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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2001)
Monday, June 18, 2001 s rate applies dditional 5 nd to qualify foi uick fix Opinion THE BATTALION not a solution Page 5 ning a profession wn Academy olter lification programs I in greater Austn Academy is part if ing and behave world. On-s!;i unseling, studen acement availat-< asty hiring of teachers causes a had environment for students STATE M students! ty cetball. a pool, se over 300 other tr- Irm/Abth. CAU. f bed Model Hen Anywhere Else troubling trend of allowing un der-qualified, nsuitable teachers in riany public schools Bias emerged.They ars.com or calf have been hired by graduates are h h thousands de- mdustry. ■ . i i • I hlpite lacking the ex- ild, $75/each. rr ■ i 3 black male 26^ J>ertise to be effective teachers. I As administrators grapple with hav ing to fill classrooms, these last-minute 2 brand J m P lo y ees are the q ualit y of :pr at the prww learning in public schools. Some of mts in Coiiess these hastily hired teachers are simply -"7condosInqualified; others are convicted crimi- interest rates rr« iials. Neither one is the type of person est deal in Stuoe- ^hat should be instructing children. Al though a lack of teachers does exist, re- Itrictions should be implemented to leep these people out of the classroom. I Despite living in a society that in- v Parkway, #tou § r easingly expects more from its youth, 1-683-5758 or T* . , / ^ r • V. . it has yet to expect more from its teach- |rs. Research shows that the primary Ichool-based factor in student achieve- lient is the knowledge and effectiveness If their teachers. I However, according to the United States Department of Education, 12 Rercent of teachers, who recently were ffiired, did not have a teaching license, Blind almost 15 percent were hired on Imergency, temporary or provisional li- ienses. Students are entitled to highly -skilled teachers who have been trained how to guide them and diagnose indi vidual learning problems. I Instead, when an appropriately certi- 'fied teacher cannot be found, a lesser Qualified individual who meets very minimal requirements is hired to fill the position. 1 Many large independent school dis tricts are using alternative preparation programs that prepare emergency certi- jfied teachers to recruit their employees. These people undergo an “intense,” five-week course before stepping into a classroom. However, they do not re- 'lATES remodeled, w/stc s. Rick 218-8431 I. 4-bdrm. house is from campus, 1 needed w/d, on srt +no bills. eeded, Sbdrmffi' vnhomes, $40&k )255-6885. eeded, Abdem® no. -(-utilities AuW iom in a A-becta' campus, $350"! 1st month discotf 214-908-62« 3rgy.com Dr new house. Or nove-in ASAP! 6 ceive their teaching certificate until one year later. The effects of putting a teacher-in-training in the classroom can be detrimental. Consider the frustra tion of getting stuck in a grocery store line with a checker whose name tag reads “in training.” In addition, these certification agen cies independently screen their appli cants using their own criteria, leaving nothing in place to keep an individual who is rejected by one agency from ap plying with others. Teacher shortages discourage educa tion officials from scrutinizing their applicant, according to CNN. Recent ly, an investigation in Mississippi re sulted in eight of the state’s teachers being dismissed after it was revealed they had been convicted of drug and sex-related crimes. In two unrelated cases of substitute teachers who later were hired for per manent positions — a common practice used to alleviate shortage stfa'ips — one recently was charged with six criminal charges, including trafficking a con trolled substance, and the other was charged with two counts of sexual abuse. As teacher-committed sex crimes in the classrooms increase, something must be done to reinforce this problem of relaxed hiring. A vigorous screening of a teachers’ background is a necessity to ensure school children’s education and physical safety. Other factors depict a problem that is more widespread. According to the ed ucation department, nearly one-fourth of all secondary teachers do not have a college major — or even a minor — in the subjects that they teach. In addition, although a majority of students routinely have difficulty grasp ing mathematics, more than 30 percent of math teachers received their educa tion in another field. Out-of-field teach ers do not have the adequate training to convey the material effectively, which is vital to provide adequate instruction. Our nation’s school districts should reexamine its hiring practices so that students will receive the education they deserve. Putting teachers who lack the qualifications into classrooms is a great injustice to those who are striving to achieve success. J. J. Trevino is a senior journalism major. ANGELIQUE FORD/7h£ Battalion 3bdrm/2bth dupk 100 month, move’" 1-8952. ed, non-smoke with backyai move-in. 774-155' ed for dupte d. -(-utilities, 1-iW 1 ' fo call Josh 832-65 1 3. ibdrm/2bth house f i. to main or wef noker, $356® i-8938. 'ICES ve Driving. Lots-e- tl! IW discount. M-T(6pie i-9pm), Fri.