HOMEWORK:
Last week's snowstorm closed schools, buried cars and iced streets, leaving Athens immobile. City officials did a good job organizing a cleanup - no one could have anticipated the amount of snow that hit Southeast Ohio. The many cars lining city streets made cleanup difficult, but crews worked through the obstacles as best they could. Twelve-person crews worked all weekend throughout the city, while a 10-person utilities crew worked from Sunday to Monday clearing Uptown. The city made a strong effort to make streets passable for emergency vehicles. But, Athens officials should have planned better for the winter weather. Salt reserves ran low and when the city tried to order more, the shipment was meager because of the high demand for salt elsewhere. Major arteries through the city, such as roads to O'Bleness Memorial Hospital and the highways, remained impassable. Officials should develop a plan for dealing with intense winter conditions so future storms do not shut down the city so completely. Keeping salt stocked and important roadways open will ensure the city's safety no matter what the conditions outside.
HOMEWORK:
The multiple closings of all Athens County school districts is becoming a dilemma, not only for district students losing part of their summer vacation, but also for Ohio University education majors trying to graduate. The recent onset of winter weather forced the five local districts - Alexander Local, Athens City, Federal Hocking Local, Nelsonville-York City and Trimble Local - to close their doors for more than the state allotted five days, which also reduces the amount of time education majors can student teach in their classrooms. One education professor decreased her students' number of required hours from 80 to 72, but is concerned they may not have an opportunity to meet even this lower goal. Professors should not decrease the number of hours student teachers are required to work - one of the biggest problems with new teachers is their lack of experience. Students, professors and local school systems should work together to make sure OU's student teachers graduate equipped to be effective educators.
PASS:
Seven Ohio University students - the highest in 10 years - have been selected as finalists in the Fulbright scholarship U.S. student program, an award that allows students the opportunity to conduct research abroad. The finalists from OU will compete against more than 5300 nationwide candidates for 958 scholarships. To apply, the students had to first plan the specifics of an exchange program research project and find contacts that would aid in their research in the country of study. Normally the process takes about a year. Most students had professors help them with planning the research project, seeking contacts in other countries, editing their papers and writing references. These professors deserve praise for going out of their way to help students promote themselves at a nationally competitive level. Aiding students in their efforts to expand education takes time outside of class and office schedules, and not every professor would be willing to log the extra hours. Qualifying students also deserve commendation for going through the application process. By finishing as finalists for this national award, these students are promoting OU nationally.
FAIL:
Two Jackson Township police officers were suspended for a prank in which one shot a gun with blank rounds and the other pretended to be wounded. The prank scared a department clerk, who thought the .357-caliber handgun was real and that the sergeant had been shot. The sergeant now is serving an eight-day suspension for committing an unsafe act and dishonesty. Beginning Saturday, the other conspiring patrolman will serve a three-day suspension for committing an unsafe act. These officers deserve a stiffer punishment than suspension - they should be fired on the spot. Police, above all other citizens, have a responsibility to set an example for safe firearm use. Discharging weapons in the police station is not mature and could have had alarming results - had something been lodged in the gun's barrel, even if the shots were blanks, the officer could have been seriously injured. Jackson Township officials should have fired the officers for their childish actions.
HOMEWORK:
The Governor's Commission on Teaching success last week presented 15 recommendations for developing standards and evaluations systems for teachers and principals in Ohio's public school system to Gov. Bob Taft. Recommendations included adopting clear standards for what all teachers and principals should know and be able to do at all stages of their careers, establishing a statewide plan to help school districts recruit and retain high-quality educators and raising the minimum salary for beginning teachers. The commission also advised the governor to help districts develop new compensation systems linked to standards-based evaluations. While some of the commission's recommendations will help Ohio schools and should be implemented, some, such as standards-based pay, would be detrimental. Teachers will slant their lesson plans toward high proficiency test scores rather than actual education. The state legislature and Gov. Taft should invest in good teachers and work to retain them in the public school system. But it should not do so at the cost of a good education. Teachers need to be compensated for their services and jobs well done, but pay should not be linked to test scores.
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