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

Page 31 text:

UPra The Social Science Department, headed by Mr. J. F. Zimmerman, with Mr. C. C. Stegmeir taking charge of the history section, includes civics, commercial geography, commercial law, economics, and history. These subjects are important to the person who wishes to have an accurate understanding of the events which are now taking place and which will affect human life from this point on. To become more familiar with future respon- sibilities as voters of this nation, a mock gen- eral election was held last November, at the same time the general election was held through- out the nation. Students were taught the funda- mentals of voting by actually taking part in an election which was run according to law. In planning for the future, the wise person looks to the past to see how other people did the job and how he can improve upon what was done. In this way the several histories offered Thornton students play an important part in their lives. The pupil learns, among other things, how people lived in the past, and thus he may have some idea as to what to expect in the future. Economics and commercial law students learn the more intricate mechanism of state and na- tional governments. Economics help teach pupils how the governments use, collect, and make money, while commercial law explains common law to students so that they will be familiar with the laws used in coping with common occurrences. Commercial geography explains to pupils the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of territory, its natural resources, and its influence. Together, these subjects help the student un- derstand why and how he can make this world a better place in which to live. z- ■j:t

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Everything from how to measure ingredients for cake, and how to place the fork on the late after using it to how to act as hostess at one ' s own table is taught in the homemaking classes which have to do with cooking. Clad in neat nets and aprons, the girls are busy little- bees as they learn through actual experience the do ' s and don ' ts of food preparation and consumption. Each girl in the advanced classes takes upon herself the job of planning, preparing, and being hostess at a dinner to which several guests are invited. The girls completing this course have an excellent start toward becoming good homemakers. The conservation of material and the recon- version of old garments to new is especially important during wartime. That is what the other half of the homemaking department, the sewing classes, is learning to do. Each year those girls have the opportunity of showing their efforts at the annual Mother- Daughter Tea and Style Show. The girls model the clothes they have made. Since the Homemaking Department, which is headed by Miss Wilma V. Reed, is affiliated with the Illinois Board for Vocational Educa- tion, it is necessary for each student to take at least one related subject, such as general sci- ence or biology.

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A Thornton student ' s first year ' s study in the science division is general science, a required subject for all freshmen except girls taking physiology. The science courses are designed to give the student a chance to discover his in- terests as well as to develop sound judgment. The science of biology may be described as the study of living things. In Thornton ' s four well-equipped classrooms students learn of plants and animals, and also of human mechan- isms. Mr. A. C. Brookley heads this depart- ment and under his leadership is disseminated the knowledge which permits a student to un- derstand his natural surroundings better. The Chemistry Department, led by Mr. Fred Ring, enables the student to understand the why, the what, and the wherefore of the world, and the materials of which it is composed. Chemistry is the science of elements and com- pounds, physical and chemical, and their reac- tion to each other. It is the analysis and syn- thesis of matter. Thornton ' s science courses, general science, biology, chemistry, and physics fit the students to live in a better world of tomorrow in a better way. As students study fascinating experiments and facts, they are carried from their labs and classrooms to see scientists such as Priestley, Avogadro, and Pasteur working out problems which changed their world. The students see men working out ways to make the world a better place to live. The bell rings and sud-