Who would’ve thought that in a dusty corner of IHS, a little room with pink walls holds just a few cabinets with bundles of old Tattler issues? As the Tattler Archivist, I get to explore the tales and stories that once lived in the halls of IHS. Whether you enjoy history a lot or not as much, I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy in this section. Without further ado, here’s just a handful of these pieces, dating all the way back to 1892!
March 1915
THE PIRATE’S CHEST
GLADYS GILKEY, ’15
I say that such a man could never love.
He listened not to women’s prayers or tears.
But merciless and cruel made himself
The tyrant of the seas. Well that he died.
See what a gash in anger once he made
Here in this solid beam—and underneath
The bloody stain upon the cabin floor!
Bring out his oaken treasure chest, and pry
Its bands of iron. Come and look upon
The stolen booty of his piracy.
Here lie the bags of bloody Spanish gold.
Its glittering heaps invite our wonder, that
With God’s blue sky above and sea beneath
A man could live and die for this alone.
But wait—what can this jacket be
Here in a corner of the pirate’s chest,
A stolen jewel? Look! A ring—a rose.
January 2008
Editorial: STUDENTS OVERWORKED (AND UNDERPAID)
Our high school years are said to be the best of our lives. But for many students, the school day is followed by an overdose of homework that constantly prevents them from spending enough time sleeping or simply enjoying themselves.
One problem is that many courses in high school try to teach more information than can actually be retained. According to The New York Times, studies have shown that students tested on basic economic principles six months after taking an introductory course score no better than students who have never taken a class in the subject (“The Dismal Science, Dismally Taught,” August 12, 2007). Decreasing the sheer volume of material in a class would directly decrease the amount of work required, and by allowing more time for basic concepts, could increase the amount of knowledge that students retain in the end.
Coupled with the enormous amount of work in high school is the fact that many students simply do not know how to work efficiently—for example, how to take good notes. As basic as this may seem, some of us have discovered that taking notes on a reading can turn a 30-minute assignment into a four-hour one, because we have no idea how to take notes efficiently. At no specific grade level is “note-taking” a central part of the curriculum, and therefore, it never gets taught properly. Many teachers assume that students can quickly and accurately take notes on both specific details and general ideas, but this is often not at all the case. We’re told that the general ideas are the most important, but tests and quizzes tend to focus on the minutiae, making it hard to decide which facts and concepts are most worthy of our attention.
Students shouldn’t have to give up their personal lives, which improve both health and well-being, just to meet the demands of homework loads. One sport practice or club meeting after school each day (rarely more than two hours) is not an unreasonable amount of time for a student to spend enjoying himself and relaxing after a demanding academic day that for some begins at 6 a.m. Some may argue, “If you had so much homework, why did you go to ___?” But many extracurricular activities demand significant time and even greater commitment. Probably the easiest way to get kicked off of a sports team for the season is to simply not go to a game because of “too much homework.” While school-work may be a major focus of our lives in high school, it shouldn’t be the only one. Just look at college applications—schoolwork in only one factor, along with test scores, essays, and yes, clubs, sports, jobs, and other activities.
One argument for assigning so much work is that it is all preparation for “the real world.” This argument is hard to buy, however, when we see parents return from their “real-world” jobs to relax, read a book, or watch television, while we are stuck in the other room doing work until late hours of the night (or often, early hours of the morning).
The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research reported that in 2003, 15- to 17-year olds spent an average of 50 minutes per night on homework. Who at IHS can even remember the last time he had as little as 50 minutes of homework for one night? In the IHS Program of Studies, many course descriptions say that students should expect “regular,” “nightly,” or “substantial” homework; of the courses that give estimates, Regents classes tend to expect 15 to 30 minutes a night, Honors classes 30-45 minutes, and Advanced Placement (AP) classes a full hour. (Taking one AP class? Forget Michigan’s numbers. Need to take notes for English or history? Those Program of Studies estimates could be entirely off.) For a student taking a reasonable six classes (math, science, social studies, English, a foreign language, and one elective,) each with perhaps 40 minutes of homework a night, this would amount to four hours. There are many demands on our time each day that are or should be non-negotiable: school, after-school activities, commuting, meals, basic hygiene, exercise, and sleep. Considering the average or recommended amount of time for each of these activities, this leaves us somewhere between two and five hours each day for relaxation, hobbies, fun, and—yes—homework.
March 1893
MARCH.
The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies,
I hear the rushing of the blast,
That through the snowy valley flies
Ah, passing few are they who speak,
Wild, stormy month! In praise of thee ;
Yet though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me.
* * *
The year’s departing beauty hides
Of wintry storms the sullen threat ;
But in thy sternest frown abides
A look of kindly promise yet.
Thou bring’st the hope of those calm skies,
And that soft time of sunny showers,
When the wide bloom, on earth that lies,
Seems of a brighter world than ours.
W.C. REYANT
March 1922
THE SONG OF THE SAXOPHONE
While human blood runs rich and red,
And the heart of the world remains the same,
There will always dwell in the soul of man
The old primeval strain.
And the heart will leap, and the eyes will fill,
While the body sways to a throaty moan ;
For the sons of men will always thrill
To the song of the saxophone.
When incandescents burn the night,
The darkness turbos with its plaintive bleat ;
And the pipes of Pain are heard again,
Along the city street.
The moon is pale on the age-old hills,
And the night bird long ago has flown ;
But the young man treads the pace that ills,
To the wild old song of the saxophone.
And if perchance you lived and loved
In the pagan days of twenty-two,
The weird wild chant of the throbbing sax
Sometimes comes back to you.
And you dance again through the summer night
With a small warm hand clasped in your own,
And drift once more through the old delights
On the sobbing song of the saxophone.
But those days are gone, and it’s over now ;
And it’s harps you’ll hear in the heavenly choir.
And the weary lads of the polished floor
Are grouped around the fire.
And the months of Sundays come and go,
While up from the pit with the sinner’s groan
Comes the glad old song that we used to know—
The song of the saxophone.
—DIOGENES.