Page 2
HIGH LIFE
November 24, 1982
Edi tor-1 n-Chief
Trisha Houser
HIOh life
Grimsley Senior High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, N.C. 27408
Managing Editor
Carolyn Serwitz
Editorial Staff
Renee Hicks, David Jones, Chuck Tutterow
Reporting Staff
Eddie Drew, Usa Earley. Jay Floyd. AUen Ford. Lisa Freiberg, Tim
Ham^to^yJdhanna Hjartberg, KeUy Kidd. Tamera Majors. Catherine
rttisgrove. Bill Newnam, Allen Patterson, Beverly Reaves, Larry Reece
Laurie Silverstein. Marsha Sink, Pam Sohn, Jeff Sural, Susan Thaxton,
Gina Vance, Steve Vehorn, Alise Weinstein. Donna Williams
Graphics Staff
Matthew Sohn, Rob Cheshire (Photographer),
Josh Mendlovitz (Artist) (Journalism I)
Business Staff
Allen Ford (Business Manager), Pam Sohn (Ad Manager),
Gina Vance (Circulation Manager),
Donna Williams (Office Manager)
Advisor
Lynn Wright Kernodle
Printed by Stone Printing Company Inc.. High Point. NC
HIGH LIhB accepts the respnnsihUity fo provide nen s and commentary that is accurate, fair, oh-
jectivt. and honest, to provide a f6rum for opinion, and to serve the interests and needs of our
reading pabiic.
In The Spotlight
- SSBAG
Erik Albright
Felicia Carter
Jay Floyd
Trisha Houser
Carl-Henry Geschwind
Holly Everton
Denise Ford
Jeff Ferrell
Valerie Spearman
Novice Baur
v
yo
Traditional Grading Unfair;
A Look At Alternatives
By Trisha Houser
By the time this paper is published, everyone will have probably receiv
ed his/her report card. Few of us are really happy with our grades. Some
students just try to slide by, while others slave over that homework only
to get a C.
We have all taken the A-F grading system pretty much for granted ever
since the seventh grade. Perhaps it is time we take a closer look at it.
This scale has no logical basis, if you consider it. Different teachers take
different points into consideration. Some teachers are more lenient than
others , and there are often different expectations for different courses.
But most importantly, does a grade really tell how much you have learn
ed? When you ask your classmate what he got in chemistry, he will tell you
his grade, not what particular concepts he learned, nor what insights he
gained from the course.
The grading system is basically a convenience for colleges and some
teachers, although a few teachers consider it a nuisance. (For example,
English teachers may feel limited discussing a novel just on the basis of its
literary merit for fear that someone will ask, “Is this gonna be on the test?)
The A-F grading system encourages cheating, and creates alienation
between the teachers and students and among the students. A grade is no
judge of creativity, character, or initiative. If Jane’s grade point average
is 4.4 and Jill’s is 3.0, this does not necessarily mean that Jane has a better
understanding of the material, nor does it tell anything about the student’s
other qualities.
In summary too, much emphasis is placed on grading. In answer to those
who say that grading provides initiative, studies show that students who do
well are those who are most motivated by grades. In other words, it helps
those who need the least help. Also, a person’s grades become tied to one’s
sense of self-worth; one who gets low grades may think badly of himself.
So, what is the solution? There are many possibilities. One is a pass/fail
option, which takes much of the pressure off the student. A teacher would
give guidelines, and those meeting them would pass. Variations include an
honors grade and the P/F option in certain classes. Other possibilities in
clude credit/no credit (which eliminates the “fail” concept), teacher and
self-evaluations, and contracts.
The decision to change would not be easy or quick. Every aspect of every
plan would have to be explored. Students could perceivably “slack off”
under such a system as P/F, but one must look at a human’s basic curiosi
ty.
In any case, it is time to take a serious look at the alternatives and find a
way to encourage creativity and individualism, bring out a student’s full
potential, and to have a relaxing and fun learning experience.
Under The Willow Tree^
Telling Our Own n—nt
By Marty Leary and Tonie Goldstein
And so here I sit, under the willow tree, singing the twilight songs;
Look here kid, there they are, basking in the sun, someday you 'll be one.
