thursday, October 29, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 107 no. 47
Copyright Daily Nebraskan 1981
H
earing on non-public schools focuses the debate
By D. L. Horton
The Nebraska Legislature's Education
committee hearing on non-public schools
packed the hearing room. Testimony also
was broadcast by closed circuit television
to a hearing room across the hall.
The subject of the hearing was the high
ly controversial issue of state regulation
of non-public schools. From the beginning
of the hearing, Sen. Gerald Koch stressed
"We are not here to deal with emotions,"
and added that he would clear the room
of anyone not able to control his feelings.
Koch had to repeat his threat once
during the testimony when some members
of the audience burst into applause during
testimony supporting total freedom for
private schools.
State's responsibility
Opening testimony from Dale Siefkes,
legislative analyst for the education com
mittee, stressed the three-pronged respons
ibility of the state: compulsary attendance,
curriculum outline and certification of
teachers.
However, testimony gradually brought
out the much publicized question of
teacher certification by the state.
R. McLaran Sawyer, a history of educat
ion professor in the UNL Teacher's Co
lege, said that Protestant clergy have tra
ditionally supported free public education.
He set the stage tor further testimony
by saying that it is within the power of the
state to enforce the same standards for
public and private schools.
"Should children who attend non-public
schools be denied the protection of the
state?" Sawyer asked. The remark was
met with moans from the back of the hear
ing room.
DeCamp's bill
Sen. John DeCamp sponsored a bill last
session to excuse non-public schools
from the state regulation requiring teachers
to be certified.
During his testimony DeCamp said
that the goals of both public and non-public
systems is to provide an education for
the state's children in a safe environment.
He said that Christian schools have showed
their good faith by complying with state
regulations for health and safety, provid
ing records of attendance to the state
and submitting curriculum for state ap
proval. He told the senators that the present
system may be wrong and "maybe there
are equivalencies" the state can use to
assure the suitability of teachers. He sug
gested that teachers be tested instead
of accredited by the state. He said children
could be given standardized tests to see if
they learn from these teachers.
Jerry Falwell
"If you don't look at it (alternatives
to certification) it starts bringing in the
Jerry Falwells, whether you think they're
great or lunatics," DeCamp said.
Ron Joekel, associate dean of UNL
Teachers College and a certification offic
ial, explained current criteria for certify
ing Nebraska teachers. The prospective
teacher must have a good general educat
ion, complete training in his academic
specialty and complete courses in profes
sional education.
He said he opposed testing children
to determine if the teacher is adequate.
He compared the procedure to giving a
medical doctor his license after he is in
practice. He said a teacher's purpose
is to develop critical thinkers, not teach
students to regurgitate information on
exams.
Bible commands
The Rev. Carl Godwin, founder and
pastor of the Bible Baptist Church which
operates a non-approved school, said that
the Bible gives the church a command to
teach children without state approval.
He said the state has no authority to reg
ulate Christian schools even if they can
meet the requirements. The church cannot
give this authority to the state because
Christ is the head of the school, he said.
However, he said that the government
has a right to verify the quality of educat
ion. Sen. Tom Vickers said this alternative
would force the state to rely solely on
students' test results in determining educat
ional quality.
Godwin said the reverse situation now
exists, as private schools rely only on
teacher certification to ensure learning.
Drop certification
Sen. James Goll asked Godwin if he
would recommend dropping teacher certi
fication for public schools.
"Certify your own people," Godwin
said. "The override of the First Amend
ment makes it inapplicable to our school."
Godwin said the people of his church
disagree with the public school philosophy
of education. He quoted two Lincoln
Public School textbooks that teach evo
lution and the advancement of women.
The Rev. Everett Sileven, head of the
Faith Christian School in Louisville, asked
that the Legislature keep the question of
education between parents and the state.
He suggested that parents be responsible
for yearly testing of students to avoid
state requirements that would abridge
the religious freedom of Christian schools.
