EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Joshua Gillin
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Brad Davis
Erin Gibson
Shannon Heffelfinger
Chad Lorenz
Jeff Randall
Quotes
OF THE WEEK
“It seems like the criminal has more
rights than the victim”
- Sarah Bognich, former roommate of
slain UNL student Martina McMenamin,
venting her frustration over the ruling of
accused murder suspect Gregory Gabel’s
incompetency to stand trial
“I think we give students a very good
return on their investment.”
- Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
James Griesen, justifying UNL’s almost
16 percent increase in student fees next
year
“The snowplow guy honked and
smiled when he went by.”
-Junior communication studies major
Melissa Dethlefs, displaying her outrage
at Lincoln’s snow-removal workers who
buried her car with snow
“We walked into a buzz saw.”
- NU Basketball Coach Danny Nee,
after a 91-59 loss to Kansas at the Big 12
Tournament
“My goal is to win and go to
Disneyland.”
-Arkansas Basketball Coach Nolan
Richardson, on his aspirations for playing
against the Huskers in the NCAA
Tournament
“Just because people aren’t stand
ing up stomping and whooping in the
middle of the concert doesn’t mean that
there isn’t powerful communication
going on.”
- Tyler White, assistant professor of
music, on the emotional responses classi
cal music elicits
“We weren’t going for office. We
were going to help out this university.”
-ASUNpresident-elect Sara Russell,
after COMMIT’s victory Thursday in the
Association of Students of the University
of Nebraska election
“VISION’s dreams can still become
a reality. In some ways, the university
wins out”
- VISION presidential candidate John
Wiechmann, expressing happiness about
VISION second vice presidential candi
date Eddie Brown s victory
“I think that people should know
that it is something, but not know what
it is.”
- Lincoln artist Bret Gottschall, about
his artwork
“It was a real election this year.”
-VISION candidate for business col
lege advisory board and party treasurer
Adam Thompson
Editorial Ptlicy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of
the Spring 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They
do not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its
employees, its student body or the
Unwereity of Nebraska Board of Regents.
A column is solely the opinion of its author.
The Board of Regents serves as publisher
of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board, me
UNL Publications Board, established by
the regents, supervises the production
of the paper. According to policy set by
the regents, responsibility for the editorial
content of the newspaper Hes solely in
the hands of its student employees.
Letter Policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief
letters to the editor and guest columns,
but does not guarantee tneir publication.
The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to
edit or reject any material submitted.
Submitted material becomes property of
the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be
returned. Anonymous submissions will
not be published. Those who submit
letters must identify themselves by name,
year in school, major and/or group
affiliation, if any.
Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34
Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln,
NE. 68588-0448. E-mail:
ietters@unlinfb.unl.edu.
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We’re with stupid
U.S. educational system needs overhaul
KLAUS MARRE is a senior
broadcasting major and a
Daily Nebraskan colum
nist
The other day, I read an article in
the newspaper about American high
school students comparing miserably
to students from most other industrial
ized countries.
This does not surprise me a bit,
although it is shocking considering
how much fuss is being made about
education in this country. If one wants
to become president he (or in a few
centuries maybe even she) needs to be
worried about education and how to
get kids back to acceptable standards.
The United States has superior
resources compared to pretty much
every other country in die world: nat
ural resources, space, geographic iso
lation - which has kept America out of
harm’s way - political power and eco
nomic might
It is a shame that children here
receive a poorer education than kids in
Third World countries. American pre
college students don’t have to worry
about anything other than school
(well, maybe hanging out at the mall,
gossiping and whether or not they will
make their Little League Baseball
team).
There is no reason why they
should be more ignorant than children
who have to help support their family
on a daily basis or who have to walk
five miles even to get to school.
It used to be very amusing to me
and other Europeans to read die statis
tics about the number of Americans
who were unable to locate their own
continent on a map or who could not
figure out die simplest of math prob
lems. Now, after having experienced
■ I-"I.::-....—1—
the misery firsthand in an Ohio high
school, I find it just sad.
The education of the next genera
tion should be one of our primary
goals, passing on knowledge to
advance the society of which we are a
part. One day, these children will
make decisions for me, and if I fail to
educate them now, they will fail me in
the future.
I believe the main reason for the
failure of die current system is the
value placed on education. Gimmicks
like cable in the classroom or hooking
up school computers to the Internet
will not work because they are the
wrong starting points.
Better education has to begin with
better teachers. To get better teachers,
salaries have to rise to attract more
qualified people instead of seeing
them go into higher-paying fields.
Back in die old days, teachers were
among the most-respected people in a
community. I believe we have to get
back to this standard to create an envi
ronment in which some want to teach
and others are willing to learn.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be
taught by some guy who is bitter
because he couldn’t get a better job.
What am I going to learn from him
other than the fact that education is a
deadend?
The public high school system is
based on equality. With hard work,
anjhody can get good grades in the
United States because it is the “land of
opportunity,” they say.
That’s a bunch of bull.
Waiting for the slow kids only pre
vents the brighter ones from learning
and reaching their potential. I am not
even talking about “gifted” children
(which really is a moronic term
because everybody is gifted in one
way or another; I, for example, am
gifted in stepping into puddles of
water and making the water splash
really high). It would be a simple divi
sion from kids who seem to be more
academically oriented from others
who aren’t
In Germany, there are different
types of schools for kids after grade
school. One is directed at preparing
kids for universities. Here, the empha
sis is on learning, while in the other
two types of schools, a greater weight
would be placed on doing.
That system is far from perfect,
but I believe it does justice to students
who want to be educated as well as to
those who don’t want to sit in class all
day. It is a choice (not irreversible, by
the way) that is being made by parents
and teachers. Educators recommend
which school they think is best, and
parents have the final say.
Students who flunk one or two
classes at academic schools simply go
down a level to take classes at a voca
tional-type school that might be easier
for them. This system pushes students
to see what they are capable of, and I
believe American high schools, for the
most part, lack this challenge.
I’m sure many of you have your
pencils sharpened or did not even read
this far before writing me letters, ask
ing why I am here and “If I don’t like
it, why don’t I get out?” Let me give
you my pre-emptive response.
I believe many American universi
ties are superior to most other post
secondary schools in the world.
Still, die time wasted on teaching
students what they should have
learned in high school could be invest
ed in more advanced studies once they
get to a university.
I believe the system would work
even better if students came here edu
cated and not ignorant.
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The education of the next generation
should be one of our primary goals ...to
advance the society of which we are a part
jRSWrr
d letters to: D
jj® ®8588,. or fax
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