Retrospect: PHS offered mini courses

Forty-five years ago this week, Portland High School students were able to take “mini-courses” in place of their regular lessons.

The three-day event started April 19, 1972, with 65 different courses offered to the high-schoolers and scheduling conducted on computers at Ball State University. Students were asked to list 10 courses they would like to take, and while not everyone got every requested class, each student ended up with a full schedule of six courses.

Some of the classes available to students included “bachelor cooking,” bridge, candle making, survival and karate. Portland High School teachers taught many of the courses, but for classes such as law enforcement, fashion decorating, communications, pilot ground school and human relations, additional instructors were brought in.

The wide variety of classes seemed to hold the interest of the students and helped them see their teachers in a different light.

“I think it’s going to help us understand our teachers better,” said one student. “It’s so different to see a teacher playing poker and laughing just like us or cooking something in the kitchen.”

The total cost for the program was less than $500 (around $3,000 adjusted for inflation), and was split evenly between the student council and the school. Using the BSU computers and purchasing materials for the classes took up the bulk of the money.