Dirws^rs in the Garden of Eden, dinosaurs in time.
And so here I sit, under the willow tree, singing the morning songs;
^ s Butterfuly-bats hover
/\ rhymeless time
- Children take cover
In brillant sunshine
“I don’t want to know about your jio-chemical super-nuclear space-based mort-o-matic warfares and hard
wares and big bad bears at whom you flex your macho-ness.”
Come now little Hamlet, there they are, scratching out their eyes,burning
down the skies.
Dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden, dinosaurs in time.
“Won’t you listen to me? There’s more to living than accepting death. There’s more to man than man.”
I have apple sauce eyes.
While yours are blue.
W Apple sauce eyes, apple sauce eyes.
Your eyes see truth.
But my eyes see true.
I have apple sauce eyes. _
“I don’t want to know ‘bout your Reaganomics and superatomics, your ranks and tanks and west-banks,
your spies and lies and economic ties. Don’t even talk to me about life, as if you could live one under the
shadow of your bomb. I’m just holdin’ my breath like everybody else.”
Reptilian Monday, be here one day. Mother
Reptilian Monday, be here one way or another.
Presimian Tuesday, oh what a bluesday, Father
Presimian Tuesday, tell me should I even bother?
“If you celebrate the sky you will find rainbows and stars and love. Don’t let the cobwebs in your mind and
in your books cast shadows over your life.”
Look to the green skies
j And the blue grass, . ~ '
Vi, ' ■ See the cloud sighs - "V--
Have the last laugh.
“Get me away from the stench of your ■ sulfurous, sepulchral silos as you raze and blaze, fuse and confuse,
as you ploy and deploy and destroy with your blundering, plundering, thundering Adam’s hands. Don’t smile
at me as if you had the power to see me under the shadow of your bomb. You all look like a bunch of dinosaurs
to me. Afterall:
I've seen Jewish Nazis,
White: knights wearing clown white faces,
I've seen the white dove stained
And bludgeoned in the white rat races.
I'm Chicken Little and I've seen it all
And I tell you the sky, she's gonna fall
I've seen white berets
And big white houses burned to the ground
White on red, red on white
Whollotta crazy white people runnin' 'round.
I'm Chicken Little and I've seen it all
And I tell you the sky, she's gonna fall
I've heard white screams
As the white dreams whimper and die
In the grocery stores and in the pool halls
As the white gluttons run out of pie.
Yum, yum, yum, finger lickin' good.
Yum, yum, yum, finger lickin' good.
“Create a gift to stop this destruction, if you’ve had enough. Give the world a child, a book, a poem, a smile.
You’re only piling your words onto theirs.”
Our hearts must be
Free to fly.
What use is Earth
If there's no sky?
Our hearts must be
Free to stay.
'Cause at least
. We've got today.
Willow tree who could play your fronds back on the wind to that place in time when he cursed ourselves to
hve with knowledge? Anger now has abated and there is a strange calm wherein we sit and wait and stare at
^ture s lingering countenance, her streams and brooks and mountains and plains and seas that somehow defied
human_folly. does not forsake us, even in these
® m helplessly human. For us there is no sadness but
for you, oh weeping willow, who will explain? You did not have a mother to tell you in her sweet wav ‘‘Yes
dear, you are ping to die. We are all going to die someday.” What right have we with our precocious science
^rrhtv noth-”" ourinstruments and deathlyf accounterments with olr mere materials
™g4y nothmgs, for a backdrop to action-what right have we, oh weeping, weltering willow to teU your
And so here we sit, telling our own.
College Column
Many students have already
been accepted to a school. If you
have not been accepted at your
“first choice,” be patient; waiting
for acceptances can be nerve-
wracking. There are, however, a
few things you can do to help in
sure your acceptance.
An interview, especially at the
smaller, private schools, is almost a
must. Often, these schools are very
By Trisha Houser
selective, and they can usually have
their choice of students. To stand
out, remember that they
have seen many well-dressed, welF
groomed hopefuls; be interesting,
be well-informed, and ask ques
tions. Make sure you know about
what you wrote on your applica
tion. It might be a good idea to
check up on current events before
(Continued on Page 3)