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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1987)
Editorial Teacher certification should be overhauled The quality of education is directly related to the quality of instructors. That is why we support five new House bills that would mandate tougher requirements for teacher certification. The bills were based on teacher certification recommen dations submitted last September by a citizen’s advisory committee. Its report was a damning indictment addressing the inadequate teacher certification process currently used by the state. The bills address the problems in elementary and secon dary education, one of which is an overabundance of under qualified teachers. The bills would mandate “the elimina tion of the undergraduate in education, an admissions cap for state schools of education, a new system for teacher licensing and creation of a Masters In Teaching degree to replace the current education degree,” as reported in the Feb. 24 issue of the Emerald. Few disagree that these changes are needed. American College Test scores from 1985 show would-be teachers rank ing an average of 60 points lower compared to graduates from other fields. This is unsettling news; the best and the brightest should be teaching Oregon’s students, not the less creative and least intelligent. The bills would go a long way to fixing this dilemma. Currently, the state’s Teacher Standards and Practices Com mission only requires 36 undergraduate hours of study for elementary and secondary teachers. Furthermore, prospec tive instructors are not required to major in the areas where they may be teaching. If the bills are passed, the undergraduate degree would be eliminated — which is good, because it is essentially useless as a teaching degree. For example, currently, a liberal arts major may have more courses in a certain subject area than the teacher who is qualified to instruct in that field. With passage of the five bills, this discrepancy would be nullified, instead requiring all prospective teachers to complete a nine-month Masters in Technology program, which entails taking 60 hours of graduate work. Moreover, teachers would be more specially trained, thus having a firmer command of the subject they would be teaching. No longer would pupils be subjected to civics in struction as taught by a wood shop teacher. Critics of the bills cite that the financial burden of im proving educational standards for teachers falls on aspiring teachers by way of increased costs in their education. This argument misses the point, however. What’s at issue is im proving the quality of instructors. And this would be the case if the bills are passed because only the more dedicated would enter the teaching profession. True, the bills would make it tougher to become a teacher, and certainly fewer would enter this field. But the supply of teachers currently outstrips demand. The bills would help reconcile this phenomenon. We also are concerned about teacher salaries. It is our hope that as the quality of instructors would increase, so would their salaries. This only would be fair, as society should pay people what they’re worth. The overriding con cern at the moment, however, remains a need for quality teachers. The issue of teachers’ pay has been, and un doubtedly always will be, a concern for those in the educa tion field. But this should not impede efforts to improve the quality of education in this state. r r*ou»ic 'ov»u rvH xnn nuxiftif *1M *VRN AHP CAOtPAO* NtMUl rir<^nto 'STAHP NOl UPON THE ORPEROF YOUR GOIN6 ,8lfl 60 AT ONCE / " Letters Speaking up I want to express my concern for the lack ot assistive listening devices in classrooms for the hearing impaired student. I, be ing a student with a hearing im pairment, have found the past four years of higher education to be more than a struggle to gather information given in lectures. Although notetakers are available to assist hearing im paired students, they rarely, if at all. substitute for a pro fessor’s lecture. While notetakers are of tremendous value, being able to hear the lec ture would undoubtedly be a much more efficient means of gathering information. What many people may fail to realize is that most learning takes place through verbal com munication. When communica tion is impeded by a hearing deficit, much informaiton is lost. It is not only the problem of the hearing impaired in dividual but also that of the sender of the message. Com munication is reciprocal; it takes two to communicate. Although progress has been made to assist handicapped students into the mainstream of society, 1 feel that hearing im paired individuals' needs are often the last to be assisted. For those professors who do not want to appear mute to a select group of individuals who are eager to learn, speak out and Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald is published Monday through Friday except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403. The Emerald operates Independently of the University with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press. The Emerald Is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law General Staff Advertising Director Susan Thelen Production Manager Wayne Michael Lottlnville Classified Advertising