Month in N'tarch. They joined with the French half of the Modew. Foreign Language Department to offer a day of cultural activity fo r more than 600 high school students in April. A taste of France The French way of life was experienced by Le Cerde Francais when Dr. Winfred Wright, chairman of the language department, and his wife, Dr. Dorothy Wright, associate professor of French, invited the club to their home to dine in the French fashion. The Wrights, former missionaries, who both studied at the University of Toulouse. prepared a seven-course French dinner for the group. "You understand a lot more when things can be put together , like making or eating a French meal. You begin to understand some of the things you have learned," said Cassandra Mahaffey, president of the French Club. Students were also given the chance to travel. Dr. Winfred Wright , who is president of the Arkansas Association of the Teachers of French, took nine students on an evangelistic-study tour of Dijon and Lille, France and Namur, Belgium. f--- rlrr:'j INSTRUCTING the advanced composition class , assistant professor of Spanish Mrs. A va Conley discusses the elements of verb conjuga tion . Students earn experiences, credit Brad Jackson worked in Dallas last summer in the computer field. Mark Albright has worked for a Florida newspaper. Cindy Ragland and Carolyn Wright have worked for the Deveraux Foundation in Victoria, Texas. What do these students have in common1 They have all been associated with Harding's Cooperative Education Program. Cooperative education is designed to give students on-thejob experience in their major fiela''Of study and is a joint effort of businesses and education. The program at Harding is open to students who have completed their sophomore year. Eligible students may choose between two plans. In the alternative plan, students alternate semesters of study with semester{s) of off-campus work. The parallel plan permits students to attend classes half a day and work half a day on campus or within commuting distance. The requirements for both plans are similar. Students must apply to Cooperative Education Director Dr. Winfred Wright for admission to the program. Each department has a co-op coordinator who reviews the admissions requests of students in his particular department and makes a decision based on grades and other factors. Students enrolled in the program are expected to complete at least 4()() pages of outside reading related to their particular job. Additionally , students must keep a daily log of their experiences and turn it in to Dr. Wright, who is also chairman of the Modern Foreign Languages department. Employers are asked to provide a written evaluation of each student's performance, and Wright assigns a letter grade based on all the information . A total of six hours of co-op credit may be applied toward graduat ion requirements. Each work experience generally lasts three or four months, comparable to a semester period, and counts as either two or three hours of credit. ' Senior Robert Broom worked for the computer center on campus this spring as a regular staff member. Although he was only paid the minimum wage, he said, "I think that it's an excellent idea and experience. You find out quickly if it 's what you really want to do and what it's like when you get out in the real world." Broom added, "It's a lot of work and very little play," and said he believed that the experience he has gained will help in getting a job and in determining that the job will be a higher-paying one. Debbie Gilbert, who graduated last August, enrolled in the co-op program for the fall semester. She worked at the Searcy Mental Health Center, supervising craft activities, exercise sessions and other/group therapy activities. She also worked with 'outpatients,' and said, "I saw so many areas of need. It made it harder to realize what I wanted to do professionally. It did help me get an idea of what fields were open and what pays better, but it has diversified my interest. " Gilbert received graduate credit for her work and is now employed by the Center. Cooperative education is a resource utilized only by an average of 10-15 students per year, a small number considering the great learning potential of such an experience. - Bruce Cook t1Trtl
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