Edttor'i Note: The following
article, written by Gwen
Drake, was prepared for an
assignment in Depth Report
ing at the NU School of Jour
nalism under the direction of
R. Neale Copple, director of
the School of Journalism.
By Gwen Drake
Judgment
A projected day in biblical
literature?
No.
An accepted fact of profes
sional life for a major seg
ment of the United States'
professional population
teachers.
Teachers are judged by the
students they teach, the stu
dent's parents, grandparents,
and a wide assortment of oth
er individuals who pay taxes
to support their salaries.
Recently, on the campus of
the University of Nebraska,
students attempted to publish
in book form what they said
had been handed from stu
dent to student by word of
mouth in the past evalua
tion of the faculty.
The evaluation attempt
failed because of a lack of
student participation in the
project, but the question of
faculty judgement, or evalua
tion, is still alive.
What is a good teacher?
This question has plagued
faculty and administration of
fices on campus since the
beginning of academic time.
Necessary Ingredients
Ts popularity a necessary
ingredient for a good teacher?
Adam Breckenridge, Dean
of Faculties at NU, said he
Tuesday, August 2, 1966
Reading and writing havent
been forgotten, but many Ne
braska teachers are now
winging it as well.
Nebraska has been teaching
teachers to. fly as a part of
its broader program of aero
space education for teachers.
The hope has been that
these teachers will be better
equipped to imbue children
with knowledge and interest
in air and space.
During the four summers of
Project TOGA (Teacher
Orientation to General Avia-
lax
Laws
Whatever its fate at the Those who have charged
hands of the voters next No- Nebraska's income tax with
vender, NebrasU.'. . ft
tax law has been slandered, charge is true because the
a University of Nebraska tax Nebraska law provides for a
expert said Saturday. flat income tax rate.
Dr. Edward B. Schmidt, pro- When property or sales
fessor of economics, told a tes are charged on a flat
state labor leaders confer- rate. saad- Eener-
ence at the Nebraska Center ally conceded to be regres-
that the Nebraska tax has slve Dut thls 1S not the case
been unfairly labeled as "re- i11 e income tax because
gressive" in several public income taxes are based on the
discussions. tota earned. The property
tax, he said, reaches only that
Large Bite part of the citizen's wealth
To label a tax regressive, which ?el converted to
he said is to sav that it takes Vroperty and the sales t a x
ne sam, is to say tnat it taxes reacnes only tne amovaA 0f
a proportionately larger bite income spent for taxable pur-
from the total income of a chases.
small-income man than from Flat-Rate "Progressiveness"
the total income of the big-in- -re flat-rate income tax,
come man. Dr. Schmidt said, has a mod-
. est, built-in "progressive-
The Nebraska income t a x nes' that j a f ture
now awaiting life or death at is ite of regreSSiveness,
the polls as the result of a anderefore tends to claim
successful referendum peti- j percentage rf total
tion campaign, does not de- 6 J the income rises
serve the regressive label, Dr. T . . . . , . .
Schmidt said Haii Nebraska wanted more
progressiveness in its income
Tax Examples tax than the present pending
, . , . law provides, this could have
He gave examples w h i c h been accomplished Dy usmg a
showed that if the Nebraska graduated rate structure, he
tax took 2.6 of a $5,000-a- aid
year man's income, it would ' , . . .,
take 4.2 from the income of e 'Neask. P,e 0 P e DJ-
a S15,000-a-year man, assum- Schmidt said, "may decide to
tag that eadh headed families rejert the income tax but they
of four members. sho"id not base tteJf de
on the erroneous charge that
His sample computations: it is a regressive tax."
Taxpaytr: Jrnim Smith Adrnns Wblt Oira
Total Incom 2.lK S.imo (,1100 U.oiK) 15, uw
Four Exemption! 2,400 2AM) 2.400 2,40(1 :,4"0
Nabr. Taxable Income ., 0 2,600 t.dno J.Hio 12,600
Tax Bill tt 8 Rat 0 130 2W 40 630
Tax Bit of Income 0 2.6 15 4.0 4.2
The rate In Nebraska'! law le adjustable I this rate aaaumedi but whatever tin
rate, the pattern would be the name.
Is f -il
A. C. Breckenridge
does not feel a popular pro
fessor, in the eyes of the stu
dents, is necessarily the best
teacher.
"Students are not really
able to judge a teacher at
the time they are taking
classes from him," Brecken
ridge said. "They tend to lean
more toward a teacher who
has a good presentation man
ner, one who can throw in a
few witticisms."
Opinions Change
"The spellbinder would
most certainly poll most popu
lar with the students now, but
in five or ten years, I'm sure
the student's opinions on who
were the best teachers would
change," Breckenridge said.
Merk Hobson, Dean of the
Graduate College, said a good
tion), 60 teachers have learned
to fly.
15 Flying Teachers
Each summer, 15 teachers
teamed to fly and were given
instruction to help them pass
the Federal Aviation Agency
examination.
The teachers were trained
through the solo stage. At the
conclusion of the course, each
teacher was given $200 credit
with his local operators so
that he might continue his
training and receive his pri
vate pilot's license.
insert Sows
m m
SIoncircl
teacher is not just one thing,
but a combination of mauy
different things.