Alyson Simmons Advertising Sales: Peter LaFleur/ Sales Manager Teresa Acosta. Brent Collins, Beryl Israel, Janelle Her mann, Laura Goldstein, Catherine Lllja, Rick Martz, Joseph Menzel, Peter Miller, Joan Wildermuth Assistant to the Publisher Jean Ownbey News and Editorial Display Advertising and Business Classified Advertising Letter Perfect Graphics Production Circulation 686-5511 6863712 666-4343 686-5511 666 4381 686 5511 Page 2 Editor Managing Editor News Editor Spectrum Editor Spectrum Assistant Editor Editorial Page Editors Sports Editor Photo Editor Spectrum Photo Editor Graphics Editor Night Editor Michelle Brence Lucinda Dilton Michael Rivers Stephen Maher Stanley Nelson Michael Drummond Angie Muni; Capi Lynn Michael Wilhelm John Giustina Lorraine Rath Lucinda Dillon Associate Editors Community Jolayne Houtz Politics Nick Reed Higher Education / Administration Chris Norred University Affairs Student Government Student Activities General Assignment General Assignment General Assignment Reporters: Sean Axmaker, Janet Paulson B J. Thomsen Carolyn Lamberson Sarah Kitchen Karen Creighton Dennis Fernandes Scott Maben Mary Courtis, Gary Henley, Photographers: Shertyn Bjorkgren. Shu-Shlng Chen, Maria Corvallis, Derrel Hewitt, Bobbie Lo, Dan Wheeler Production: Michele Ross / Ad Coordinator Kelly Alexandre, Elizabeth Asher, Ronwin Nicole Ashton, Virginia Baniaga, Sandra Bevans, Sara Briscoe, Shu Shing Chen, Janet Emery, Judith Gatz, Lisa Haggerty, Donna Leslie, Curtis Lott, Kelli Mason, Mike McGraw! Rob Miles, Angelina Muniz, Julie Paul, Ingrid White! Serena Williams. X. Kang Xie be heard by expressing your concern to the administration. We desperately need assistive listening devices in the classrooms. Rebecca De Lore Psychology Down under As a visitor to your country (from Australia), 1 do not wish to appear presumptuous by entering a local political debate. However, 1 must express sur prise that you question the benefits of making the wearing of seat belts compulsory , and therefore widespread (ODE Editorial. Feb. 19). It is relative ly easy to establish their benefits. Reduced injuries from vehicle accidents, and thus reduced public health cost do result from such legislation, as can be determined simply by studying the results of the in troduction of similar legislation in comparable countries. For example, compulsory seat belt legislation was enacted in South Australia (along with compulsory safety helmets for motor-bike riders) approximate ly 10 years ago. I do not have before me the relevant statistics but 1 am sure thev would show a significant reduction in the in cidence of serious motor acci dent injuries. If such or similar inquiries have been made by the Oregon authorities, I assume from your editorial that the results have not been released. Australia also prides itself on its history of protection of in dividual liberties; those liber ties receive at least the same degree of protection generally as in America. Yet the Australian experience is that compulsory seat belt legislation is not an unwarranted or obnox ious interference with such liberties, simply because the Letters Policy The Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing fair comment on topics of interest to the University community. Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, typed, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is turned in. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style. Let ters to the editor should be turn ed into the Emerald office, Suite 300. EMU. significant public resources sav ings justify the slight cost of choice involved. Perhaps the answers to ques tions such as your editorial at tempts to deal with sometimes lie beyond the shores of this great country, maybe even down under! Brian Baillie Eugene Abused power 1 am writing in response to the Oregon Daily Emerald’s coverage of the ASUO Health Insurance program, and specifically to the Emerald's un fair and unethical coverage of ASUO programs and executive staff. Inherent in the Emerald’s position as a student-funded newspaper is the responsibility of fair, ethical, and accurate coverage of news. Thus far, in its coverage of the ASUO Health Insurance program, the Emerald staff has been extremely unfair, and less accurate in terms of pertinent facts. In its editorial of February 11, the Emerald referred to the ASUO Health Insurance pro gram as being “plagued by disorganization and mismanagement, peaking in the UO Students for Equity In surance’s demand for resigna tion.” The Emerald staff chose not to mention that the group calling for resignations was only a five member group, four of whom having had virtually no understanding of the ASUO Health Insurance program. By supporting this five-member group, the Emerald attempted to give legitimacy to a group whose complaints were far less serious than portrayed by Emerald writers. Our student newspaper is also one whose ethics allow it to alter the contents of a students’ letter to the editor (ODE, Feb. 11) so as to defame an ASUO ex ecutive. This misuse of jour nalistic power was un provocated and extremely unethical in form. In the future, I hope for more accurate, objective, and ethical coverage of student government programs and staff. Tim Corrigan ODE Board of Directors
