thursdsy, cctcbcr 21, 197G
p2
n n if
Convinced from p. 1
My real concern is that people (hiring officials) wont
accept it, he said. Tm perfectly happy with the passfail
system, but 1 wonder what reaction there will be to it.
Enriquez said that with lesson plans, meetings and
counseling it is "extremely hard to find the time" for the
cooperating teacher and student teacher to decide which
competencies have been fulfilled and when.
"This system is unique, but in some ways it might be
worse," Enriquez said. No option has been left to switch
a student teacher's passfail back to a letter grade if the
system should ever change back, he said.
Students still may take student teaching by letter
grade, an option which is "misunderstood a little bit,
' said Vard Sybouts, chairman of the Secondary Education
Dept.
Those who want a letter grade must petition Alfrey
and contract the grade they would Eke to receive, he said..
No awareness
There is "not a sufficient amount of awareness on the
part of the students" as far as the new policy is concern
ed, Sybouts said. Upcoming discussions with students
may be one solution to that problem, he added.
- Sybouts said there .was a student on the Secondary
Education Curriculum Committee during the planning
stages of the new policy, but the student was not able
to attend all the meetings.
"It was intended that students should be told they
could have it (student teaching) graded" last spring at
registration time, Sybouts said. "Whether we goofed, I
don't know."
The change was made to passfail because feedback
from employers also indicated that grades weren't that
important to them because there were so many "A"
student teachers, Sybouts said. .
Sybouts said information still is being gathered from
school officials and students as to how the passfail policy
affects them. lie said this kind of information was in
sufficiently collected before the policy was initiated.
. Isueopen
The passfail policy is "very definitely an open issue,"
Sybouts said. "It might change back to grades, but I really
don't think it will hurt students graduating."
Eleven students have opted for a letter grade so far this
semester, Alfrey said.
"It is a very simple thing to do to switch to a grade,"
he said. The cooperating teacher, supervisor and student
teacher decide what is expected of the student to get the
grade they would like. .
A.UNL Teacher Placement survey prompted the
change to the passfail system, Alfrey said. This survey
showed school officials ranked fifth in importance behind
.the personal interview, written recommendations by the
student's supervisor and cooperating teacher, other fa
culty recommendations and overall grade point average.
Alfrey said it is "difficult to objectively evaluate"
student teachers through the 23 competencies. The competency-based
program will tell school officials more
about a student's strengths and weaknesses as a teacher
than a grade would, he said.
Supervisors and cooperating teachers try to resolve any
difference in interpreting the competencies, Alfrey said,
but if this is not possible, two separate evaluations would
be written and placed in the student's file.
Schools similar
Alfrey said many teaching programs are using the
passfail system, including Kearney State College, Con
cordia' and UNL's Home Economics Dept. and students
are experiencing "no reprocussions and no problems -getting
jobs."
Lee DeJonge, director of, the Teacher Ilacement
Office, said the student teaching grade fs "Way down the
list in importance" to hiring officials.
"An A won't tell an administrator about his (the stu
dent teacher's) skills or shortcomings," he said. The com
petencies are more detailed than a grade, he said, because
a student receives a rating of "needs improvement,"
"Successful," "exemplary" or "not applicable" on each
competency.
Hiring officials don't see a student s transcript unless
he asks for them, De Jonge said, because grades are not
included in his credentials.
Ronald Joekel, associate dean in Teachers College said
another reason for switching to the passfail policy was
because nearly 86 per cent of all student teachers received .
A'sin their student teaching.
Joekel said" this could indicate that NUSTEP (a pre
liminary course to student teaching) is doing its job well
teaching students what to expect in a classroom and how
to be flexible.
"If students deserve an A, they ought to get an A "he
said."I dont care if they all get A's.
But if high grades mean switching classes to passfail,
Joekel said there are others besides student teaching that
might warrant the change.
Joekel said there is a "need to have better data about
what hiring officials look at and if it (passfail) hurts in
employment."
