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orsday • July 9,1998
The Battalion
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Jeremy
Valdez
columnist
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Graphic By Quatro Oakley/The Battalion
T he next time one sees a statistic in a popular
magazine or on TV, puke.
Please, do it for me.
Because chances are the
number that is being given is
being misused. Even if the
number is valid, gastric up
heaval still would be justified
because it might send the
message that we're sick of
statistics being overused.
Sure, every once in a
while some innocent news-
nik is gonna get chunked,
but better safe than sorry,
because the casual use of
statistics is diluting the pow
er of numbers.
To those who usually have better things to do
than ponder mathematical power, that statement
might sound extreme, but it's important to rec
ognize that in today's America, numbers are
hefty things.
Numbers tell how much people are being
taxed and how much the government spends.
They tell how many of us there are, and who is
being voted for.
Unfortunately, the science of statistics has been
taken out of such weighty subjects and relegated
it to the realm of indiscriminate use on CNN.
What is worse is that the average citizen is be
ing encouraged to substitute a pollster's figure for
independent thought.
The best example of this phenomenon is the re
porting of the president's job approval rating. De
spite Clinton's scandal-ridden second term, the
rating continues to hover around 80 percent.
That number only should mean that about four
out of five Americans approve of the job that Clin
ton is doing, or at least they can't find a reason to
complain about it.
But to listen to some news anchors and the
president's supporters, that number is both vindi
cation and high applause.
According to them, that number means that 80
percent of Americans can actually identify what
the president is doing for the country. The number
means that 80 percent of Americans believe that
the president is honest.
The number means that 80 percent of Ameri
cans don't care about the moral character of their
leader. The number means that 80 percent think
that Clinton is the best president this country has
ever had.
Not one of those assumptions is correct. In fact,
each has statistics that indicate the contrary.
Many people think the president is dishonest.
Many others think he's had sex with Monica
Lewinsky and a host of others, and hardly any of
us can come up with a compelling list of what he's
done for us.
But pollsters and spin doctors have got Ameri
ca caught in a feedback loop where the presi
dent's high job approval rating actually perpetu
ates itself.
Here's how it works: Take a bunch of people
and ask them a relatively meaningless question,
like 'Ts this guy attractive?" When they start to
ask themselves what the question actually means,
give them several new specific questions.
Tell them to look at his hair, his clothes and
how he smiles. Then tell them to listen to his voice
and to notice who he hangs out with.
Then convince them that if they like even one
of those attributes, they should say he's a looker.
Remind them of their own shortcomings in some
of those areas.
Even if the guy is far from impressive in each of
those categories, and downright ugly in some, the
chances that people will fault him in all of them
are slim.
Finally, reward their cooperation with a num
ber that confuses them, but lets them know
they're a part of the crowd. Ask them the same
question next week and voila: instant enduring
false approval.
Compared to that technique, other statistical
games simply are played and easily identified.
It's easy to spot "majority rules," the game
where measured popular opinions are exalted as
good and proper.
For instance, everyone knows that abortion on
demand is moral and a fundamental right because
75 percent of Americans think it is.
Sure, every once in a while something crazy
happens and the crowd gets snubbed.
After all, the majority of Americans used to
find slavery acceptable, and just look where that
great institution has gone.
Statistics are meant to be dispassionate. They
are as much units of measurement as the foot or
the pound.
When people use them without considering the
possible editorial impact, they are acting unethi
cally.
My job is to tell students what I think, and con
vince them that I am right, not that most out there
already agree with me.
On a good day, the use of numbers tends to be
inaccurate and indiscriminate. On a bad day, the
truth can be slaughtered with little more than a
percentage sign.
It's enough to make one nauseous.
Jeremy Valdez is a senior journalism and
chemical engineering major.
omework bound
dme schoolers lack skills
Home schooling proves
beneficial, rewarding for some
Chris
Huffines
columnist
knee upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived
|a princess. That princess was the daughter of a king
and queen who loved
i jut ^ er y much, and only want-
ae best for the princess. The
pnd queen also believed in
livine right of monarchy,
so they thought they were
W ^ er and smarter than every-
elsein the kingd
Vhen the princess was old
agh to go to school, the king
queen decided since the
J°ls w ere not good enough
j^heir daughter, with all the
aoners and liberal ideolo-
aey would keep their
|ghter home from school.
iuce I am smarter than everyone else, I will teach
myself," the king said.
ue years passed, and the king taught his daugh-
Ver ything she needed to know about ruling and
the kingdom, including state-mandated
uh classes.
tan it came time for princes to come and court the
cess, the parade of princes was politically powerful,
dcing was very happy and proud,
en. Prince Chivalry, as a spokesperson for the rest
e Pences, came to talk to the king,
nnce Chivalry said, "What did you do to that kid?
116 of us ever want to see her again!" With that, the
jees stormed out of the castle.
