A publication for aliiitini, panm-
and friend!- of the unircrsiti/.
Winter 1990
UNCW
education in N.v
I
I
Education: the challenge set before us
/V
A
HhiBTacy
,,H..dnessirwg!ve2SSl
C AT scores >n N g.
Preparing our children for the 21st century
Discussion
by society
a^actiotvtequest^
NO
Fact: 23 million Americans are function
ally illiterate.
Fact; Nearly 30 percent of American
students fail to graduate.
Fact: Four-and-a-half million students
are currently at risk of not becoming
productive members of society.
These statistics, reported in a special seg-
ment of the magazine Electronic Learning,
(represent the casualities of education in
[America's public schools. We must then ask
[ourselves, "What is the legacy of our chil-
1 dren?" "What will they leave behind?" So
queries Bob Tyndall, assistant dean of
UNCW's School of Education.
Resolving the problems of today's
schools requires support from all segments
of society. Business plays an important
role. Take for example, RJR Nabisco
Inc. and its pledge of $30 million to
promote innovative changes in schools
throughout the country.
It is in the best interests of business to see
that students are better educated, said Louis
V.Gerstner Jr., chairman and chief executive
officer of RJR Nabisco. Investment in human
capital is essential, he said.
"We must (also) reinvest parents with the
primary responsibility of parenting and our stu-.
dents with the primary responsibility of learn-,
ing," Tyndall said.
Roy Harkin, dean of UNCW's School of Edu-.
cation added, 'Teachers must be provided suffi
cient levels of authority to define a path t0|
excellence. That authority should extend to,
matters of curriculum, instructional practice,
and control over resources such as time, person
nel, space, and material. 'The path to excel
lence must be defined by those who travel it,"
said Harkin.
Many of these "pathfinders" learn the mean
ing of excellence through programs at UNCW.
"Obviously our principle mission is to provide
excellent programs of teacher preparation, both
at the undergraduate and graduate level," said
Harkin. "We see that as our primary form of
service to the region and the state."
From desks to disks
The demands placed on today's schools and
schoolteachers require new programs and cur
riculum components. Teachers now must under
stand the concepts of technology and be able to
apply them in sophisticated ways, said Hathia
Hayes, chairperson of the department of curricu
lar studies in UNCW's School of Education. The
use of computers as instructional tools is a
primary example.
Jim Dezell, general manager of IBM Educa
tional Systems, was quoted in Electronic
Learning as saying "computers will allow
teachers to become managers of the education
al process, creating an educational environment
in which children are doing self-discovery and
learning on their own ...
"I think the most powerful form of learning is
discovery learning. If I discover it for myself, it is
mine. If you tell me what it is, it is yours and \
may or may not accept it - but it's never mine...
put the child in control of learning . .
please turn to page 16
UNCW grad teaches Navajo Indian students
Del Glasgow, 2nd row, 2nd from left, graduated from UNCW in 1980. She’s seen
here with her students at Tuba City Junior High School, Arizona.
Without a doubt, America is becoming in
creasingly sophisticated in its methods of teach
ing. Challenging textbooks, more modern build
ings, and the computer invasion dominate our
educational airways. As a result of these "luxu
ries", our educational system is evolving and
progressing.
Yet, a progressive educational system has
yet to arrive in the Native American community.
But a UNCW graduate is trying to change all
of that. Del Glasgow '80, is teaching at Tuba
City Junior High School in Arizona. The school is
located on a Navajo Indian reservation and is
part of the Arizona public school system. Glas
gow teaches 7th-grade physical and earth sci
ences and 8th-grade biology.
Distinctions
Glasgow believes an appreciation for disci
pline separates Indian students from other stu
dents. 'The kids have a different attitude," said
Glasgow. 'They have a lot more respect for
teachers."
Unlike overcrowding in many of our nation's
schools, Glasgow said the average size of a
reservation classroom is about 20 students. This
makes for good student management, she said.
But the smaller class size has not produced
good results as far as educating Native Ameri
cans are concerned. Indian children are, for the
most part, poorly educated, said Glasgow. Ac
cording to the Iowa City (Arizona) Test, a stan
dard achievement test, American Indians score
below the 50 percentile in math, reading, and
the language arts. Glasgow said that some 7th
and 8th graders she has taught cannot even
identify an inch on a ruler.
This sad commentary can be partially attrib
uted to the cavalier attitude many instructors
have toward the students. "Most of the teach
ers (on the reservation) are here on a transient
basis," said Glasgow. 'They come here because
they have nowhere else to go." She added that
some teachers come to the reservation with the
mission of "saving the poor Indians," while
others, being in unfamiliar surroundings, exper
ience culture shock.
The condescending attitudes expressed by
some of these teachers become counterproduc
tive and result in negative feelings the kids have
toward school.
Glasgow added that the administrators of
some schools are at fault too. Finger-pointing
pervades the school system, she said. More
knowledgeable people with practical exper-
please turn to page 12
UNCW Chancellor
announces
retirement plans
William H. Wagoner, fourth president of
VWlmlngton College and the only chancellor of
the University of North Carolirta at Wilmington, •
has announced his plans to retire effective July
%vl990 or #en a successor is in place.
Wagoner, 62, told the UNCW Board of Trust
ees at their regular quarterly meeting January
10 that he had decided to retire early to make
way for "physically vigorous and visionary"
leadership to take this institution through this
decade and into the 21st century.
Although he suffered a heart attack in April
1989, Wagoner said that he feels good and had
not made this decision due to illness. However,
it was after his illness last spring that he began
thinking "more and more about the opportuni
ties and challenges facing this university during
the 1990s," Wagoner told the board.
'This last decade before the year 2000 will
be critical to the long range future of this, the
university that I love most of all," he said.
"Leadership which is vigorous, with vision, pa
tience, and tenacity is critical if the dreams that
we dream are to come true.;;
C.D. Spangler Jr., president of the UNC sys
tem, will meet with the UNCW Board of Trust
ees Febmary 1 to begin the search process for
Wagoner's successor.