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

Page 30 text:

V-44 Q Q67 if . L..- ' ' - d P , . -13 71 T811-'ff 'ln History made 'uwzri 123' WU' 0 gt alitical nmpf ociwfnglienced War! History in the making! We are living in stirring times, now, and never was the need for a great knowledge of the social sciences more necessary. To understand the currents, the international jealousies and ambitions, the ground from which dictators spring, the causes of the conflict of which we are now a part, we must study our history and the movements of historical and economic trends down through the ages. Only in the light of the past is it possible to interpret the present and to forecast the future. ' Education is solely for the purpose of under- standing life so that we may meet it courageous-- ly, optimistically, and successfully. To obtain this understanding of life and the facts neces- sary for its interpretation one must know life from the earliest recorded times, if not from the prehistoric times of the Cro-Magnon and Murals, Neanderthal man. Thus history becomes one of the most vital of subjects, for in it one may find all of the greeds and wants, the human desires and ambitions, the loves and the hates which bless and curse the world at the present time, it is exemplary of the whole trend of human ambition and endeavor. By intense study of the courses in Medieval and Modern History, as well as the history of our own beloved country, we prepare ourselves for the essential interpretation and evaluation of the critical events of the present day, at home and abroad. In the newspapers and periodicals of the day much is said of democracy and of democratic in- stitutions. In our civic and history courses we find the true meaning of these words, we come to understand what democracy really is, and what it means to us. We learn the differences like lbere of medieval timer, which line the wfzllr of if I Je Jirtory room,

Page 29 text:

' s Ng HW I hifi pe, fa, H!! X. f I were g0fdg,1 V60 ltr M6 llyulcla ou! lbere, fellow!! J-'A' Led by Mr. Fred Ring, this department broad- ens the student, and tends to give him a more vivid understanding of the composition and the interrelations of the universe. The material presented in the chemistry courses creates in the student a thirst for knowledge of the things around him. The- world is forever changing, and the study of chemistry lets you understand and become an integral part of this change. A truly fascinating subject to study. PHYSICS Physics, like chemistry, deals with the every- day world and that which makes it continue to go around. Moreover, it deals with the physical side, the side which can be explained by rules, laws, and definite patterns. The law of grav- ity must be followed-what goes up must come down-no matter what any human wants to do about it. The same rigidity applies to the laws governing the speed of sound and light, pressure, friction, and the hundreds of others. By the careful application of these laws and rules we are able to explain the strange phe- nomena about us. Mr. Paul Godwin is the head of the physics department. Under his guidance the students go forth able to cope to a much greater extent with the life that the future holds for them. -23 Nou' what do you Ibizzk l .rbould mix up fzexl

Page 31 text:

Qlliwiikr A- l.,R,ll.' U'E' 49t between life in a democracy and life under a Hitler or a Mussolini, we come to appreciate to a much greater extent the blessings which we are so prone to accept with little or no thought of how precious they really areg We begin to understand just how fortunate we are that our ancestors worked, toiled, and died that our form of government might be retained. Intelligent citizenship, which includes the ability to weigh issues and debate public ques- tions, requires a knowledge of civics. In order to vote and participate in government to a use- ful degree we must understand the formation of that government, the system of checks and balances established by the Constitution, the role that each official and each citizen must play if our government is to function as perfectly as it should. These courses in civics, under the guidance of Mr. Zimmerman, give us this neces- sary knowledge. The study of government- state, local, and national-enables us as future citizens, future voters, and future statesmen to perform our allotted tasks in a manner which will reflect credit upon us. Humanity thrives in an environment which yields to it some measure of the things neces- sary for its existence, and conducive to its well- being. Such things as air, natural beauty, and water are free to all, but in order to live sub- stantially and enjoy life we find it necessary to seek our food by work. In earlier times our forefathers hunted for food, Hshed the streams, selves. Now our system is complex. Each one of us takes care of one highly specialized task and depends on someone else for all of the things he himself is unable to produce. The courses in economics give us a working knowl- edge of our economic system and the inter- dependence of each of us. For those students who hope someday to prac- tice law, and those who desire a practical knowledge of legal processes and laws, we have established our commercial law courses. In these courses the students obtain a knowledge of the general laws which control the average citizen in the social and commercial life that he leads. But behind all and above all we must, in the end, return to the department presided over by Mr. C. C. Stegmeir. For it is history, after all, which gives us the knowledge of these laws, which enables us to interpret our economic sys- tem, and which shows the forces that produced our government. To history we turn time and again for an interpretation of economic, legal, or political events of the present time. In his- tory will be recorded the events of the days in which we are now living, to be ,pored over in the years to come by the students of some future day, who, in their own turn, are trying to understand the system by which they are gov- erned, and the society in which they live. tilled a small plot, hewed down trees for shel- ter, and thus were able to live for and by them- are welcome ndzliliomr to the texlbooh rmllerirll, giving rfirmzl pirmrer of lbe Infer of people nz olher muer ,112 .M...rv- ff V