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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1991)
Monday, September 16, 1991 The Battalion Page 3 Educators lack skills, report says ■ WASHINGTON (AP) - If stu dents are dummies at science and ^lath, don't blame the kids, a pan- d] of scientists and educators says. ' Odds are, their teachers aren't Qualified. | More than two-thirds of ele- Bientary school science teachers lack adequate preparation in sci- ■nce and more than 80 percent of ■aath instructors are deficient in ■mathematics, according to a report issued by the Carnegie Commis- ■ion on Science, Technology and Government. "Every school day, students in these grades come to school natu- Hally curious about the world and \Mo home having learned to hate Jcience and mathematics a little inore," said the report released Sunday. Lewis Branscomb, a Harvard University professor and chair man of the commission's panel on science and math education, said, "Everybody can learn what they need to know about math and sci ence, and we've got to stop accus ing the kids who are a little slow with lacking talent." Although education is mostly a state and local responsibility, Branscomb said the federal gov ernment should "play a leading, rather than a cheer-leading, role" in improving science and math ed ucation. The panel argued that the fed eral government should be in volved in recruiting teachers, set ting curriculum goals, coordinat ing research into teaching meth ods and developing textbooks and other educational materials. Under the commission's plan, the National Science Foundation would improve universities' edu cation of math and science teach ers. The Education Department would concentrate on reform in the nation's elementary and sec ondary schools. The panel also recommended: — Devoting part of the funding for federal science agency research to improving math and science ed ucation. — Setting up a national clear inghouse for information on edu cation systems and a center "to build a consensus on what Ameri can students should know.” — Creating model schools for ’One base, one wing, one boss' Air Force to reveal overhaul plan Battai ties t' i.m. to y WASHINGTON (AP) - The Air Force is poised to announce a major overhaul that will shake the ser vice from top to bottom, transferring dozens of gen erals from desk jobs to the flight line. "We have too many generals sitting on their butt Being staff work when they would be happier and Biore efficient out on the flight line," Air Force Chief of Staff Merrill McPeak said recently. The moves are some of the most dramatic Hhanges by the Air Force since it became a separate ■ranch of the armed services in 1947. The overhaul, which already has begun in some Breas, is McPeak's personal quest and has the back- Big of Air Force Secretary Donald Rice and Defense Becretary Dick Cheney. B Rice is scheduled to unveil the changes in detail Tuesday at the Air Force Association annual conven- Bon in Washington. Senior Pentagon officials dis- Bussed the changes with The Associated Press in ad- JiBance of the announcement on condition of anonymi- McPeak, a 55-year-old four-star general who flew 3rstc 269 combat missions in a one-year tour of duty in Bietnam, still jumps into the cockpit of an F-15 jet to keep his qualifications up-to-date. And despite the praise garnered by the Air Force for its performance in Operation Desert Storm, McPeak insists the service can't rest on its laurels. He's argued that the reorganization is a way to improve the combat power of the service as it's forced to become a leaner, less bureaucratic organiza tion. The overhaul also is designed to decentralize au thority, putting more responsibility in the hands of local commanders and crew chiefs. "One base, one wing, one boss" is the motto used to describe part of the process that McPeak hopes will help the service shed an image of arrogance and free-spending, giving more authority to base com manders and crew chiefs. Critics have derided the service as a "fraternity in uniform." As Pentagon budgets shrink and the superpower balance shifts, change is inevitable. One quarter of the Air Force's men and women are being cut, to about 450,000 in five years. There were 904,000 Air Force personnel at its last peak, during the Vietnam iscovery launches satellite; ontrollers fail to gain signal it usee ustn irists;-|| sfunF: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. tel-miBAE) — Discovery astronauts dis- Batched an observatory satellite Dllarjfyujndav to examine the effects of /eear Tollu-tion on Earth's withering indccBzone layer, but ground con- ■fnllBrollers ran into trouble communi- ■ating with the spacecraft. The glittering, copper-colored — 'Satellite, its solar panel jutting to E Bne side, drifted off into orbit ■hortly after midnight. Mark Brown unleashed the observatory ■roin the end of the shuttle's me- lhanical arm as the ship flew over ™he Atlantic Ocean toward West frica on its 34th spin around the .'odd since liftoff Friday. "It was a spectacular show," Shuttle commander John Creighton said. Those on Earth were just as impressed. "Welcome to the era of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth," Said program manager Mike , ch. |h< Luther. The observatory was released a little later than planned, because controllers had trouble getting a signal to pass between the craft's main antenna and a second satel lite through which data is trans mitted to Earth. The problems continued after the release. Signals were gained, and lost, three times within two hours. Project deputy manager John Donley said the interruptions were caused by a procedural prob lem on the ground that was cor rected. But then another problem was discovered later Sunday morning — one of two satellite transponders used to receive data from Earth failed. Controllers at NASA's God dard Space Flight Center in Green- belt, Md., could not send com mands on that transponder via a network of communications satel lites 22,300 miles high. Instead, they used the backup