°' me king and queen went away to talk things over,
they came back, they had decided to have another
le king and queen had another child, a prince, and
him into the public school system. The king
e him after school, and upon graduating, the prince
J^tatelligcnt well-rounded individual who could get
e e . not only friends but a date. The prince locked his
^ m the tower, and eventually her head was chopped
nd everyone lived happily ever after.
t e stor y shows one thing that is very true and very
gcrous to students, especially to students who were
schooled through high school and who want to
, c |j e ■ kfome schooling does not prepare children to
Toh * n wor ^ri outside of their home.
ien a! 8 ’ 11 ' t ^ ere are two kinds of home schooling. One is
th e parent teaches the child. The other is when the
parent sends away for material to teach the child.
For the child, the first is far worse.
Sending away for material gives the same education
al benefit as going to school. However, parents who
teach their children are presumptuous.
It boggles the mind to think that a parent, who may or
may not have a teaching certificate, can equal the profes
sional educators available in the public education system.
To gain a teaching certificate from Texas A&M, a
prospective teacher has to take classes on speaking, multi-
culturalism, computer literacy, educational psychology
and on the principles of teaching. He or she also has to
have at least a bachelor's degree and spend at least 12 se
mester-hours student teaching, helped along by a cooper
ating teacher and a faculty supervisor.
Educationally, parents who attempt to teach their child
without any outside help simply cannot match those cre
dentials, even with a bad teacher thrown into the mix.
However, the primary danger, a danger that may crip
ple the child in his or her later years, is that Home school
ing removes the child from the complex, pervasive social
environment that exists outside of home school.
Dr. Linda Putnam, Head of the Department of Speech
Communication, said that the key to interacting in the
modern world, as a good communicator, is understand
ing there may be miscommunications and compensating.
She also said the more an individual practices effec
tive communication, the better at it he or she will be
come. It is possible to practice those skills with brothers
and sisters at home. Home schoolers are capable of be
coming effective communicators.
However, aside from those Home schoolers who do
not have siblings, there is a problem. Keeping a student
home from school may keep that student from exposure
to different people, ideals and ideas.
Students are usually home-schooled because the par
ents do not believe public schools are a good environment
for their child. Keeping the student home may keep him or
her from experiences that would develop better communi
cations skills, as well as developing their self. In public
school, it is impossible to avoid these valuable experiences.
This deficiency is doing the exact opposite of what
the parent intends. Instead of protecting and helping the
child. Home schooling is increasing the chance that the
child will end up a poor communicator which will hurt
the child's ability to succeed in life.
Chris Huffines is a junior speech
communications major.
S he never attended public
high school. She didn't go
to prom, or football games
or
gradu
ation.
She
made
her
friends
at
church
and at
the
April
Towery
opinion editor
camp
where
she worked.
Two months ago, she walked
across the stage at Reed Arena
and received her degree from
Texas A&M.
This is the true success story
of a home schooler. She was ed
ucated at home from seventh
grade all the way through high
school.
She never dressed like an
Amish housewife. She listens to
secular music. She is not "so
cially retarded."
In fact, she is a beautiful and
intelligent person with a kind
heart and a pure soul. This girl
is my older sister, and I admire
her for the criticism she has en
dured because she home
schooled.
Home schooling is not an ex
cuse to sleep until noon and
work lessons in one's pajamas
with a television going in the
background.
A home school book fair is of
fered once a year in Dallas.
Home schoolers from all over the
state come to browse literature
and various programs offered.
Families place textbook or
ders in the same way high
school superintendents choose
school curriculum.
Many of the programs re
quire students to mail in com
pleted workbooks, term papers
and assignments. At the end of
a grading period, a student re
ceives a report card.
Sounds a lot similar to public
school.
The major difference be
tween home school and public
school is the personal attention
a student can receive.
My mother, a certified
teacher, gave my sister one-on-
one instruction and spent extra
time helping her with the sub
jects in which she struggled.
My sister was able to learn in
a healthy environment without
the adolescent distractions of
popularity and competition.
She learned to focus on what
was important — earning an
education.
Home schooling is not for
everyone. I stayed home in
sixth and seventh grade and felt
like a friendless hermit recluse.
I needed structure, and I
needed to be around people
who were not related to me,
thus legally bound to spend
time with me.
But it works for some peo
ple. It worked for my sister.
She was too mature for pub
lic school. She realized that hav
ing the biggest bangs and the
purplest eye shadow was what
every teen-age girl's life re
volved around.
She wanted to study, she
wanted to learn.
Instead of worrying about
whether she owned the latest
designer jeans, whether Johnny
got the note she left in his lock
er or whether she should bring
or buy her lunch, she was learn
ing. What a concept.
Today, she is able to commu
nicate with people her own age,
as well as older and younger
people. She interacts well with
others and has plenty of
friends.
She also has an education that
is comparable to that which pub
lic schoolers received. She took
math and science classes. She
read books and wrote papers.
She went out on weekends
with her friends from church.
The only things she was de
prived of are useless things,
such as pep rallies and fire drills.
The things she missed out on
are the things that waste stu
dents' time and take them away
from the knowledge they are in
school to receive.
Not every child should be
home schooled.
But those who are secure
enough to handle spending all
day with textbooks and Mom
should open their minds to the
possibility.
It can be a blessed opportu
nity. It can provide an education
in a timely manner and elimi
nate the distraction that kept so
many students from taking full
advantage of the classroom ex
perience — other students.
April Towery is a senior
journalism major.