dents can attend. A major contrast h saw in Germany was the different intens ty in education, this became apparer when students were excited about a B on his first test. While overseas, he rode bicycle everywhere and did not use a ca once. seeeesttst, - . - T?3iiE5r?5Nrrg9z:.r- 1. - - -:rf .. - . . 3?-i-fss1Zs3.:fii:ef i rr ' f3tk5F2ET'i.sEa4fst..2gs'i,.iii.-'iiilffji . W' .-r, 5 f --- .s s f CHRISTINA RZEPCZYK Escaping the 'contrasting memories of comfortable European childhood and the of a war-torn Europe, Chris Rzepczj encountered the United States with hi parents. In the parochial school she a tended, Rzepczyk experienced the re melting potphenomenon since the m jority of her classmates were also foreig born. SM East's French teacher sha pened her linguistic background by tuto ing immigrants and by studying in Franc and Mexico. Senior Kristin Stonekir said, Madame Rzepczyk is a colorful e ample of diverse cultures. ,

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A Jolly Good Bloke by Laura Breneman Americans are so loud! exclaimed Trevor Thorley. In England, we would never yell from one end of the hall to the other. This is only one of the many differ- ences he noticed upon arrival in America. From Bristol, England, Thorley came to SM East as a participant in the Fulbright Exchange Program. He has replaced John Burkholder, Chemistry 1 teacher, who is now teaching Thorley's classes in Bristol. Teaching is an American school was a big change for Thorley. The English school system, unlike our own, is not based on grades. Rather, students work at their own levels to prepare for an exam which tests more than two years' worth of knowledge. Sometimes, in the same class, we'll have students who can barely add with ones doing advanced calculus. However, only 5-10 'Mi pass this exam and continue their education at a university. Which school system is better? Ac- cording to Thorley, they both have their pros and cons. The atmosphere is more pleasant here, and I think Americans are easier to teach. However, in Britain, schools are more advanced, and I get more feedback from my better students. The grading system, I think, hinders some students' desire to learn, but for others, it's necessary as an incentive. Thorley found America much more pleasant and laid back than England. However, the size and the wealth amazed him. He found it hard to believe that so many students had their own cars. I guess you'd need one, though, because everything is so far away from everything eIse. Remembering his first impression of Kansas City, Thorley laughed and looked a bit sheepish as he explained, ld been in town for about three days, and I had to go to the bank or something. So Mr. Flees took me downtown, and I thought to my- self, 'Oh, crikeyl' Where have I come to'? However, after seeing more of Kansas City, his views changed for the better. I discovered the Plaza and Westport. That's how I thought downtown KC would be. It's a bit like Bristol. Instead of returning to England to teach, Thorley would llke to go abroad once again. I don't like going back. I need someplace new to Inspire me. May- be Hong Kong next!

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A mr 'Si Guten Ta by Judy Skaptason Q 1984. Orwell's year. The year most feared as the time of oppression and sus- picion. Yet at SM East, the year was hailed as a time to exchange cultural dif- ferences between two foreign countries: Germany and the United States. Through the Fulbright Exchange pro- gram, 25 teachers, including German teacher Joel Nagel, were chosen to teach in the German school system. Each American teacher had a German coun- terpart who in turn taught in the United States.Gerhard Schwabe taught German at East and learned about Americag Nagel replaced Schwabe in Hamburg. While in Germany, Nagel learned that only the top 25M of the fourth grade class is allowed to proceed to the gym- nasium, fthe fifth to thirteenth grades for academic preparation l where courses similar to college preparatory classes are taught. The other students go on to learn a particular trade in a trade school. At the end of the thirteenth grade, the students take an examination called the das Abi- tur in order to graduate to college. Although the classes are only for 23 hours a week, German students are pre- pared to make each day successful. Na- gel explained, German students are used to getting oral grades which are one- half of the total grade: therefore, the stu- dents must participate. Furthermore, un- like American schools, where the teach- ers mainly lecture, in Germany more inter- action occurs between the students. Ger- man teachers merely direct the stu- dents' discussions. Because the teachers move between classes, Nagel said that teachers are treated more as guests Generally he found that German teachers grade more severely and rather arbitrarily because they are less obligated to provide a full explanation for the grades given. As a result, students are more challenging be- cause they are not necessarily as ready to accept the teacher as a friend. All in all, in response to whether or not he enjoyed Germany, Nagel grinned and replied, lt was the best year of my life!