ursday • July 23,1998
The Battalion
PINION
assachusetts 1 - Educators 0
ajority of teachers fail to pass state-mandated certification exam
I
n 10 years, many who are
now college students will
have children, and these
children will be in danger. They
will not be in physical danger,
but instead will be caught in
the iron jaws of the
public school
system.
and the chair of the Board resigned.
Saturday, the exam was administered again.
Potential teachers either were confident they
had passed or whining about how hard
the exam was.
Justin Whitton, a graduate of
Northeastern, complained that
knowing such "obscure"
English facts as the def
ern classroom.
Another test-taker,
Elizabeth Adkins,
a graduate of
Regis Col
lege who
was
tak-
luB' come from today's col-
e students. Cnfortunate-
'Nin is 6!
is 53
r& . c ' u Ty, education is seen as an-
hurdle to get over
ore getting a job, which
is [he wrong attitude. Ed-
ulntion is not a diploma.
It|s a chance to learn.
An excellent example
olthis comes from
Massachusetts. Recent-
S| monKirl t
1 fturns is45,;
ls h is 45. ^
Actor Willv
’TisofBovr!
2s 1 _
,, ly, the Massachusetts
c^POgMim^ard i ducat ion de
cided to certify its
cn0linisi® loo | teachers, mak-
°r La.,!,,
’■l- Actres< I4r i
55.
it the 44th state to
ll so. The exam,
&iich tests knowl-
' / Bge on a lOth-grade
^^^wel, was adminis-
ffreyHolde®
'rk")isl
,0 ' sar tei .d earlier this
ar. Fifty-nine per-
nt of the test-tak-
1 ' s er^ failed.
j 8 The Massachu-
apperChiid Ktts State Board of
1 ^ Education moved
to lower the
ssing score to
low an addi-
ional 260 teach-
ers to graduate. Ba-
.cally, it curved the
IU !
P‘ 1 '
alh
3ple,wi
Jboutthaias
dealism.lf»!
am so more than 10 percent of the failures could
5S.
The governor, among other Massachusetts
oliticians, strongly objected. By the time the dust
ttled, the Board voted down the curved grades
inition of an interrogative sentence is not iiecessary
in modern classrooms. It is difficult to believe inter
rogative sentences, more commonly known as
questions, are unnecessary, especially in the mod-
mg
the exam for the second time, said, "I paid $80,000,
and my piece of paper is worth nothing."
From these comments, the problem is apparent.
Some students, students who do not know vital
material, such as the definition of a question, are on
their way to get jobs.
They believe, after paying money to a university,
it is society's duty to hand them the job of their
choice, silver platter guaranteed. They believe the
purpose of education is to pass their classes and get
a diploma.
The truth of the matter is the purpose of educa
tion is to take advantage of the opportunity to
learn.
Students in college are in the position to
take advantage of an amazing array of
opportunities that only can be
found at a university.
The purpose of edu
cation is not to pick up a
sheepskin and receipt
on the way to the first
paycheck.
The problem is too
many students are not
taking education seriously
and are forgetting its true
purpose.
The solution is to remem
ber education exists so stu
dents can learn.
Exams, be they finals or teacher
certification or even TAAS, test
knowledge a student has gained.
Exams do not test how much
information can be crammed into
a skull and then regurgitated be
fore it is quickly forgotten.
Those who did not learn failed
the Massachusetts teacher exami
nation. Those who did learn,
passed it.
In 10 years, thanks to certification
requirements like Massachusetts',
America's children will be taught by
teachers who have received a great
wealth of knowledge and who can in
spire the children to learn.
Anything less is inviting a poor level
of education that will ruin the minds of the
children of tomorrow.
Chris Huffines is a junior
speech communications major.
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ich frame,
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;lae said,
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erfect
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MAIL CALL
jim column
misses mark
i response to April Towery's July 20,
r ia ne^
»etfroff
jess
■^s.soiin*
April Towery's opinion suffers
rom a common problem: While
rondemning certain behavior for
-hristians, she fails to support her
pinion with any biblical authority.
Instead, she sandwiches ad
tominem attacks on the character
nd motivations of those with
vhom she disagrees ("fell off the
urnip truck", "an excuse ... to have
i power trip", "stupid and irra-
ional") around a polemic against
pn ownership in general and the
sIRAin particular.
If she had researched what the
lible says about self-defense, she
'Vould find that the Bible supports
tilling in self-defense (Exodus 22:1-
If she is worried about interpreta
tion or context, she could research
the Christian or Talmudic commen
tary on these verses which state a
criminal's willingness to use deadly
force makes killing that criminal
lawful. This is repeated in three sep
arate places in the Talmud .
Neither the Bible nor Talmud re
quire killing the criminal, but both
allow killing the criminal in self-de
fense and in defense of property.
