Friday, October 7, 1983/The Battalion/Page 7
Gardener helps retarded
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photo by Mark Packer
Nellie Pittman works outside Francis Hall.
by Stephanie Marshall
Battalion Reporter
Growing up on a farm gave
Nellie Pittman a green thumb
and knowledge of fundamen
tal plant care; which she now
passes on to the mentally re
tarded.
“Teaching the mentally
handicapped is like teaching
children; they must be loved,”
Pittman says.
Pittman, 54, is a gardener
with the Texas A&M Grounds
Maintenance Department.
Pittman’s interest in the
outdoors and horticulture be
gan while on a farm outside of
Caldwell in Burleson County.
“I was one of six children,
so I had to do my share of the
work.“she said, “That’s how I
became interested in growing
things.”
Pittman decided that she
wanted to put some of her
knowledge to work. Having
raised six children, Pittman
knows how.
In 1975, Pittman, without
any training, began working
as a teacher’s aide for the
Texas Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retarda
tion. Within eight months she
had advanced to horticulture
supervisor. As horticulture
supervisor she not only grew
plants, but also instructed the
mentally retarded on plant
care.
“The first thing you have to
do is to gain their love and
trust and get them to pay
attention to you,” Pittman
says. “You have to treat them
like children and give them
the same love back. Once I did
that, I could get them to do
things even the director
couldn’t do.”
Pittman worked with the
TDMHMR until 1980.
Now, Pittman is continuing
her career in horticulture at
Texas A&M. Pittman began
working as a gardener at the
■University in 1982. She is
assigned the north plaza mall
area on campus which she is to
keep clean and looking nice.
“I have always loved the
outdoors,” Pittman said, “and
that’s why I like this job.”
She says she came to Texas
A&M because she felt closed
in while working at the
TDMHMR.
Houston Post execs
host possible buyers
United Press International
HOUSTON — Executives
and editors of the Houston Post,
which is for sale, met with offi
cials of the Washington Post and
Toronto Sun the past two days,
managing editor Kuyk Logan
said Thursday.
Representatives of the Sun
visited the Houston Post offices
Thursday, and Washington Post
publisher Donald Graham was
at the paper all day Wednesday.
“As far as I know, there will
be somebody else tomorrow,”
Logan said.
He said Graham asked a lot of
questions and talked to advertis
ing people and circulation
people.
Washington Post Co. spokes
man Chip Knight declined com
ment on the meetings.
It has been three months
since The Houston Post was
offered for sale. The firm of
Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb
Inc. is handling negotiations.
Financial analysts have said
The Houston Post, the second-
largest newspaper in the city,
might bring $225 million. That
would easily make it the richest
newspaper sale in this country.
At the time of the sale
announcement in July, the
Post’s parent company said tax
considerations and changing in
terest of shareholders led to the
decision.
Discover a New World...
of fashion elegance.
is having a
liTNE JEWELRY;
iispanics may
ail, dean says
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United Press International
EL PASO — Officials at the
[niversity of Texas at El Paso
|ar a state law requiring pros-
r ictive education majors to pass
standardized test will reduce
Se number of Hispanics study-
ig to become teachers.
I Large numbers of blacks and
Jispanics failed similar tests
Sven in Florida and California,
fid minorities claimed the tests
fere biased against them, said
fean William Dunlap of the UT
| Paso College of Education.
Hispanics make 51 percent of
fl El Paso’s 1,300 College of
Iducation students.
Dunlap said the Education
esting Service, a nationwide
■ccmpany that has written the
Est and will administer it, has
lade efforts to prevent bias
gainst minorities but “chances
re minorities may not do as
fell.”
I The first statewide test will be
|lministered March 3. Any col-
fge student who has not com
peted 60 hours of course work
^ May 1 and who wants to enter
college of education is re
tired to take the test.
I The test consists of three
jarts: reading, writing and
lath. Students will have to pass
|1 three parts to become educa-
ion majors, and will have three
hances to pass.
; Opponents of the test argue
jat wording of some of the
questions would be clear to mid-
dle-class students, but may
sound utrange to Hispanics
from economically-
disadvantaged backgrounds.
Dunlap predicts a decrease in
enrollment in the College of
Education at UT El Paso as a
result of the test’s cultural bias.
In order to offset the antici
pated decrease in number of
students, the school has de
signed a graduate program in
special education to add gradu
ate students to replace those
people who will fail the test, offi
cials said.
§eccmT ^BoptuT {3xu,'lcJu
708 Eisenhower
College Station, Texas 77840
(409) 696-2317
GAMMILL & MURPHY
October 9-12, 7 p.m.
Columbus Day Special Sale
30% off and more*
on all gold
diamonds and
pearls
Sale begins Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. and
ends Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m.
*Come by and see how low our prices for quality jewelry
can get!
415 University . 846-5816
TOP TICKS 1
PRICE
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Bill Busby &The Lone Star Express
Oct. 8: 9:00 — 1:00
Cover is only $1.00
w/ Houston vs. A&M football stub
For Reserv ations call 823-0660
Advance tickets are available
for Johnny Rodriguez
Coming Oct. 22
located on Tabor Rd off Cast Bypass
E-Systems continues
the tradition of
the world’s great problem solvers.
Steinmetz was one of
the few geniuses concerned
with the practical aspects
of electrical engineering.
His pragmatic analytical
approach led to the de
velopment of efficient
electrical power grids as
we know them today.
Scientists and en
gineers at E-Systems are
carrying on in his tradition.
Through the combination of
sophisticated analytical and
simulation techniques, they
are evolving optimal system
solutions to some of the
world’s toughest problems
in electronics.
E-Systems is recog
nized as one of the world’s
leading problem-solving
companies in the design
and production of com
munications, data, antenna,
intelligence and recon
naissance systems that are
often the first-of-a-kind in
the world.
For a reprint of the
Steinmetz illustration and
information on career op
portunities with E-Systems
in Texas, Florida, Indiana,
Utah or Virginia, write:
Lloyd K. Lauderdale, V.P.,
Research and Engineering,
E-Systems, Corporate
Headquarters, P. O.
Box 226030, Dallas,
Texas 75266.
ISg E-SYSTEMS
The problem solvers.
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llglgpg
j[ A Project of Stanford Associates Inc.
Our Greenville Division will be on campus interviewing October 14,1983