"A good teacher must be
able to present material to
students in the classroom. He
should publish works in his
field, and carry on research
this keeps him abreast of
the times he must also be
able to carry out some civic
duties," Hobson said.
Paragon of Virtue
"The ideal teacher would be
good in all of these things a
paragon of virtue," Hobson
said.
When students try to evalu
ate their professors they seem
to forget they must take more
than classroom presentation
into account," Hobson said.
Research and Publication
A teacher may be well-received
in the classroom, but
if he does not keep up with
his field by publishing, anJ
doing research, he will not be
able to present the newest
most valuable material to his
students.
. "Research and publication
are very important, especial
ly in this day when informa
tion discoveries are being
made every day, "Hobson
said. "Of course a teacher
cannot possibly keep up with
everything, but he owes it to
himself and his ?'udents to
make some con'.ibutions in
his field."
Basic Qualifications
John R. Davis, Dean of the
NU Engineering College, said
a good teacher has three bas
ic qualifications: an interest
in research, good classroom
The Summer Nebroskan
The subsidy for this pro
gram, plus many of its lead
ers, comes from the Nebraska
Department of Aeronautics.
Project TOGA has a sec
ond part, also. In addition to
the 60 teachers who have been
trained, 23 college instructors
in the field of education have
received pilot training.
This summer, however,
Project TOGA is not in effect.
The guiding force behind Ne
braska's air and space pro
gram, Dr. Frank E. Soren
son, director of summer ses
sions, said that the program
is currently being evaluated
by those who were involved
with it.
Miss Sharon Meyer was one
of those who were involved in
Project TOGA. A sixth grade
teacher from Hastings, Miss
Meyer took her pilot training
in the summer of 1964.
Glowing Evaluation
Miss Meyer's evaluation of
Project TOGA was glowing.
She counted the benefits as
everything from a general
feeling "I'm more enthus
iastic about the things 1 do"
to a specific instance "It
(flying) fits in with the sci
ence curriculum. I have a
much better understanding of
air and weather. I taught a
unit on aviation and one on
space, and it all tied in beauti
fully." Pondering her feelings about
Project TOGA, Miss Meyer
continued, "I think it makes
teachers become so involved
... it was natural to bring
it into class. Our world is be
coming so much more aero
space minded. Children must
learn that the whole world is
their community. They can't
be isolated."
Personal Experience
But flying, even for a teach
er, is a very personal ex
perience. "My first lesson was also
the first time I'd been up in
an airplane." Then with a
laugh, she added, "I just
wanted to look out the win
dow." Miss Meyer will be working
on her masters next year at
the University. She will also
be in charge of the instruc
tional material department in
elementary education.
Hying Field Trip
And when Miss Meyer's
sixth grade went on a field
trip, they went high above the
field.
Some of the students were
scared, perhaps. Miss Meyer
remembers that one boy cov
ered his eyes and said "Oh,
I'm scared." But when the
I 1 1
Walter K. Beggs
presentation, and publica
tions. "We feel a good teacher de
velops a rapport between
himself and the student, he
takes the time to know what
the students need," Davis
said.
He stays "at the front of his
field. The students know who
the good or poor teachers are
through them we find out,
Davis said.
Facets Considered
Research, publications,
classroom know-how, civic re
sponsibility all facets con
sidered in the evaluation of a
teacher.
Educators and administra
tors know what the general
qualifications of a good teach
er are.
plane was up, he opened his
eyes and looked around.
"I'm not scared anymore."
he said and then began busily
to chatter about how small
, as?
El
III "
. T Vt' '
i " . , . ' I
, f - j.
- 1
:.- . T. : ' . v"
."'1- .rs "vv... -iirK' - . ..'-;,(
-' " J.
m0fm1T , r I
K " " -yt ; - I
Head Trainer Paul Schneider watches a crane lift materials
onto the North Stadium which is 80 per cent on its way
to completion. (See Story on Page 6)
(OJioI'a
But. who is to judge a good
teacher?
Self Evaluation
"Self evaluation is impor
tant in this profession," Dr.
Walter K. Beggs. Dean of the
NU Teachers College said.
"Any good professor will
evaluate himself, with the aid
of his students, if necessary,
and try to do the best job he
can."
According to Beggs, NU
faculty promotion standards
are such that good teaching
is not one of the two most
important factors of a suc
cessful professor at the Uni
versity. "Teaching falls about a
third down in the list of
qualifications reviewed when
faculty promotions are being
considered," Beggs said.
Publications and research
seem to come before teaching
abilities, according to Beggs.
Tangible Areas
Perhaps this is because the
other areas are more tangi
ble, easier to judge, than
teaching ability," Beggs said.
Dean Breckenridge, on the
other hand, said when faculty
promotions are brought be
fore him, the first thing on
the recommendation sheet is
an evaluation of the man's
teaching qualifications.
"To me, this is all-important,"
Breckenridge said. "Of
course, the other factors
count, too. After all, they
help make the person a better
teacher."
Extremely Difficult
Hobson, of the Graduate
College, said evaluation of a
No. 8
everything looked way down
there.
