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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1984)
Friday, September 7, 1934 Daily Ncbraskan Pag0 4 O ft rial r 'Many Fopp wastes taip t's a pencil! It's a pen! It's a teacher in space! President Res ; in's latest public relations co ip reaches new heights of absurdity. Everything ab" it smells uf a cheap election-year gimmick. How do you get the teachers' vote, when the Democratic can'!;da. Walter Mondale has the en dorsements of the teacher's unions You pick a teacher and say, with a tear in the corner of your eye, "When that shuttle lifts off all of America will be reminded of the crucial role teachers and education play in the life of our nation." It seems like an expensive way to say that when Hallmark has something equally sentimental and flowery for 49 cents, complete with an envelope. Reagan's gesture was made more absurd by the grade of teacher he seeks ele mentary orsecondary. What good could ins9 gimmick E: : ajei's9 money . fj an elementary or secondary school teach er do in space? Why not send one of our college professors, who might be able to accomplish something in the way of con structive experiments? The shuttle program costs taxpayers more than $1 billion annually. Time in space is far too precious and expensive to be squandering it on one teacher just to remind Americans of education's impor tance. Teachers probably would appreciate a pledge of more money from our presi dent, instead of a one in 80,000 chance at being the first teacher to use chalk in orbit. Reagan has again caught the limelight, but his pledge rings of misguided priori ties. Our money should not be spent on a modern-day Mary Poppins. if, iff $ y .. . T Iks A xm. wl w .... 3 ,U U eagfi Vi Black females have limited futures Oil Li I. CVUHCiS JLi.fiJLte.'CU. IT tioiis for-mother aving a child can change your perspective on many things in life. Clariece Elisabeth, my first child, was born Aug. 27; this event led to the Elizabet Burden birth of two new people. Clariece, and a new, reflective me. College students tend to be thought of as a future-oriented lot, but it's their futures that they are primarily concerned with. Becoming a parent forces one to look beyond the consequences an action may have in a lifetime which is really short-term think ing to what will happen in kids' and even grandkida' lifetimes. The thoughts are frightening. Clariece's birth evokes mixed emotions. I cry tears of joy in celebration of a new life that has 10 perfect little fingers and toes, a million-dollar face and endless potential. I shed tears of sorrow thinking about the world that she has just entered that limits the potential. Being a working mother and a student means that my daughter will spend time in some type of childcare in a society that is mis ogynistic, racist and that, at best, dislikes children. All, of course, limit potential. Some may think that is a harsh assess ment of this society. But given some historical facts coupled with recent occur rences, this is substantiated. Historically, life has been dif ficult, at best, for women, blacks and children three character istics that my daughter possesses. Women, for those who have for gotten their history, were consi dered chattel, as were children. Blacks were physically and emo tionally enslaved. The fights for the rights for all three groups were arduous. Children were fin ally taken out of the sweatshops, women finally given (some) rights to vote and the like and blacks eventually were "freed." The struggle for rights fof all three groups continues. v While some gains have been made in these areas, some "new" obstacles replace the "old ones. Physical and sexual abuse of women and children and the ec onomic and social lynching of blacks top the list of current foes. My daughter will have to face these problems since little pro gress has been made on solving them. In fact, it appears that we are taking steps backward. Although Clariece is less than one month old, I already worry about the type of childcare th&t she will receive. Given the recent reports pf sexual abuse of child ren in another's care (even in Lincoln), I'd be a fool not to worry. These reports, to me, are the most blatant example of how Americans feel about their child ren. Not the fact that they are in someone else's care, but the fact that these reported incidents can be only a fraction of what occurs, as with other crime statistics. I worry about what our standard of living will be under four more years of Reaganomics four years of Democrats in the White House doesnt paint a much bet ter picture. At this point some r eaders may retort that life wouldn't be so bleak if I were not a working par ent However, I must disagree with such thoughts. Even if my daughter never spent one hour in outside childcare, she still would bs subjs-cted to "the new foes" in her schooling and encounters with teachers and peers. The texts that will be mandatory for her to study will contain historical in accuracies, racism and sexism. The workforce she will enter is dominated by and set up for a type of person th at she can never be a white man. Even if I was a "full-time"- mother (a misnomer in my opinion it's impossible to be anything but), things stiH would not be peachy. Life would not be so bleak for her were she not a woman and black. College students are oriented toward graduating and quietly blending into the workforce, keep ing the status quo. We are, for the most part, concerned with Big Red football FAC.s,parties and maybe studies. The important priorities are former within the educational context. But I guess that's what education is for. U J ,i i! v ; i - I : m -v-j civil ripiits of vmzzzn and contnrate to vioiznl crime- M.im k -mat y