I refer primarily to the Talmud
because the Talmudic writers were
better acquainted with the cultural
issues than many of the Christian
writers.
The Talmud directly addresses
the question of day v night. It is not
that the thief might be identified, but
that houses' occupants were certain
ly home at night and so any thief en
tering at night would be reasonably
sure to have to fight it out with the
members of the household.
This was not true of the daytime
when errands would often take
many of the individuals out of a
house.
If Towery feels the Old Testa
ment's restrictions are legalistic and
wonders only "What would Jesus
do?" then she need look no further
than Matthew 21:12-13 (parallel
with Mark 11:15-17 and Luke 19:45-
46).
When Jesus found people in the
Temple who were conducting what
most people nowadays would call
legitimate business, he drove them
out. Does she think they went out
meekly and withou t complaint?
More likely they left because they
were in fear of imminent bodily
harm. By Jesus' standard, these peo
ple were stealing from others while
in God's house.
Should the ministers and elders
disavow Jesus' example when the
theft is more open and brazen?
Suggesting that those thrown out
may have feared the crowd instead
of Jesus begs the question of why Je
sus would be willing to incite a
crowd to possible violence if such
violence was wrong. Threatening is
just as wrong as doing.
Applying Jesus' example, the
very people who should defend
church property are the ones the
Lexington law allows.
JohnM. Wildenthal
The Battalion encourages letters to the
editor. Letters must be 300 words or less
and include the author's name, class and
phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to
edit letters for length, style, and accuracy.
Letters may be submitted in person at 013
Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let
ters may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1.11.1,
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: batt@unix.tamu.edu
Credit card companies entice
college students into debt
W hen students look to
credit card compa
nies to provide an
extra income, they set them
selves up for financial chaos.
Melinda Tscappat, former
banker and author of The Pit-
falls of Plastic Credit Cards,
said credit card companies
target students because they
will be good future income
producers.
With this in mind, compa
nies give financially strug
gling college students the opportunity to buy
things. Students accept these offers based on their
want or need to buy things.
Unfortunately, students are guilty of accepting
these offers without the proper knowledge of han
dling finances.
Financial literacy is vital to successfully and re
sponsibly avoiding debt.
Credit card companies prey on college students
by enticing them with the powers
to purchase and possibilities of
plastic. Tscappat reports that over 2
billion credit card solicitations are
mailed out each year.
Students are attracted to the
"Buy Now, Pay Later" overture of
the offers. This causes students to
indulge themselves and spend
money that they do not actually
have.
When purchasing, credit cards
create the illusion that there are no
immediate consequences.
Credit card users do not see
money flying from their wallets or
checkbooks; therefore, students be
gin overcharging and exceeding
their budgets.
"This nightmare starts from spending $10 on
school supplies or $20 on a new pair of pants for an
interview or a date," Tscappat said.
Charge cards allow students to entertain their
consumer fantasies.
Students begin by supporting the sacred shop
ping binge, frequently going out to eat and using
their credit for entertainment purposes.
"I have been in the habit of paying off large
chunks off my cards, then charging them back up
the following week," Michael Thompson, a senior
history major, said.
Thompson is one of many students who are
thousands of dollars in debt.
"I have charged stereo stuff for my car, a lot of
Playstation games and a lot of clothes," Thompson
said.
The National Association of Consumer Agency
Administrators reports that credit purchases
should not exceed 15 to 20 percent of net income.
However, often times in cases similar to Thomp
son's, purchases do exceed a student's income.
The NACAA also suggests card holders should
spend no more than what can be paid off in 12
months. College students also need to understand
that amounts not paid in full each month mean
paying interest on interest. Paying interest on inter
est easily can be the cause of future debt.
According to U.S. News and World Report,
teenagers 16 to 19 influence their families to spend
$109 billion for consumer products. Students who
live a lifestyle supported by parents sometimes
have trouble making the transition to the economic
lifestyle of a college student.
This is why it is important for parents to guide
their children to making independently responsible
decisions regarding credit. Stu
dents who are not properly edu
cated about finance will abuse
credit cards and relinquish them
selves to bad credit history that
is sometimes beyond repair.
Credit card companies are
hopeful that parents and
guardians have not had the
"credit talk" with their kids.
Therefore, financial literacy is
an important responsibility
every college student should ac
quire.
There are places for students
to get help in acquiring this
knowledge.
The National Foundation of
Consumer Credit, National Institute for Consumer
Education and the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal
Financial Literacy are examples of agencies with In
ternet sites offering educational programs and
counseling for students.
Students and parents should take the initiative
to educate themselves about credit. Doing this
makes it possible for students to avoid future prob
lems — namely drowning in debt.
Alison Lackey is a senior
English major.
Credit card users do
not see money flying
from their wallets or
checkbooks; therefore,
students begin over
charging and exceed
ing their budgets.