Westlake High School - El Paisano Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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©(rm of Wisdom: Things teachers say • It ' ll only take one sheet of paper. • ' You will use this later in life. • It gets harder. • Believe me. It ' s for your own good. • You can finish the test before the bell. • Wait til college. Hurry Rushing to finish his homework from the day before, freshman Danny Boukris, quickly writes his answer on his paper. Students used the library as a place to finish homework with their friends. Tests+homework=good grades Practice equates to understanding HOMEWORKER Doing her homework the old fashioned way, at home, senior Courtney Albarado adds up the determining numbers. Most students finished homework in class, during and before school, but some people brought theirs home. Take the odd numbered answers in the back of the book, add the even numbered questions, divide by the average daily homework and the solution equals arithmetic. Math has always come easy to me and I take total advantage of it. Right now geometry is my best sub- ject. Its fun! However, proofs are not my thing... sophomore Genie Dud- ney said. When students took the even questions in the daily assigned homework, it did not add up to smiles. The majority of students did not like math homework, especially when the odds were not included. I like feeling good after I finish my homework and get a problem cor- rect. My main dislike is homework! junior Leslie Prenger said. While some of the school ' s mathematicians didn ' t care for math problems or teachers but put up with it, others totally despised and avoided it. I like nothing about math and I dislike everything, sophomore Grey Race said. Each and every math pupil had his or her own way of completing the I like math and I like all of the numbers except that I ' m not that good at it. I hate all of my other academic subjects except math... sophomore Byron Nuhn homework process. Last year 1 would just leave my homework in my locker and I still do it now. It ' s easier to just forget about it, sophomore Ted Jennings said. Math can be made more fun or just more tolerable by doing your homework in a group, sophomore Brian McDonald said. Some people did not mind all of the numbers and formulas but they still could not get a good grade in their class no matter how hard they tried. I like math and I like all of the numbers except that I ' m not that good at it. I hate all of my other aca- demic subjects except for mathemat- ics and science, which also has to do with math somewhat, sophomore Byron Nuhn said. HALLWAY HAPPENINGS While they relax in the commons, juniors John Carrell and Julie Farncy discuss their algebra grades. With half of their six weeks grade depending on their lest average, some students remained concerned . THREE TO Edited by Eric Dreher l (6 GET READY |

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Fewer mistakes rr-i • t bring good grades To cit IS human There ' s one in every crowd, but in a crowd of a mathematical responses, too often there are too many careless mistakes. I get the formulas mixed in my head or sometimes I just don ' t remember certain steps in proofs, sophomore Jeff Vinson said. The position of a dec- imal or a simple addition or multiplication step, done wrong could have changed an A grade to a B or even failed a student when he was barely passing. Even though I made Anyone Hands raise, in hopes of getting a correct answer in Mr. John Murphy ' s history class for juniors. Leaving little room for error. United States history demanded hours of memorization of dates and events as well as the analysis of the impact of each. Part of the whole? Some would want half-credit on true-false answers careless mistakes, a-- long as 1 pass I ' m happy If I don ' t pass, well that ' s life, sophomore Robert Moreno said. The problems which students encountered may have been because of steps forgotten to do in a problem or even just the problem itself (too hard). Everyday students be- came more confused than the day because of an equation which seemed unsolvable. I have been to tuto- rial once, for geometry; I stayed five minutes. I re- ceived the help I needed, then left, Jeff said. Even after receiving help after school and knowing how to solve a problem, students still wanted to be outside playing dunkball instead of inside writing down endless rows of numbers and doing the unusual problems with them. I have short cuts like looking in the back of the book or just copying from a friend. I never get caught because I ' m so smooth, junior Lamar Wedell said. With a sense of im- pending doom, students entered their math class- es knowing that the infa- mous pieces of paper called the test awaited them with no middle ground for error; it ' s either right or wrong. I don ' t usually give partial credit on tests, but it depends on what kind of problem it is, algebra teacher Mrs. Carolyn McMeans said. Students said that they did better on tests when partial credit was given than without it. I feel that if there was more partial credit, that I would do better than now on tests, senior John Taylor said. NOT SO SIMPLE Explaining the simplifying process, substitute teacher Mrs. Katey Rilts, coaxes her algebra II class to cooperate. Number, symbols, definitions and equations proved most difficult for students. However, teachers did not give partial credit because of the types of problems on the tests. I ' ll give partial credit on problems that involve long processes or if the arithmetic is wrong and the structure of the prob- lem is correct, but most of the time it ' s like giving partial credit on a yes or no