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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1982)
opinion Battalion/Page 2 r August 12,1982 Slouch By Jim Earle *7 have a portable fan. Student makes last school observations Editor: Upon preparing to walk across the stage this Saturday at G. Rollie White Coliseum, there are a few observations in regard to teaching practices at this school that I’d like to pass on. During the past four years I’ve spent as a mechanical en gineering major. I’ve heard a lot of com plaining about the antics of mechanical engineering professors: sometimes un fair, but oftentimes very well founded. A look should be taken at why this is so. Out of a total of about 60 professors in the Department of Mechanical Engineer ing, there are at least a handful that have built up very harsh reputations with the Reader’s Forum students. These professors often seem to be only concerned with failing the “dumb” students and passing the “smart” ones, regarding learning as something of only secondary importance. Perhaps these instructors don’t realize that the high number of poor grades given out in mechanical engineering courses is as much an indication of poor teaching as it is of poor learning abilities. The current employment slump will somewhat boost the graduate school enrollment here; but at a time when Texas A&M is otherwise hurting for engineering graduate stu dents, such cold-hearted undergraduate instruction will only hamper graduate re cruiting. It is indeed an administrative error that all professors, including those that have demonstrated a dislike for both stu dents and teaching, are required to teach. I agree totally with Dr. Rod O’Con nor of the Department of Chemistry, who suggests that such professors be allowed to concentrate on research and consultation while others more suited to teaching be allowed to concentrate thus- Dorsey George Class of ’82 The Battalion Letters Policy USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Diana Sultenfuss City Editor BernieFette Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb News Editors Tracey Buchanan, Daniel Puckett Diane Yount Staff Writers Cyndy Davis, Susan Dittman, Terry Duran, Colette Hutchings, Hope E. Paasch, Joe Tindel Jr., Rebeca Zimmermann Copy Editors Gary Barker, Carol Templin Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photographers .... David Fisher, Octavio Garcia John Ryan, The Battalion is published three times a week — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday — during Texas A&M’s summer semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods, when it is published only on Wednes days. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) 845- 2611. Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, arid do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial mat ter should be directed to the editor. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Effects of American amnesia YE' 5TA Once upon a time, hundreds of thousands of foreigners fled their old countries and repression, and on weath er-beaten boats set sail for the New World. In their desperation, they risked all the perils awaiting them in the un charted waters ahead. Many died en route from starvation, disease and blood thirsty pirates, while those who endured the voyage had little life left at its end. And yet they came, wave after wave, in search of milk and honey. They had heard of the land of opportunity. On arrival, the American natives, hav ing known only the fruits of plenty, were initially perplexed by the onslaught of these sickly appearing foreigners, unable to understand the deprivations the new comers complained of. The foreign lan guages and customs were comical and ridiculous to hear and see. Soon, however, suspicion of the im migrants seized the natives as they began to fear the loss of land and food. Curious sympathy turned into determined re sentment. And as open hostility height ened, foreigners became “fereigners” who had to “go back home.” The chief of behrooz moghaddam the tribes imprisoned the unwelcomed guests, freeing them later only to be ship ped back to the places they feared most. The immigrants in this short story could easily be the French, Irish or Ita lians who crossed the oceans in the 18th and 19th centuries. But, they are not. Rather, they are the Indochinese, Cubans and Haitians who only a few years ago dreamed of the New World. And, the natives could easily be the harsh realities that awaited the first pilgrims over 200 years ago. But, they are not. Rather, they are the Americans of the 20th century. In searching for explanations,! particular sticks out. During the course of America’s!; cedented growth, AmericanshaveM ally forgotten what made thiscMj' great. More specifically, they gotten that it was the meltingpoi!] sperate foreigners that propelk country into its political and etc majesty of today; that it was their At x for freedom and recent memory (if AAJ / ression which produced the A®p constitution; and that it was theirfl of hard work that formed the baseip ensuing economic boom in this col The immigrants of today continl bring with them these very qualitil Finally, the effects of this aEp, could very well lie fatal. Notonlyal lions of oppressed people left will mares — but America itselfisthreJ mares — but America itself is For when Americans can no Ion; member what first motivated their tical and economic strength, theyw losing that very strength. Andthtl World as such will inevitably becoi Old World. ly. It should be pointed out that there are many instructors at this University who are very effective teachers and maintain excellent rapport with students, even ones they’ve never taught. In regard to the technology of en gineering education, there are a few sel- dom-used tactics that I feel would help to lighten the burden of relating subjects like solid mechanics and thermodyna mics. First, it is often the case that one student can often relate a particular con cept or problem solution to another stu dent better than can a seasoned profes sor, who may be unaware of his tenden cies to skip over the subtleties involved. If the practice of students helping each other learn was formally employed by instructors, the traditional learning pro cess could be appreciably improved upon. Second, gaining a working know- Jedge of an engineering discipline is like learning to play the piano: competence is gained only after much practice over a period of time. In several problems courses I have had, the homework prob lems assigned were just hard enough to puzzle most of the class and were far from sufficient in number to produce a good working knowledge of the material. I feel that a student’s time is much more effectively spent in seeing simply the strategy used in solving a good number of the problems, and not in sitting and staring at a problem that only bogs him down. Finally, the Department of Mechanical Engineering could relieve some of the alienation between it and its students by simply giving some consideration to stu dent input. If the teacher evaluations completed by many of the classes at the end of the semester carried any weight, several of the tensions that exist now, would have been relieved long ago. It makes no sense to provide educational services without virtually any attempt to understand how effectively they are being adminstered. Appreciation of English Editor: A professor at a major university like Texas A&M needs the ability to teach. However, with the large amounts of re search performed here, this ability is be coming harder to find. Some teachers are unable to explain the material to the stu dents so that the subject can be under stood. Others have no spare time for their students outside of class. As if this were not enough, some teachers just do not seem to care. Each semester students are asked to evaluate their teachers. How much weight these evaluations carry is ques tionable. Every marginal teacher I have had in my four years at this University is still here, while one of the few truly good teachers, Dr. Charles Harrison, is about to leave. This is not his own choice. He is not being offered a job in the fall. This saddens me, and I am sure also affects a majority of the students Dr. Harrison has taught. Dr. Harrison, visiting assistant profes sor of English, is one of the rare indi viduals who truly has a knack for teaching. He possesses a thorough know ledge of his subject, and the wit to impart this knowledge. He is willing to talk with and help students with any academic or personal problems. In short, he honestly cares about his students. I feel privileged and fortunate to have had Dr. Harrison as a teacher. The stu dents are the people who lose when a teacher the caliber of Dr. Harrison is not rehired. I can only hope that his future employer has the sense to appreciate his merits. Yum Cluti Stru Pron •Aire staff photo by Octavio G® 1 * Bill Gouldin ’81 Ben Bonin ’82 Dr. Charles Harrison got a surprise at the start of his English class. Harrison’s contract with the University ends this summer, and a group of his fun-loving students decided to surprise him with singing telegram. Despite ^ surprise, Harrison conti# with the class. (Mas