There should be "seltaeterminatkra on the part of
students as far as grades," he' said. "My real concern is
that students should have the option to take it (student
teaching) for a grade" without feeling intimidated by
having to petition.
Lincoln' oSmosf didn't
1
Copifo
By Mary Jo Howe
, Once placed third on the list of architectural wonders
of the world, the Nebraska State Capitol may never have
been located in Lincoln if the first Nebraska governor had
not died days after taking his oath of office.
Francis Burt, a South Carolina lawyer and editor, was
appointed in 1854 by President Franklin Fierce to be
governor of the Nebraska Territory. But on his trip west,
Burt became iH and died soon after arriving in BeQevue.
' If Burt had lived, BeEevue would have been the terri
torial capital. A political deal located it at Omaha creating
a rift between residents north and south of the Hatte
River. When Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 1 867,
the more populous South Hatte district was able to name
a site south of the river the current site of Lincoln.
The first state capitol built in Lincoln in 1869 was
Aascs the many fceaatifd f-
rra Ests Ccr-d are tie Gr
ia the rscepiba rasa cf s pizcrrsra- cZZss.
said to be so fragile it was necessary to warn the senators
and representatives not to applaud one another's speeches
because it might cause the building to fall down. The
structure, which cost $76300 was built of native lime
stone and lumber.
A second state capitol replaced the first in 18S6 at a
cost of $691300, but by 1919 the building no longer had
enough space for the needs of state government.
Voril War I memorial
In 1919, the Nebraska Legislature initiated proceed
ings to build a new Capitol as a memorial to World War I
Nebraska soldiers.
A capitol commission was authorized by Gov. Samuel
McKelvie to select an architect from the most prominent
firms in the state and the nation. Their aim was first to
produce a working home for the state governmental
activities, second, to produce an inspiring monument
worthy of the state and third, to do this without friction,
sandal, extravagance or waste.
Eighteen months later, the commission announced its
selection of Bertram Goodhue of New York- City. His
plans were unlike those of competitors who reflected the
traditional style of the United States Capitol. It was the
first example of a state capitol with a tower containing
usable space as a major feature.
The design also allowed for the existing building to be.
used until space in the new building was provided by
building around the old capitol in sections, hi this way
state activities were accommodated without paying out
side rentals during the period of construction. An estimat
ed $750,000 was saved.
Goodhue also selected persons to complete the sculp
ture and interior murals and mosaics to create a unified
design in style and subject matter.
- M21 levy assessed.
Upon completion, Nebraska's Capitol was entirely paid
for by an annual mill levy assessed during the construction
period from January 1920 to January 1935. Total cost in
1935 was $9300,449. .
In 1932, 500 architects were polled to determine the
25 best built buildings of all time in the world. The capi
tol based on its modern design, use of interior decor and
conservation of space and money, placed ahead of such
monuments as the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and the
Cathedral of Chartres in France. It was surpassed only
by the Lincoln Memorial and the Empire State Bldg.
The structure is faced with select Indiana limestone
from the Bedford Quarries of Bedford, Ind.
The basic square is supposed to symbolize the broad
expanse cf the Nebraska Rains.
The 400-foot tower represents tbs rise of life on the
Flaiss and the dreams and aspirations of Nebraska. Rest
ing on the dome is Ike Sowar. Made of one-inch thick
broczs,it stands 19 feet tail and weighs 153C0 lbs.
short stuff
The Overseas Opportun
ities Center (OOC) would
like people who want to
share travel abroad exper
iences, to become resource
people for the center's files.
Centact OCC, Nebraska
Union 345.
Residents of Harper-Schram-Smith
residence
halls may attend a presen
tation about alcohol at 630'
tonight.
It is in conjunction with
Residence Hail Association
Week: The "Pub" at Cather-Pbund-Neihardt
halls will
have "Casino Night" begin
ning at 8 pjn. The pool at .
