The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, August 31, 1978, Page page 5, Image 5
thursday, august 31, 1978 daily nebraskan page 5 oped Motivated students are not challenged by public schools Washington-CBS Television took an open-eyed unblinking look last week at one aspect of the crisis of public education: the fact that so many children aren't learning and don't seem to be really interested in learning. The children who were the focus of the TV special happened to attend school in Denver. But they could have been from anywhere in America. Their numbers are disturbingly large. Their parents are worried sick. I hear from them all the time. But I also here from another group of parents whose children don't get paid much attention. I refer to those parents whose children, to look only at test scores, appear to be doing quite all right. They read, they com prehend, they compute and they handle the language at least at grade level, and William raspberry frequently above the national norm for their age and grade. Play school But they are learning far less than they could be learning, these parents believe. And they believe it with good reason. Union task force is chosen By Kathy McAuliffe Richard Armstrong, UNL vice chancellor for student affairs, has se lected seven of the eight members of the Nebraska Unions Services and Facilities Task Force. The task force, which consists of two faculty members, two staff mem bers and six students, will recommend ways to evaluate and study the unions. The seven persons who have accepted Armstrong's invitation are Ira Dolich, chairman of the College of Business Administration marketing department; Glen Schumann, assistant director of the Office of University Housing; Jane Baack, assistant to the dean of student development; Bob Moody, ASUN first vice president; Mike Gibson, former Residence Hall Association president; Hubert Brown, vice president of the Afro-American Collegiate Society; Nancy Eicher, president of East Union Program Council Bob Simonson, graduate student in economics and Vance Colling, vice chairman of the Nebraska Union Board. The task force, which will report to Armstrong, will meet in a couple of weeks, he said. At the first meeting, Gibson will act as chairman until a chairperson is selected by the task force, Armstrong said. Armstrong reported that he was pleased with the response from the se lected task force members. "Out of all those asked , there was only one who was unabfo to participate because of scheduling," he said. "I think this indicates that these people feel that the issue to be addressed is an important one." FREE Sills T-Shirt Get a free T-shirt for turning on Marvelous Max, Gateway Campus Bank's 24-hour teller machine. Come to the Campus Bank in the Nebraska Union or the Main Bank at Gateway Shopping Center and try out Max. During the next three weeks while supplies last, you'll get a T-shirt just for trying out Max! Marvelous Max is the 24-hour teller that's ready when you are... make deposits, withdrawals, money transfers... even check your balance anytime night or day! And when you open a $300 checking or savings account, you'll get a free Go Big Red gift ...a charm for the gals or a tie tack for the guys! So come on! Turn on Marvelous Max! c - I r' "Z ' '7 r 7 CAMPUS BAmi These children make good grades-above-average grades-while playing their way through school. "You reporters are forever writing about the children who aren't motivated, who are discipline problems, who finish high school as a functional illiterates," one father told me recently. "Well, I guess you could say my son is motivated. He certainly can read and do math. He's getting good grades, but he's not doing a damned thing. He's just sliding through." This man is thinking of putting his son in private school. I get the same sort of complaints from parents who write to me from across the country. I heard them from several parents during a recent visit to Indianapo lis. I hear them with disturbing frequency from parents at the school my own children attend. ,Easy grades The complaint is not that the children are bombing out, or that they will have trouble finding decent jobs or getting into college. The complaint is that they are not being "stretched." They are perfectly willing to work hard at school, but they don't have to. Their grades come too easily. I know the complaints well, having made them with some frequency myself. It may be that in some cases we overestimate our children's ability. In some cases we may expect too much of overworked, under-appreciated teachers. In some cases, we are asking schools to furnish the disci pline and initiative and drive that our child ren should be getting at home. Even when the complaints are justified, we must drive the teachers to distraction with the confusion of remedies we pro pose. Sometimes we want more: acceler ated courses, options to pique our child ren's interest, special curricula for the "gifted and talented." Teachers confused At other times we insist on less: Back to basics. It's hardly fair to ask the schools or the individual teachers to know what we want when we're not that sure ourselves. For my own elementary school young sters, I'd settle for a couple of things. In math, give them a solid grounding in the mechanics of computation (with lots of drill) and somewhat less emphasis on the theory of numbers, which too few teachers understand in the first place. For the non-math courses, make them write. Not "Creative" writing, just writing. Writing not learned If there is any single thing I would ask the schools to do for my children, it is to teach them to write, to make them fluent in the English language. I don't mean just word-calling, spelling and pen manship. I mean practice at reading, comprehending, analyzing, assimilating, and reaching and justifying conclusions. Writing in the sense I mean ft is the same thing as thinking. Is that too much for the schools to teach? Super Suspenders By Lomie Our cord suspender skirt comes complete with tattersall shirt and floral menswear tie. Sizes 5-13, berry only. $50. The Yellow Bench, all stores 'OOlilkr&fiime Nebraska's QUALITY Department Stores j f Mf Mflf f D I C