Commentary
Thursday, March 16,1995 Page 5
Students need more character I
If there has ever been a convinc
ing argument for reinstating school
prayer, it now lies in the April
edition of Seventeen magazine.
Inside this latest issue of the
teeny-bopper magazine, the students
of Lincoln High School are featured
in a special section called “School
Zone.” The special feature shows
more than 40 L.H.S. students in all
their glory, along with student
quotes and the whole lowdown on
what’s what at the home of the
Links.
The beginning of the article lists
some of the school’s “positive
points.” Lincoln High has more than
300 non-English-speaking students
and a day care center for student
parents, things that will surely have
transfer students beating down the
doors.
And then there are the student
portraits.
One particular picture shows
Lisette, 18, all decked out in black
leather, complete with chains and
spiked wristbands. It’s enough to
make Trent Reznor look somewhat
attractive.
Another photo captures Marcus,
18, and Nata, 16, each wearing a
different colored bandanna around
their head. The photo editors had
to work especially hard on this
shot to crop out the gang sign
being flashed by one of the fine
young men.
And it’s impossible not to notice
Taura, 17, with her 10-inch spiked
Mohawk, highlighted and all.
Now, the magazine should have
been content with just getting the
pictures and the school’s profile.
But no, the folks from the periodical
of pimples and periods actually
wanted to hear these kids talk.
And when Seventeen asked the
students what was trendy at L.H.S.,
the students let them have it:
“Dumb, wannabe-gangster
jocks,” disclosed down-wit’-it
Taura, 17.
“Pseudo-nonconformists,” '
Jamie Karl
revealed the original rebel, Dion,
17.
“Tiny tees, old Goodwill sweat
ers, dyeing your hair an odd shade
of red,” said Miss Congeniality,
Sarah, 17.
“Hemp shirts,” declared the
always-cool Alex, 15.
“Leg hair on girls,” stated
hygiene expert Falla, 17.
Trendy, indeed.
After seeing the Seventeen
feature, the reader is left with the
idea that Lincoln High will have to
be renamed “Subculture Central.”
At the very least, one assumes
school officials would be a bit
ashamed.
But that isn t the case.
“I was very impressed with the
article,” Lincoln High Principal
Kathryn Piller told the Lincoln Star.
“It makes Lincoln High look like the
wonderful place it is.”
Piller added, “I was pleased with
the student comments ... and the
kids are so excited.”
Excitement aside, it is inconceiv
able that anyone, especially a high
school principal, could be pleased
with this kind of press and student
imagery. Most folks would have
been expelled from their high
schools had they ever come dressed
in tiny tees or had their hair dyed
odd shades of red. And if the girls
had hair on their legs, they would
have been sent directly to the school
nurse for a talk on feminine health
care.
But this is Lincoln High. And the
truth is, Principal Piller’s comments
were stated in typical public
education fashion; that is, Filler’s
praising of the students’ words and
dress is the expected non-directive,
non-j udgmental, as-long-as-you
feel-OK-with-your-choices mental
ity that has pervaded public educa
tion for the last 30 years.
“If it feels good, do it,” is the
motto today’s public schools send
out to the youth they command.
Across the country, from kindergar
ten through grade 12, the schools
are teaching attitude rather than
substance. Hard work is out; faddish
social attitudes are in.
And at the heart of the problem is
the schools’ love affair with
building student self-esteem.
Suddenly, self-esteem has become
the supposed cure-all for school and
social problems — from poor
academic performance to teen
pregnancies to drug abuse.
Yet, 40 years ago—when a
character education approach
prevailed and self-esteem took a
back seat to civilized behavior —
teachers worried about students
chewing gum and running in the
halls. Today, they worry about their
students raping, robbing and killing.
So what are the lessons for the
schools? The most obvious lesson
is that it is high time to return to the
proven method of character educa
tion. That means the schools need to
get back in the habit of encouraging
good habits of behavior. It means
the schools need to learn the
importance of example and imita
tion in forming character.
It means school officials like
Principal Pi Her have to quit worry
ing about student self-esteem and,
instead, ask, “What in the hell is
going on here? Take off your dumb
wannabe-gangster jock outfit and
get back in the classroom.
“And, dam it, shave your legs!”
Karl Is a Junior news-editorial major,
and a Dally Nebraskan columnist and night
news editor.
Parents deserve a thank-you
Lately, at the ripe old age of 20,
I’ve found myself in a reflective
mood. I recently received my
acceptance letter to Creighton’s
School of Pharmacy, and it caused
me to take a look back at where I’ve
been and how far I’ve come. During
this little journey through time, I had
a shocking revelation. No matter
how hard my very independent 20
year-old body wanted to deny it, I
realized that besides giving me life,
my parents have played a very vital
role in my life and my successes.
In today’s negative society,
where every talk show thrives on
disadvantaged teens, broken
families and inadequate parents, I
can’t help but think that I am very
lucky for having parents that have
always been there. Even if I had the
rest of my life to show them, words
or actions could never express the
love, respect and appreciation that I
have for my parents. In my eyes,
they represent everything that is
right in the world. From the day I
was bom, my parents, like most, had
hopes and dreams for my future.
Slowly, each one of those hopes and
dreams became my own, and I
became an individual bom out of
nurturing love and support.
My father has and always will be
my “rock of Gibraltar.” He is my
shoulder to cry on and a man I can
depend on. He loves me uncondi
tionally and will forever be my
protector. My mother is my best
friend and someone I can confide in.
She knows me better than anyone
and will always be my biggest fan.