Then maybe he felt like a
lucky kid. one who could say,
"My teacher is a pilot."
Tkw - JaAiwji&d?
1 ''J's4f-J jkN
tit.' t I -.1
ft
- Look inside for our
8
teacher is extremely difficult,
even for the heads of depart
ments. "Evaluation is almost im
possible, because there is no
set course of study that is
followed in every case to be
come a professor. Doctors,
lawyers, engineers, all have
to meet about the same study
requirements in the same ba
sic coursework," Hobson said.
Training Varies
"There is no actual special
ized training in becoming a
professor, it varies from in
dividual to individual," Hob
son said.
"When I was teaching,"
Hobson said, "I found self
evaluation was most valuable.
I used student opinion to help
improve my methods. This is
a good idea, but after a time
interest fails and the idea
fades out."
Suggested Judgements
Judgment by peers, profes
sors who face the same prob
lems in teaching and can
recognize weaknesses in their
fields more readily, was sug
gested by Dean Beggs. This
could create hard feelings
among faculty members who
would hesitate to say openly
what they honestly think of
each other's methods, Beggs
said.
"The best way 1 can see of
evaluating faculty members,
besides self-evaluation, would
be to import a corps of visit
ing professors from some oth
er university to evaluate pro
fessor performances this
would eliminate inter-department
hard feelings," Beggs
said.
Students, professors' peers,
self-evaluation all are sug
gested means of evaluating a
iv- f :
Wrfii:ttMi1f if ' WUttflkT .mi
Merk Hobson
itudyLimite
if q
Research capabilities at the
University of Nebraska are
limited now by physical facil
ities, libraries and personnel.
Dr. Merk Hobson, vice chan
cellor and dean of faculties,
so testified before the Senate
Committee on Government
Research at a hearing last
week in Washington, D.C. He
said if matching federal funds
were available to institutions
like Nebraska on a long-range
program, it might be possible
to use local sources more ef
fectively during a period of
rapid expansion.
Federal Grants
The committee was told
that the University of Nebras
ka received federal grants of
$7,746,375 for the fiscal year
ending July 1, 1966. This
amount was exclusive of spec
ial facilities grants and repre
sented an increase of $2,389.
095 over the preceding year.
Additional federal support
for institutions which have
long traditions in graduate
education, but which have not
been able to develop full cap
abilities in research were ad
vocated by Dr. Hobson. He
said such support would bene
fit the nation's research cap
ability. Institutions Encouraged
"In addition, newer institu
tions of potential quality
could and should be encour
aged," said Dr. Hobson in his
testimony. "Such a develop
ment would further the Ph.D.
producing potential of the
country."
In the past, institutions
most heavily engaged in re
search activities have been
the principal beneficiaries of
federal support. Educational
institutions have secured sup
port on the basis of demon
strated competence of the in
.v 'MWt
k 1 - 4
V
V
John R. Davis
teachers' abilities. Each in it
self is an incomplete method
that would not give a true pic
ture, according to NU faculty
and administration.
Data Processing
"Faculty evaluation is t h e
one thing on this campus that
cannot be done by a data
processing system," Brecken
ridge said.
"It (evaluation deals with
people. Impressions vary,
they are colored by manner
isms, the likes and dislikes
of the evaluator show through.
Faculty evaluation is, and
will continue to be subjec
tive, fragmented, and individ
ual." Plastic Uses
Head Meeting
A Nebraska conference on
the many uses of plastic for
carrying gas, water and sew
age began at the University
of Nebraska Center today.
More than 50 persons includ
ing plumbers, architects, me
chanical engineers, city in
spectors, home builders, and
building code officials are ex
pected to attend the confer
ence. There will be a series of
discussions on the use of plas
tic for acid draining and
waste systems, water distribu
tion and irrigation, gas dis
tribution, and water service
from the meter to the house.
The program will begin at 9:30
a.m. at the Nebraska Center.
GBlitlOS
vestigator and the technical
merits of the proposal
No Quarrel
"Ln general the academic
community has no quarrel
with this type of support,"
said Hobson. "These prac
tices and procedures have had
a profound effect upon higher
education and have established
some trends which may not
be in the long-term interest
of higher education in the
United States. The larger
graduate school has become
larger to the point where the
traditional concept of the doc
torate is disappearing."
If the prediction of a need
for 80.000 persons with Ph.D.
degrees annually by 1980 is
realistic, a far greater base
for excellent graduate educa
tion must be established, the
Nebraskan said. One means of
effecting this would be to pro
vide greater research and de
velopment support for smaller
institutions with long anl
relatively substantial tradi
tions in graduate education
and research.
Other Means
Other means of providing a
more equitable distribution of
federal research funds would
be through the use of regional
consortia. Hobson said the
Mid-America Association of
State Universities provides a
good example of a consortium
of institutions not now receiv
ing federal support to the ex
tent of their capabilities. The
University of Ketoraska is a
member of that association.
Hobson concluded that in
achieving wider distribution of
research and educational cap
ability that efforts be made
to achieve a high degree of
institutional autonomy within
recognizable needs for con
trols of quality.
IIP
