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.
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Student Counseling Service
presents
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Tuesdays 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Fridays 10:00 - 11:00 am
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skills. To sign up call 845-1651 or go by the Student Counseling
Service, 300 YMCA Building, Texas A&M University.
The Student Counseling Service received special permission to present this series to Texas A&M students.
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