Abel-Sandoz wiQ be open
tonight. Admission is free.
The Home Economics
Graduate Student Associa
tion will meet at 4 pjn. to
day in Home Economics
Bldg. 104.
The UNL Center for Co
Equal Education, a project -to
assist educators in the
implementation of Title IX,
will sponsor an open house
from 2 to 7 pjn. today
atHenzkHaI1214.
'-:'J:"
Prof. R. A. MacLeod of
McGiH University in Mon
treal, Canada, will speak
about 77ie Role of Inorgan
ic Ion in the Marine P&eu-
domonsd at 3:30 p m. to
day in Bessey Hall Auditor
ium. -
-
The Nebraska East Union
needs a married student to
serve on the East Union
Task Force and help plan
programs. A person asso
ciated with East Campus is
preferred. Call 472-2181 or
464-7133 for details.
- -"
The Institute for Inter
national Studies has compil
ed a list' of. potential em
ployers in the internation
al field. Students may get
the list at Oldfather Hall
1033.
Community Involvement
Services (CIS) is looking for
students to volunteer as
tutors for junior and senior
high school students. One
child will be assigned to a
tutor, with a commit
ment of two hours a week
for- the semester in which
the child is registered. For
details contact CIS, Union
200, or ca3 472-2486.
The Chinese Student
Association will .sponsor a
movieat 7:30 pjn. Satur
day and 230 pjn. Sunday
in the Union Small Audi
torium. Admission is $125
for members and $1.75 for
non-members.
douly nebraskan
Cepito will
historic dssianafion
Ncbraa 44-ytar-cli Capitol wi2 be dssirmttd a
nitioml historic hndmark at a dedication ceremony
12 is cot true that the Capitol has never been oflkkHy
dedicated, as has been reported, according to Lt. Gov.
Gerald V.hilaa. Although the Capitol was completed in
1932, the baHiisg was not dedicated until 1967.
They rmst have forgotten about it, he said, re
ferring to the 35ifear delay in the building dedication.
The Capitol will join 15 Nebraska landmarks that the
National Park Service has designated historical landmarks,
including the Willi sm Jennings Bryan home, Lincoln ;WiI!a
Cather home. Red Goad; and Signal Butte, Scotts Bluff
County.
The dedication is being made this year because of the
bicentennial, Wheland Slid.
OfOckls scheduled to attend Saturday's dedication
include Gov. J. James Exon, US. Sen. Roman Hruska,
U.S. Rep. Chaxlis Those and IThehn.
John Rivers, great grandson of the capital's designer,
Bertram Goodhue, also will attend the ceremony. Rivers
will speak during the dedication.
Editor4nhif: Theresa Forsmsn. t&neng Editor: Randal
Btauvett. Nam Editor: Sandy l&atr . Assackte Flaws Editors: Ron
Ruthless and Rax Setine. Layout Editor: Lit Caard. Entertainment
Editor: ft&cbaet Zansari. Sports Editor: Pete Wrjmtnw Third
Dimension Editor: Nancy Stohs. Nigft Naws Editor: Kim
Shepherd. Photography chief: Ted Kirk.
Copy Editors: Chuck Geek. Nancy Clark. Pett ISaon. Gil
Smith and Randy Wright.
Business Kan3: Jerri HaussJer. Advertising fcisnes GC3
Wurdeman. Assistant Advertising t&nsy: C?uce Ucf&jrris.
Production ktaittger: Kitty Polieky.
Th Daily Nebraska is published by the UT4L Publications
Committee on Monday. Wednesday. Thursday and Friday during
the fall and spring semesters, except during vacations.
Address: The Daity Nebraska. Nebraska Union 34. Uth and
R Streets. Uncotn. Neb. Telephone (402)
, Copyright 1976. the Daily Nsbraskan. Material may be
reprinted without permission it attributed to the Daily Nebraskan.
except material covered by another copyr iyht.
Second class postage paid at Lincoln. Nab. CCSOt .