transponder, which worked fine, Donley said. "We have a redundant system, so we're still fully functional," Donley said. Donley said engineers don't know why the first receiver failed. It would matter only if the backup system developed problems dur ing the mission's expected lifetime of 11/2 to three years, he said. The Upper Atmosphere Re search Satellite, valued at $740 million, including operating costs, was dropped off at an altitude of about 354 miles. Tiny thrusters are to boost it over the next few days to its final destination 372 miles above Earth. In addition to studying the ozone layer, a stratospheric shield against cancer-causing ultraviolet rays, the observatory will measure winds, chemicals and energetic particles in the upper atmosphere. math and science training and set ting up programs to spread their methods to schools nationally. — Giving the Education De partment more flexibility in the way it spends money. Under the present system. Congress pre scribes much of its spending. Education Secretary Lamar Alexander, who was a member of the Carnegie panel before moving to the Cabinet post earlier this year, had no immediate comment on the report. The Carnegie Commission was established in 1988 by the Carnegie Corp. of New York, one of the nation's largest philan thropies, to study ways to incor porate scientific and technological knowledge in government policy making. Seizure leads to allegations of cover-up SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Police seized a videotape of themselves arresting anti-abortion demonstra tors, in a move the demonstrators say may have been designed to cover up police brutality. Twelve adults and one juvenile were arrested on charges of crimi nal trespass at the downtown abortion clinic Saturday morning. Several protesters complained that the first two demonstrators arrested were roughed up by offi cers while being taken into cus tody, the San Antonio Express- News reported Sunday. The protestors were arrested after twice refusing police orders to quit blocking the clinic. Protester Sue Gasper said two officers suddenly grabbed Marion Thompson, who was arrested, and another man. "There was no warning at all," she said. "They grabbed him so he was down on his face." "They were causing pain," said Laurence Oebbecke, who wit nessed tke arrests. "The people were crying out in anguish." One of the officers involved in the arrests seized the camcorder Mrs. Gasper's husband, Steve, was using to record the activity. The officer returned the camera but confiscated the videotape as evi dence, Steve Gasper said. "We are concerned that some police brutality may be on that tape," he said. Sgt. Salvador Gonzales said it was unusual to take a videotape under some circumstances, but said the decision to seize it was at the discretion of the officer. Gonzales said he will review the allegations of brutality and for ward the complaints to the inter nal affairs unit for an investiga tion. The protesters were warned to stop obstructing the entrance to the clinic, at 7:15 a.m. and again 15 minutes later. The arrests began about 10 minutes after the second warning went unheeded, Gonza les said. cientists petition for release of orca HOUSTON (AP) — Marine scientists, fraid they are about to lose a unique opportu- ity, are urging Sea World theme parks to re lease Corky, a killer whale kept at the chain's an Diego park. But Sea World officials say Corky is near ing the end of her life, and releasing her would urely doom her. The coalition of scientists has begun "Pro- ■ jject Corky" to persuade Sea World to release he 25-year-old killer whale, or orca, back here she was captured to study whether the ammal's family will accept her after 21 years f captivity. "I think she is probably living on borrowed ime right now," said Dr. Paul Spong, a Cana- 'ian researcher spearheading "Project Corky." If we are going to do this, it has to happen soon. I think we are really running out of time." Sea World officials say Corky is "generally in good health," but shows normal "geriatric signs." Spong claims captivity has caused or exac erbated Corky's medical problems. Also, he said, the theme parks are afraid of being pressured to free more whales — which can no longer be captured — if the program succeeds. Sea World has 12 orcas scattered among its parks in Texas, California, Florida and Ohio. "Sea World is afraid that if this works, there might be a greater call for orcas in captiv ity to be released to their natural habitats, to their families in the oceans," he said. "If there is any single explanation for Sea World's re fusal to participate, that's it." The two sides faced off at a five-hour secret meeting on Aug. 30 at Sea World of Texas in San Antonio where company officials told sci entists that releasing Corky into the wild is out of the question, the Houston Chronicle report ed. Project Corky calls for the orca to be re leased near Vancouver, British Columbia, where her original "pod," or family group, still roams. Only two orcas remain alive of as many as 60 taken from that one pod: Corky and Yaka at Marineland-Africa-USA near San Francisco. They have been in captivity longer than any other orcas in the U.S. -.t-V-O' ASPIRES TO PUBUCOfFICE „ WITH THE HELP I of kinko’s jdytf Iplel: .00' 1C0ULDNT BE SECRETARY, I'M JUST NOT THE TYPE AND l CANTTVPEj. CjD O K. SO I'VE HAD SORT OF AN UNDISTINGUISHED ACADEMIC CAREER. IT'S NOT TOO LATE idonYeventrust myself WITH MONEY, SO TREASURER IS DEFINITELY OUT. TODD SOMETHING ABOUT IT BUTCLASS PRESIDENT? TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY. WHENlFINAlimCIDEDWHAT TO RUN FORT MADE 100O CAMPAIGN POSTERS AT KINKOS V.PPTHEYWIND UP DOING MOSTOF THE REAL WORK . ANDTHEN...WRATA BITE! 1 FOUND OUT VALEDICTORIAN ISNYAN ELECTED OFFICE. Large building for rent. Available daily, weekly &. monthly. Air conditioning/heat. Great for student organizational meetings, Church, ramily func tions & dances/classes. Call for information 776-6696 HELP! 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