My fhther is a provider in more
ways than one. From one job to the
next, as his job got harder and the
Beth Flnsten
pay got lower, he never flinched
when it came to sacrificing personal
wants for family needs. As a teacher
as well as a student of life, my
mother is the backbone and support
for the family. From her, I’ve
learned that nothing in life is ever
free; if you want something you
have to work for it. Hard work and
dedication are the secrets to success.
She also taught me that laughter is
the cure for all ills.
My family is far from wealthy,
but I have never wanted for any
thing. I know that if they could, my
parents would give me the world.
What they don’t know is that in
more ways than one, they have
given me the world and so much
more.
Parenting is not an easy task, and
too often it seems that people take
this for granted. By watching my
parents, I’ve learned that it is so
much more that putting food on the
table and clothes on a child’s back.
It is also the love, support and
endless giving from the heart.
The road I’ve traveled from birth
to adulthood has had its speed
bumps and potholes,-but I was lucky
enough to have my parents there to
soften the blows. For that I would
like to say thank you. As I head off
to pharmacy school, down the road
to my future, a new chapter of my
life begins.
With each new success my
biggest fans will cheer me on, and
with every dissapointment my
protectors will make it all seem OK.
It has taken me 20 years to finally
say thank you, but mom and dad, as
usual, better late than never! I only
hope that one day, when I become a
parent and things finally come full
circle, my children will see in me
the love and pride I see in the eyes
of my parents. >
I know my words sound like a
Hallmark card, but for all of you
that have parents like mine, you
know I speak from the heart. For the
rest of you, hopefully you can be the
kind of parent to your child that you
always wanted for yourself. Life is
hard enough as it is, and having one
or both parents along for the ride
can make all the difference.
No relationship, especially a
parent-child relationship, can or will
ever be perfect. God knows my
parents and I have had our scream
ing matches, but we always seem to
make amends.
My parents will continue to play
a major role in my life. Even if they
no longer can make decisions for my
life, they can still be my major
source of support and understand
ing. I know where I’ve been and
how far I’ve come, and only God
knows where I’m going from here. It
is nice to know that I will not be
making the journey on my own.
Flastea Is a sophomore pre-pharmacy
major aid a Dally Nebraska! colamaist
Reptilianconspiracy
incriminates Barney
The outburst of Barney-hating
by computer addicts on the
Internet appears to be a far more
serious matter than I had origi
nally thought.
It was a mistake to assume that
the campaign to destroy Barney
the dinosaur was merely the
ravings of a bunch of over-age,
high-tech bed-wetters who ride
their modems into cyberspace to
shriek obscenities without
mommy or daddy spanking them.
Or that they were clear-cut
evidence of why the worst
mistake this country ever made
was abolishing the draft for
military service.
An Internet jockey named
Jamie (few are named Joe or Al)
monitors the Barney-haters
closely, and he has passed along
what he says is the real reason for
their campaign to kill the big,
cheerful dinosaur that is loved by
millions of little children.
It has to do with the survival of
this nation and civilization.
Indeed, even life on this planet as
we know it.
Barney, they believe, repre
sents a threat that exceeds any of
our past wars, famines, plagues or
even the possibility of a second or
third O.J. trial.
This is how Jamie of Cleve
land describes this perceived
danger:
“According to many of the
Barney-haters, the government of
the United States is in touch with
aliens from outer space who are
reptilian in nature.
“These aliens have been able
to corrupt certain powerful people
in the government who are
assisting them in taking over the
world.
“Many of them believe that
TV shows like Barney that show
reptiles in a good light are the
government’s attempt to brain
wash our children out of their
innate human repugnance toward
anything that is reptilian.
“One of the main proponents
of this theory is a man whose
father was a major industrialist.
“These people take this
business really seriously. Some
even attribute a religious signifi
cance to it, believing that the
biblical references to serpents
was God’s warning about these
things.
“You can check this stuff out
for yourself on several of the
Internet groups that focus on
visitors from outer space and
conspiracies of all kinds.”
Well, if this is true, we have a
serious problem here. I, for one,
don’t want to see our planet taken
Mike Royko
over by any reptile types. The
people who run things are making
a bad enough mess as it is.
I saw “Jurassic Park,” and it
was appalling the way those
creatures snacked on anyone who
wandered near. Even that poor
man in the bathroom and people
who tried to be friendly. There is
just no reasoning with their sort,
even the leaf-eaters. And you
never know when they, too, might
develop a taste for steak tartar.
Because I stay out of
cyberspace, fearing that I might
get lost and not come back or turn
into a walking pocket protector, I
asked a friend who is computer
savvy to check out the reptile
invasion fears.
, So we called the company that
produces the Barney show: the
Lyons Group in Texas.
A vice president for communi
cations said: “A reptilian-alien
propaganda tool? Well, I guess
we have been found out at last.
“But, no, that’s obviously not
true. Barney isn’t even a reptile. —
“We have lived with the issue
of what you might call Barney
bashing for years. Yes, we’re
aware of it, but we don’t take it
too seriously, particularly what
goes on on the Internet.
“There aren’t a lot of 3-year
olds on the Internet. And what
matters to us are those children.
Our audience is made up of very,
very young children. Those are
the people we care about. And
children love Barney, period.
“What goes on on the Internet
at 3 in the morning, we think it’s
a sad commentary on society.
“Can’t those folks find
something better to do with their
time?”
After talking to him, I felt .
reassured that we were not going
to be invaded by crawly crea
tures.
On the other hand, we talked
on the phone. So how do I know
he isn’t green and covered with
slime?
If it isn’t one thing, it’s
another.
© 1995 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Mike Luckovfch