&Sat’ &Sat(1Oam-2:30prt iside BankofAmeiie $25/cash. Lower aw. 111-Univ. D: Show-up 30/rt* oday! PrivateiW kahashi (979) 6®" 2011 @ yahoo.com ITED sell lawn business e a. Call J.D. Hugrte T LOSS 'EIGHT? Increesi it, All Natural, More' Call Mary 979-775 1 customers istomers :o buy. SI Consider tomorrow New tax cuts should be P resident Bush’s recent ly passed tax-cut bill threatens to turn the I Social Security and Medicare | programs into pointless and | penniless government opera- 1 tions. The bill likely will dip I into the coffers of two of | America’s keystone programs S and possibly mean the end of I Social Security benefits for today’s youth. The solution is to rescind the tax rebates and I cuts in the tax bill and try to make a realistic ef- 1 fort to ensure diat Social Security and I Medicare will be funded in the future. Many Americans think that giving today’s 1 budget surpluses back to the people not only | seems like the right thing to do but the smart I: thing to do. The National Retail Federation issued a I statement concerning the tax rebates: “Taxpay- I ers are going to put a lot of this money to good 1 use, it’s going to help pay for summer vaca- | tions, back-to-school expenses and happier I holidays.” “Good use” for retailers in the form of in- I creased profit but bad use for die children of Bush should grow up and realize that he needs to save these tax rebates for his chil dren, rather than giving it away today. | these taxpayers. From some forecasts, Social j Security — the program that will support to- 1 day’s youth when they are retired — will run I out within the next 40 years. A June 12 Reuters article by Donna Smith I states, “The program collects far more in payroll I taxes than it pays out in benefits, but that will I change as the baby boom generation retires. By [ 2016, benefit payments will begin to outstrip tax I collections, and the program will begin to dip I into its trust funds to meet obligations. By 2038, I the trust fund will be exhausted.” The first step to solve the problem of dwin- I dling Social Security monies is to keep the tax 1 rebates and cuts. A $300 tax rebate check in the used for Social Security mail at the end of the year will make Americans happy. That temporary happiness must be sac rificed for the satisfaction of knowing that their children will receive the same benefits out of Social Security that they will. House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) stated of Bush, “instead of putting people first, too often, he has put the special in terests first.” It is easy for Bush to do this, the people that are getting screwed are either future middle class Americans that caimot vote or 18-to 25- year-olds that are not usually politically active. It is surprising that Bush is not choosing to save the money, by putting die money into Social Se curity American children today, will have their Social Security, checks guaranteed in the future. “We’re throwing our money down a hole when it comes to Social Security because we’re not going to see any of it. The whole guarantee is bogus, and we know it’s bogus,” stated Ricardo Reyes, a spokesman for Young America’s Foundation, a conservative educa tional institute. Bush took a step in the right direction when he appointed the Commission to Strengthen Social Security. It will be able to analyze die is sues and advise the President to make a solu tion that future senior citizens can support. It is very likely that this commission will ad vise that Bush not make any more plans that involve taking money away from Social Securi ty or Medicare. Senate Budge Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) stated, “There is still very much a sense in tins town, in this institution, that there’s money for more tax cuts, that there’s money for more spending. I don’t be lieve that’s the case.” When the majority of youths receive money, they want to spend it right away on something they like. This can be paralleled to what Bush is doing now. All of the sudden, there is a budg et surplus, and he wants to spend it right away on what he thinks is a good thing. Bush should grow up and realize that he needs to save these tax rebates for his children, rather than giving it away today. Reid Bader is a junior political science major. Mail Call McVeigh does not deserve title of soldier Monday, June 11, on the evening news, I heard the news anchor say that Timo thy McVeigh's death certifi cate would state that he was a soldier. I was shocked. I paused to consider the meaning of the anchor's statement. Had the anchor just been using inflammato ry speech to get the atten tion of people like me, a sol dier and others who have heard the call to military service? If so, his attempt worked. Let me be clear. Real soldiers dedicate a por tion of their lives to service. Whether that is three years or 25 years is not as impor tant as the commitment made to our nation and fel low man. Both periods of service are honorable. Real soldiers sacrifice many of their freedoms and comforts to protect and de fend our nation against all enemies both foreign and domestic. Real soldiers pledge their talents to mili tary teams to be combat ready should our president need us. Real soldiers protect our citizens so that they may pursue their rights to life, lib erty and the pursuit of hap piness. Real soldiers are nothing like Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was a murderer and a terrorist. McVeigh was no soldier. Captain Snider Battalion subscriber 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 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (979) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com CARTOON OF THE DAY TV-Vc RteONTvvf-