answer, Mrs. Mc- Means added. Although partial cre- dit may have been wanted by students in desperate need, it appears that their want is a vain hope for the future. Research I| Reading for an important paper, junior Mary Alice Chapman spends her extra time in the library. Near the end of the school year, teachers assigned research papers in almost every subject Correct Taking full advantage of his calculator privileges, junior Jake Zapalac writes down the answer to his pre-calculus problem. Math teachers permitted students to use calculators without cheating. Students take the easy way out Calculated risks Figure this out: 98,070,480 divided by 7 plus 3,498 multiplied by 4.8— without a calculator, rather with a pencil and a piece of paper. Calculators are neat and are fun because in chemistry you can turn them upside-down and form different figures and words, junior Stephen Harrison said. As students struggled with algebraic formulas, consumer math fractions, geometric figures and precalculus problems, most math teachers remained adament about calculated responses. The kids need more practice at learning how to do the problems. With decimals, kids should understand it and know how to figure them out before using a calculator, algebra teacher Liz Trais- ter said. Although teachers wanted mathmaticians to learn complete proce- dures instead of taking short-cuts, students ar- gued a different point-of- view. I agree that we should learn how to do the problem in our heads and then we can use calcula- tors in class, junior Whahib Kharrat said. However, some said most classes did not work difficult enough to consti- tute the use of calculators. Most of high school mathmatical work docs not require artificial means of calculating de- vises, sophomore Rob Sabatini said. The work is generally simple. Like it or not, in lass calculators depended not on modern technology but on the ability of math stu- dents to use their heads. iil Take a Number ACADEMICS

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Students face scheduling decisions To make ' multiple choices Five months before school started, students spent five minutes to two hours filling out course selection sheets, deter- mining their schedules for the following year. I filled out my choice sheet and then once I got to registration, I decided I didn ' t want some of the courses anymore, junior Whahib Kharrat said. It was a real pain trying to get it fixed. For some, however, pre-planned schedules meant less hassle at the August and January registration. I knew exactly what I needed so I just went in and got all the courses, senior Stauch Schuster said. It was no trouble at all. Whether they chose way ahead of time or dur- ing the last grueling sec- onds of registration, stu- dents made attempts for the right teacher, the right class and the right sched- ule. Even though it didn ' t always work out that way. What did you want to be WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? AS r t ov r ooc 30% 49% Closed Registration frustration forces sophomore Keri Brophy to take time out for re-evalua- tion. Students experienced several disappointing sched- ule problems each semester, resulting in procedure change. Spike Over the net, students in Coach Cathy Steinle ' s P.E. class hit the ball. With the new two year P.E. requirements, underclassmen took the course offering a variety of sport activities. Steady hands During their chemistry class, junior Ashley Gotten and sophomore Young Choi share lab work Hands on experi- ence with the scientific tools and chemicals allowed for a break from standard classrcxim routines. Fate finds four-year fanatics The bell rang, sig- nalling the start of anoth- er class period. As stu- dents settled int o their seats, thoughts of meeting a new teacher and learn- ing a new course stood in line as last thing on their minds. Four years of the same walls , teacher and f ossi- bly even the same room. This represented the life of the four -year fanatic I joined band because I thought that it would be fun and I really could not picture my high scool life without it, now, senior Thad Holt said. Some students grew My parents said that I should get involved in something at school to keep me out of trouble at home senior Ryan Davis regret their decisions to keep me out of trouble at become four-year fanat- ics, but many did not be- come so by choice. I stayed in the band program because at that time I could not picture what else I could possibly do in high school. Now that 1 have done it, 1 really regret it, senior John Blanton said. My parents said that I should get involved in something at school to home. That ' s why 1 decided to join choir, senior Ryan Davis said. However, many stu- dents had no prior knowl- edge that they would ever become four-year fa- natics; fate did take its course. This option presented itself because of the desire to get accepted to a highly competitive college. I have taken four years of difficult math courses and aside from putting me ahead in col- lege , I also feel that it has made me a better person, senior Karl Dal- ley said. This, however, did not imply that seniors were the only ones to fit the four-year fanatic mold. Logic demanded the possibility for any student, regardless of course preference, to become a four year fanatic. 1 fully intend to fol- low through with my jour- nalism courses all through my high school career, sophomore Dane Reese said. HEAVY METAL As he prepares for a band march, senior Kevin Buttery shines both his shoes and his tuba. Before all contest performances, band members filled the band hall cleaning equipment, shining shoes, ironing clothes and waiting. Take a Number ACADEMICS