Thornton Township High School - Thorntonite Yearbook (Harvey, IL)

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The largest department in Thornton is the English department, headed by Dean O. F. Um- baugh. All students must take at least three years of English. Those who make an average of B or better may elect public speaking, debate, journalism, or some other subject for the fourth years work. During the freshman year a free reading pro' gram is conducted. The entire class reads selec- tions from the hftyftwo titles in the rental system. ln addition to this class work many students read as many as one hundred books selected from the high school library. This course gives the fresh' man a greatly needed ability to read and to com- prehend the printed page. During the sophomore year composition and grammar are studied. Here the student learns the fundamentals of writing and the construction of the English language. During the junior year public speaking and composition are taught, a half-year of each. ln the senior year courses, be- sides the electives mentioned above, are given in literature. Besides this basic curriculum the student may participate in numerous writing. debating, radio, and dramatic programs which are carried on through the year. As part of the work of the English department the Thorntonite newspaper and yearbook are published. Wwafkemaficd Triangles, circles. equations, squares, cubes all bring back memories of the math classes. Learnf ing the conceptions of mathematics, of quantity and quality, is one of the most important ac' complishments of a successful graduate. Wle use mathematical concepts every day no matter what our occupation is. The purpose of this depart- ment is to give the students these fundamental concepts, and to make them proficient in the use of numbers and mathematical terms. Algebra, geometry, integral algebra, solid ge- ometry, and trigonometry are the courses offered by this department. Crdinarily the student does DOI begin to take mathematics in high school un- til his sophomore year when he is introduced to algebraic expressions. As a junior he takes plane geometry, and as a senior he may select one of the other courses. Since many of the students find the classes in mathematics rather dilhcult special attention is paid to them. Two afternoons a week classes are held at the close of school for those who are have ing some sort of trouble with their mathematics courses. Each month a standardized test is given to all classes, and the National Standardized Tests are given at the end of each semester. In this way an adequate check is made on the learning which goes on in these classes. LI17lC110ll7Vl Quantities