16
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, November 20, 1968
Undergrads teaching classmates
(Continued from page 1)
Glenn Taliaferro, El Dorado senior, is one of the undergraduate teachers. He is in charge of the lecture section of a petroleum engineering class—a position he got last summer when a professor became ill.
Not only his lecture, but the course's laboratory sections are taught by independent undergraduates, instructors said.
She concedes, however, that "often times, students know more about a particular area and force me to look up answers to their questions."
They, like other undergraduate teachers, say they enjoy the work and find the student-to-teacher transition easy to make although their students are their own age, classmates and, in many instances, good friends.
"It has been a good learning experience for me," says Wendy Berg, Mission junior and zoology lab assistant.
Joseph J. Semrow, of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, echoed other accrediting associ-
tion spokesmen, saying, "Our policy is related to regular faculty hiring."
He said, however, "We expect them (regular faculty) to be professionally trained; qualified to teach either by experience or degree."
Semrow and others agreed,
"The student assistants should be under the supervision of senior instructors whom they assist in preparing exams, quizzes and lectures."
While many department heads and many faculty members approve of the undergraduate teaching program, the undergraduates employed apparently would be hard-pressed to find teaching positions anywhere else in Kansas.
The Kansas State Department of Education requires both a 4-year degree, either a B.S. or A.B. in education, and a teaching certificate to teach in public schools—but not in colleges.
Dr. Robert D. Ramsey, assistant of instruction at Lawrence High School, said:
"Our instructors must be certified by meeting educational requirements. The state law says 'no to' hiring of persons without a teaching certificate."
Linda Burton, Mission junior, who previously was taught by graduate students, said she felt she had been cheated.
She said they plan to go to their home in Minnesota in June for nine months while Wescoe writes.
With the employment of undergraduates, the age-old gripe of graduate teaching takes on a new perspective.
"My parents are financing my education and I felt like I wasn't getting what they paid for," she said.
Carn Gentry, Lawrence sophomore, said she is satisfied with her Western Civilization course taught by a senior, but feels most undergraduates are not qualified to teach.
"We will spend the next three months traveling in the orient and probably won't take an apartment in New York until a year from this June," she said.
Mrs. Wescoe said her husband's appointment will be full-time and will not permit him to work at another occupation.
"Some of them couldn't teach my little brother to write his name." she said.
(Continued from page 1)
Wescoe
A junior in education said she felt employment of undergraduates was unfair.
Chancellow Wescoe flew to Lawrence from New York early yesterday morning and then boarded a plane for a meeting in Garden City.
Members of the coordinating committee who resigned are Berkowitz, Jay Barrish, Kansas City, Mo., graduate student; Don Jenkins, Kansas City, Mo., junior; Michael Maher, associate professor of zoology, and John Naramore, Wichita senior. Atkinson resigned as press coordinator.
(Continued from page 1)
"I'm taking education courses so I can teach someday. These students are teaching now on a college level without educational training," said Jen Clader of Winnetka, Ill.
While the chemistry department requires a training program at the beginning of the semester for undergraduate teaching chemistry II, the departments of chemical engineering, biology and zoology do not sponsor a training period.
tential in undergraduates that hasn't been utilized. Undergraduates bring enthusiasm and a vitality to the classroom which is unique," said Robert P. Cobb, assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Cobb said selection of the students is based on the number of hours accumulated in their major field, and past performance in course work.
Hiring of undergraduates in the zoology and biology departments is preceded by faculty nomination of outstanding students in addition to student interest, spokesmen said. Other departments solicit aid and rely on student response.
Several KU professors said, however, they are pleased with the teaching performance by the undergraduates and point out they are hired to gain experience before graduation.
"Personal attention is needed at some level. It is often lost as teaching becomes like habit," he said.
"There is a great deal of po-
Department heads said the juniors and seniors work on an equal basis with graduate students, the only difference being salary. Teaching assignments are determined by qualification and faculty request, and in some cases are made irrespective to the grade level.
"Often faculty members request undergraduates, giving both graduates and undergraduates equal opportunity to teach advanced courses," said Philip S. Humphrey, chairman of the zoology department.
"The bright undergraduate mixing in the graduate program puts graduate students on a mental alertness," Armitage said. "Undergraduate are more enthusiastic, become more deeply involved and at the same time solve the teaching responsibility of the department."
Why Do
Words
Fail You?
A noted publisher in Chicago reveals a remarkedly effective method for building a working knowledge of over 2,000 powerful, expressive words quickly and easily.
People unable to express themselves effectively often lose many business and social opportunities. Others who use their vocabulary improperly, subject themselves to ridicule and cause others to misunderstand what they mean.
We need a good vocabulary, says the publisher, to understand more clearly what we read and hear, to think with greater clarity and logic, and to express ourselves more effectively when we speak or write. A command of words instills confidence in one's ability to speak convincingly and impress others with one's knowledge and understanding.
To acquaint the readers of this paper with the easy-tofollow rules for developing a large vocabulary, the publishers have printed full details of their interesting self-training method in a new booklet, "Adventures in Vocabulary," which will be mailed free to anyone who requests it. No obligation. Send your name, address, and zip code to: Vocabulary Studies, 835 Diversey Parkway, Dept. 167-010, Chicago, Ill 60614. A postcard will do.
Dwight Boring* says...
Q. Where can a college man get the most for his life insurance dollars?
A. From College Life Insurance Company's famous policy, THE BENEFACTOR!
2. How come?
A. Only college men are insured by College Life and college men are preferred risks. Call me and I'll give you a fill in on all nine of The Benefactor's big benefits. No obligation, of course.
*Dwight Boring
209 Providence Lawrence, Kansas Phone V1 2-0767
representing
THE COLLEGE LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY
OF AMERICA
...the only Company selling exclusively to College Men