Western Military Academy - Recall Yearbook (Alton, IL)

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Let ' s get to the point. Lt. Panhorst unfolds history before our eyes. Lt. Dailey snares specimens for future use of biology students. Major Wilkinson confers with algebra students on difficult problems. Everything went along smoothly until the first grades came out. Then the cadets found out what they were really doing. A home grad came out every four weeks during the year; progress grades between these informed students of the condition of their work. The ratings were Ex for excellent, with a point value of 4; G for good, with a point value of 3; M for medium, with a point value of 2; P for poor, with a point value of i, and Un for unsatis- factory, with a point value of 0. Potential averages were assigned by Major Persing. Those who made these averages were allowed to study in their rooms during the evening and day study halls. Those cadets who made 4.00 as an average fcr a home grade were eligible for membership in the Club 400. The Club 400 is the academic honor society of Western. The club began in 1938, when a constitu- tion was drawn up. According to the constitution cadets were eligible for membership on making an average of 4.00 on a home grade. The constitution also set the procedure for taking in new members. The officers of the club were a president, a vice- president, and a secretary-treasurer. Members of the club were given the honor of wearing the club pin. Membership in the club was really a privilege as it entitled a cadet to attend special activities of the club. In the fall the club members went on the annual show trip to St. Louis. At the final meeting of the year in the spring, the old officers retired and the newly elected ones took over. A new feature of Western ' s academic program this year was the importance of the Lower School, consisting of the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Capt. Savage was principal of the school which functioned as an independent unit. He was ably assisted by Lt. Jackson. Special att ention was given to the younger boys with a view to preparing them ade- quately for high school. The lower school was given exclusive use of two classrooms to make its independ- ence complete. It had its own schedule for the day with an extra recreation period of an hour. The usual procedure for a school day was to have a half day of school on Wednesdays and the re mainder of the school day on Saturday mornings. This arrangement was changed during football sea- son so that the players would not miss their classes. There was a full day of school on Wednesdays and while the football games were being played Satur- day mornings those who were behind in their work went to extra-help classes. These classes aided stu- dents considerably. As always, the traditional aptitude tests came as a surprise to the cadets and a shock to Major Per- sing. All cadets in school took the tests for the pur- pose of determining their general knowledge and as a basis for the potential averages. 18 —

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the For acti nr every i opposite and equal reac- tion. Explosion ... 7 The commercial building ' s new classrooms, Major Suhre in charge. The meeting will please come to order. The Lower School carries on parlia- mentary procedure. The new military leadership class gets a lesson in blitz- krieg. — 17 —

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ACADEMIC ACES— MEMBERS OF THE CLUB 400 First Row: Sherman, Heiser, Barker, vice-president; Rawls, T., president; Kummer, secretary; Hill, W., Bernstein, Regan. Second Row: Axelrood, Porter, Laux, Borntraeger, Boozell, Weeke, Zellinger, Eberle, Crouch, Thomas, G., Douglas. Third Row: Rudolph, Tarnow, Doll, F., Hutchison, J., Zimmer. Ross. Hill. P., Hartmann. A. Some of the most interesting places on the cam- pus were the science laboratories, the physics and chemistry labs in the basement of E barracks, and the biology lab in the basement of C barracks. In the basement of E there was always the cloud of smoke coming from the experimental type of cadet. In the basement of C it was the cadet coming from an escaped rat or frog. There is often a calm before a storm, it is said. At Western there was no calm, but plenty of storm. The first-semester exams came. An intensified re- view brought many cadets up to date and helped them through the grind. With the declaration of war, military training became of prime importance. An arrangement was made by which advanced military students might enter a special military leadership class which met Si, si, senorita — Weaver and Madison try out Captain Will iams ' new recorder for the Spanish classes. Hale, D., and Hill, W., study in their room during evening study hall. every day and carried the same credit as any academic course. The object of the course was to prepare the cadets for the service they would see in the future as officers in the army. During the early spring Western was inspected by the state school officials to determine its academic standing. Numerous college representatives visited Western during the spring. Some gave interesting talks to the corps in assembly and later conferred with the seniors who were particularly interested in their schools. Probably one of the most interesting phases of our academic life was the speeches given by the cadets in the assembly room. Every senior was required before graduation, to present to the corps a talk on some subject which was assigned or of his own choice. The juniors were required to make a talk of shorter duration than that of the seniors. Notes were permitted and the aim was to encourage the cadet to think while on his feet. The cadet was to have something to say and to say it effectively.