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EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
Our
VIEW
Collegiate
training
Professors need help
with teaching skills
It would be odd if lawyers who repre
sented juveniles and families didn’t have
to take the bar exam, but contract and real
estate attorneys did.
So why, then, is it acceptable and in
fact status quo for professors to teach col
lege students without any formal teachers’
training? Stop for a moment and think
about the inherent hypocrisy in this situa
tion. The same university that puts educa
tion majors through a rigorous four years
of academic preparation and an unpaid
semester of student teaching also provides
professors with little or no training in
effective teaching methods.lt just doesn’t
make sense.
Nobody is teaching the professor how
to teach.
There are the great ones - ones who
have sought out training or are inherently
gifted in the classroom. They usually mark
the highlights of a student’s academic
career.
Then there are the other professors.
The ones who seem incapable of commu
nicating or even connecting with students.
The professors who actually seem afraid
of their classes. And, of course, these cir
cumstances could be due to personality
traits or personal problems. But that can’t
explain all the bad professors.
The simple fact is that many professors
cannot teach effectively. ^ ^
But there are solutions.
The university should require all pro
fessors to complete a program designed to
enhance their teaching methods and create
effective teachers. Courses could teach the
good and bad ways to deal with students,
present material and handle academic set
tings. Such courses are already available
to students through the Teachers College.
To the administration and department
heads: Listen to the students. If they rou
tinely report problems with an instructor’s
classroom performance, do something
about it. Asking professors to seek assis
tance in developing their teaching skills is
not an accusation of lack of knowledge in
their field.
And require your faculty to attend
workshops at the Teaching and Learning
Center. The center was developed and
funded to support teaching on campus and
assist with instructional improvement.
To professors: Embrace the opportuni
ty to reach and inspire students through
your teaching.
Professors are here to share their lives’
work and passion with the students.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen
effectively. It falls on the shoulders of the
departments and the professors to address
this problem. It is time to require and help
teachers learn how to teach on the colle
giate level.
Unsigned edrtorials are foe opinions of
the Fal 1997 Daly Nebraskan. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the
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employees, its student body or the
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Haney’s
VIEW
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More than beauty
As I opened the Monday edition
of the Daily Nebraskan I was greeted
with a colorful advertisement
announcing a birth control pill that’s
also a beauty aid. In shocking disbe
lief of the marketing techniques
employed by the manufacturer,
Ortho, I read the ad in its entirety.
After hearing of the numerous ways
the new pill can benefit women, I
turned to the back page and read
about the numerous side effects in
small print. I was surprised not to
read of a side effect which greatly
affects another human being. A quick
review of pregnancy: Fertilization
occurs in the fallopian tubes and the
fertilized egg then travels into the
uterus and normally implants on the
nutrient-rich uterine lining. The pill
inhibits the growth of the uterine lin
ing but has no effect on fertilization
of the egg. Therefore, in a woman
using the pill, the fertilized egg is
unable to attach and is flushed from
the body. This is known as a sponta
neous abortion. Think of the number
of abortions that occur every year due
to this contraceptive wonder. It great
ly outnumbers the 1.5 million surgi
cal abortions yearly. What a inge
nious idea to make money: Design a
pill which not only prevents pregnan
cies but is also a beauty aid. I con
gratulate Ortho on their marketing
ploy, which feeds on our societal
infatuation with appearance. I now
ask you to consider the beauty that
was contained in the human embryo
that was just flushed down the toilet.
John Rutledge
junior
biology
Fans?
After reading Mike Kluck’s arti
cle in Monday Is DN, my first thought
was, “Amen. It’s about time someone
said it” Saturday’s demonstration of
“team spirit” shown by UNL’s foot
ball fans was appalling. When the
“fans” booed Scott Frost onto the
field, they were also booing Tom
Osborne and his credibility. With the
record and reputation he has,
Osborne should be trusted by the stu
dents and fans to make decisions
DN
LETTERS
regarding all aspects of the football
team, including who wins the starting
quarterback position.
For all of you who say Frost is no
Frazier, you’re right. In fact, accord
ing to his statistics, he is at least as
good, if not better.
And, for all of you who call your
selves fans because you stand
throughout the whole game - try
standing behind your team and coach
instead of standing on the bleachers.
Erica League
junior
international business
It’s thaw time
In Mike Kluck’s “Why Can’t We
All Just Love Frost?”, he listed sever
al stats showing how Frost’s numbers
are better than Frazier’s. There are a
few things he forgot to mention, how
ever. Tommie Frazier only played
HALF the season his FRESHMAN
year, and still had just 39 yards less
than Frost did in his entire JUNIOR
year as quarterback. That’s right,
Frazier played better than Frost with
three years less experience. In
response to Kluck’s question, “Why
can’t we all just love Frost?” here’s a
few reasons: Frazier had a better atti
tude. When fans wished him luck, he
didn’t spout off, “Luck? We don’t
need luck.” Under Frost, NU’s
offense sputtered against UCF, aver
aging 6.2 yards per play. Under
London, the offense averaged 8.1
yards per play, and they immediately
scored, something Frost had failed to
do on two of his previous three pos
sessions. Frost doesn’t know how to
win. Sure, he won 11 games in 13
tries, but a lot of it had nothing to do
with him. His only big win was
against Colorado, a game in which
the Frost-led offense only put up 10
points (die other seven were from an
interception return), and went three
and-out five times in die second half.
In Frazier's first year, just five
MONTHS out of high school, the
Frazier-led NU team drubbed CU 52
7, and subsequently beat CU soundly
every other year during his career.
My whole point here, Mike Kluck, is
that stats don’t mean squat. Marks in
that “W” column and tides (national
or conference) are what matter, and
Frost just doesn’t cut it! Give London
a chance.
Peter McClellan
sophomore
mechanical engineering
Don’t buy it
In response to Tim Janda’s “Pepsi
Schmepsi,” I’d like to repress a strong
conviction of mine: Capitalisms
good. Socialism = bad. So Pepsi is
paying our university $24.2 million.
This “new form of dollar worship”
doesn't bother me, and it shouldn’t
bother anyone living here in America,
land of capitalists. In capitalism, dol
lars are good - they buy us what we
want. In socialist countries, inflation
is often so high that people CAN’T
buy what they want, because their
currency is only worth a fraction of
what it used to be. Their dollars aren’t
worthy of worship, but I’m sure glad
mine are!
Consider who pays for this
multi-million dollar deal... this one is
being paid for by you.” Unless I
missed something, PEPSI IS PAY
ING UNL $24.2 MILLION. I’m not
paying anything, unless I want a
Pepsi. I will buy Pepsi products if I
choose, and if I don’t, I won’t If I’m
not buying, for example, because I
think the price is too high, then Pepsi
isn’t malting money.
Mr. Janda, if Pepsi is “re-educat
ing you to become a consumer of
Pepsi products for life” just by being
the soft drink available on campus, let
me remind you that at any local gro
cery store (even the ones on your way
to UNL each day), you can choose
anything you want to (kink. I person
alty am not such a sheep that, for the
rest of my life, I’ll only buy the pop I
got from UNL way back when, and if
you are, then it’s your problem. If you
aren’t happy about Pepsi on campus,
exercise your rights as an American
consumer and don't buy it
Amy Lawson
senior
biochemistry
^ C \a/raskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln,
' _ TY ri - ® 472-17611ore-mail <letters@unlinfo.unl.edu.
T*>nr*k d include a phone number for verification