Overriding right
Martha Fricke of the National School
Board Association and Herb Schimek,
lobbyist for the Nebraska State Education
Association, testified in support of current
requirements.
Fricke said children have an overriding
right to an education that will prepare
them for life in the 21st century, and this
will "require a global not parochial under
standing of the world."
Dr. Stan Carlson of the Nebraska De
partment of Education said religious and
public schools are equally considered
t under current requirements.
"We believe the religious rights of
those operating schools (state approved)
are protected," Carlson said.
Representatives of Seventh-Day Advent
ist, Catholics, and Missouri Synod Luth
erans said their schools are endangered
by excessive state regulation.
'f jJ u ft m
Photo by Kent Morgan Olsen
Teresa Tushton, of Axtell, her mother and her father listen to Louisville Rev. Everett
Sileven at a hearing on private school education at the capitol Wednesday.
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Clark denounces death penalty
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Ramsey Clark
By Charles Flowerday
'Thou shalt not kill" is the one commandment human
ity must understand if it wants to survive, said Ramsey
Clark, former U.S. attorney general.
Speaking to about 30 people on the death penalty
Wednesday, Clark said the common root which connects
capital punishment, murder, genocide and war is the
belief that you can solve problems by killing people.
"You can," Clark said. "But what kinds of problems
can you cause?"
In a talk sponsored by University Program Council and
the Union Homecoming Council, Clark listed five reasons
for his opposition to the death penalty.
'The real reason to oppose it is we don't want to
be killers," Clark said. "Do we really believe in the dignity
of human life? Once we assume one person is evil enough
to kill, we have to accord the same assumption to them
(the evil people). And to the last day we go on killing."
Other reasons he cited were:
The death penalty corrupts the judicial system. "Do
we believe in the possibility of a pristine form of justice
when society doesn't have a passion for justice?" Clark
asked.
The means used to execute a criminal are intrinsic
ally cruel. Clark said this argument was incomplete
because painless -methods such as gas chambers and in
jections, are used.
The judicial system consistently makes mistakes
and executes the innocent. Clark said he agreed with the
French general Lafayette, who said he would always op
pose capital punishment until he could believe in the in
fallibility of human judgement.
The death penalty is invariably discriminatory. This
rationale should be adequate in and of itself, Clark said.
"Fear and hatred are not ever even-handed," he said.
More than 4,000 people have been executed in the
United States since 1931 and all have been poor, he said.
"Discrimination in executions in our past is undeni
able," Clark said. Of all the executions for rape since that
time, 89 percent of those sentenced todeath were black,
Clark said.
'Try to imagine any possible explanation other than
racial hatred?" he said. "Can we now apply the death
penalty fairly?"
The two reasons usually given in favor of capital pun
ishment are retribution and deterrence, Clark said. Retri
bution is a difficult concept, he said. There is no agree
ment on its meaning, he explained. Clark said one explan
ation for the retribution argument was to channel public
emotion and hatred into the criminal justice system to
prevent lynchings.
"The system should kill to prevent people from doing
it themselves," Clark said interpreting this rationale. "Is
this the only thing our imaginagtions can offer in our hor
ror at what this person (the condemened) has done?" he
asked.
Regarding the deterrance argument, Clark quoted
Supreme Court Justice Stewart Potter's assessment of its
usefulness: 'The evidence is equivocal."
"What does it mean when society accepts deterrance
as a reason for killing?" Clark asked. It proves historian
Joseph De Maistres's point that all social stablity rests on
the executioner's block, he said. Continued on Page 3
msM thursday
Law Technicians: Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Norm
an Krivosha says too much emphasis is placed on the
clinical aspects of being a lawyer Page 8
Still a Child at Heart: An interview with professional
mime and comic dancer Matthew Child Page 10
Fantastic Gymnasts: Mike Bowers is another in a long
line of top-ranked gymnasts to come out of the South
Omaha Sokol Club Page 12
