Improvement Possibilities
Another possibility is improvement within the framework of the public school system. This is what Gary has been attempting in the past year or two, under the direction of a new superintendent.
One of the innovations has been to regulate the maximum number of credits that can be earned in a particular area of extracurricular activity. For instance, there is a limit on the number of years that speech or dramatics can be taken for credit.
The second improvement is the introduction of a wider variety of courses in the curriculum. More languages and advanced courses in science, mathematics, and English have been added or proposed. This type of improvement is limited, however, unless the Gary system is someday consolidated into fewer and larger schools.
Course Quality
Additional courses, though, will not alter the quality of the subjects already taught. Public high school courses are geared to the average student. At many schools, the gifted learner is placed in accelerated classes. Horace Mann has this accelerated program in algebra and plane geometry--an arrangement which might profitably be extended to other subjects.
Gary's recognition of its educational shortcomings and the improvements made so far are laudable. They do not make Gary high schools into preparatory academies. Neither do they detract from the excellence of the many extracurricular activities, nor do they eliminate the "fun" aspect of Midwestern high school life.
There is little danger that further advances in the quality and variety of regular school courses will push bright students into an "academic shell."