Teachers look back at extra-curricular activities

There are a number of teachers at Aragon who also happen to be former students of the institution they now teach at. Looking back on the past and the present, they all can see the changes that have occurred to the extracurricular activities they participated in as well as those that have stood the test of time.

An active participant in the school newspaper, that was previously called the Aragon Aristocrat, English teacher Jennifer Wei remembers her role as a features editor during her senior year.

“It wasn’t really a journalism class, it was a newspaper class and Mr. Silton has changed it into more about journalism and what it is,” says Wei.

Math teacher Nathan Kundin also contributed to Aragon’s newspaper as a photographer. “Back before digital photography, we got to hang out in the dark room and develop pictures after school. It was kind of like a closet. Back then you would have to send in your pictures to get developed, but I got to learn how to do it myself,” says Kundin. The newspaper also changed in appearance from a standard size newspaper to the tabloid size, still currently in use. “We made some really stupid decisions for newspaper, and one of those decisions was giving me my own column,” says Wei.

Not only have the literary aspects of Aragon changed over the years, but also the athletics department as well. “We only had 6 periods [and] there was no 6th period PE because it was an athletics period. So instead of taking PE, athletes would get PE credit for doing their sports,” says Wei.

Regarding this schedule, science teacher Steven Ratto states, “Sports seem like a hassle now more than anything. It seems like you miss so many classes. When you had six period classes, if anything, you only missed part of fifth period because we had first through fourth, then lunch, then fifth and sixth, and sixth was athletics. Now you have kids who are missing all of seventh period because they have to leave by two.”

Some sports, however, have undergone more changes than others. “In wrestling, we used to have overnight tournaments. We would go on Friday, and spend the night and wrestle again on Saturday. If you won on Friday, or anyone on your team won, your team would spend the night and then you’d go back to tournament on Saturday. We would go to Sonoma, or Los Angeles. It was great because you were there the whole day, you didn’t have to worry about going back; it was like a field-trip,” says Ratto.

While the sports department has experienced numerous changes, the theater program has not had as many variations. The activity that has dramatically changed in the drama department is improvisational theater. “[It] was not at the level that it is now, that’s what’s really cool,” says history teacher Jennifer Condon. “We were just getting an Improv team off its feet, and at the time, Hillsdale had a good team. There were no Improv shows at lunch. We did not have that at all.”

“I remember putting on a premiere in production and it was tech week and I wasn’t carrying my weight,” says Condon. “I remember Ms. Johnson (the drama director) saying ‘you know there’s a lot on your shoulders, and all of these people are depending on you to perform at a [higher] level, and you need to step up your game.’ It was just a huge lesson in responsibility. I don’t think I had that experience academically, but in the theater program, I learned responsibility and accountability and what it means to be part of a group.”

Math teacher Adam Jacobs says, “During my senior year, I participated in a class called ‘Work Experience’ that was offered to students. This class helped students understand the job market that was available to high school students and beyond. Activities in the class included mock interviews, job etiquette, etc. It was great real world experience. [However], these types of classes are no longer available at Aragon.” He adds, “Classes like ‘work experience’, electronics, auto mechanic shop and other vocational classes…could add to Aragon’s well rounded education.”

Over the years, as with many high schools, modifications are always being made. Yet with all of the changes, Condon explains, “It was nice to go out and be away from [Aragon] to make you realize just how wonderful it is here.”