C
Monday, December 8, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
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Dancing to the beat of a different drummer
Department wants to snare new teacher
By Coryanne Graham Special to the Kansan
Percussion students at the University of Kansas might be playing solo next semester.
For the first time in almost three decades, the University's only percussion instructor will take a sabbatical during the Spring 1998 semester.
Although students already have enrolled in percussion lessons and percussion ensemble for next semester, replacement instructors have not been chosen.
"I know there are some people who need the requirement, and they are worried about not having a teacher," said Carl Nelson, graduate student in percussion performance.
George Boberg, professor of percussion, will be building a repertoire for percussion instruments from wind-ensemble and concertband literature next semester. He will not teach classes even though he will continue to live in Lawrence.
Nelson, the only graduate student in percussion performance, will teach Percussion Media, an introductory class. The percussion ensemble tentatively has been canceled for next semester.
Boberg said percussion lessons would be offered for students who need the lessons to meet graduation requirements. But he doesn't know who will teach them.
Bob Little, Ottawa junior, needs eight semesters of percussion lessons to graduate with a music education degree. He said he was worried but understood it was the University's responsibility to find an instructor during Boberg's sabbatical.
To apply for sabbatical, KU professors submit a grant application
users submit a grant application
If a faculty member takes a sabbatical for one semester, he or she retains 100 percent of that semester's salary. If a professor wants to take a yearlong sabbatical, he or she will receive half of that year's salary. The department is required to find a replacement teacher without the use of extra funds.
Stephen Anderson, chairman of the Music and Dance department, said a conservative way to solve the problem of finding a replacement would be to reject the grant application, but he didn't think that would be the right thing to do.
by the fall preceding the academic year in which the professor wants to take the sabbatical. The application must be approved by a University committee and sometimes a department or school committee.
1.
Professors at the University can apply for a yearlong or semester-long sabbatical every seven years. Next semester will be the first time Boberg has taken the paid leave of absence to do research.
A yearlong sabbatical leaves the department the remaining half of the professor's salary, which can be used as payment for a replacement teacher. Anderson said professors usually took semester-long sabbaticals, leaving none of the professor's salary for a replacement instructor.
With no funding for a replacement teacher, choices are limited to graduate students and other professors at the University. But graduate students are not permitted to teach lessons at the college level, and many of the professors at the University have limited knowledge of percussion.
Nelson said if funding was available, he thought it would be nice if a member of the Kansas City Symphony could teach in Boberg's place.
"There is no way we could put someone unqualified in this position," Anderson said.
A real bird-brained idea
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Polly want an education?
Bird brains are different than those of advanced mammals, catching the interest of neurologists, psychologists and others.
Maybe Polly doesn't need one. New research seems to indicate that parrots, like chimps and dolphins, are capable of mastering complex intellectual concepts that children cannot grasp until age 5.
Irene Pepperberg is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist who studies parrots at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has focused her studies on a parrot she bought at a Chicago pet store in 1977.
Pet experts meeting in Chicago today for the American Veterinary Association's annual animal welfare forum think the parrot's intelligence is why the popularity of the bird has grown faster than any other pet during the past decade.
That bird, Alex, can name 50 objects when shown them, recognizes colors, knows numbers up to eight and understands the concepts of same and different.
"All of the tests we've done with dolphins and great apes to investigate their intelligence, we've done with Alex," Pepperbell said. "He scored as well as they did in many of them, better in some."
But intelligence may not always
Quiz yourself
Dailey to offer sexuality class off campus in the spring
True or False?
1. Recent studies have found that parrots can understand complex ideas.
2. Many people keep parrots as pets because the birds grow faster than most other animals
For those who have not had time for human sexuality during the fall semester, there is hope for the spring.
By Anna Attkisson Special to the Kansan
3. Pepperberg taught her bira to say the names of objects and to recognize colors.
4. The brainy bird has learned to act just like a great ape.
5. Pepperberg's educated pet scraped as well as or better than chimps on intelligence tests.
Enrollment is open for Dennis Dailey's class, Human Sexuality in Everyday Life, which will hold at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Oread Ave., next semester.
BONUS: In order to earn a parrot's love, it is necessary to teach the bird how to speak and count.
Experts say parrots are domineering and sometimes difficult to understand. Although the bird can live up to 80 years, many people give up these pets after the first five years.
Liz Wilson, a parrot behavior consultant from Philadelphia, said she's heard of cases where people come home feeling blue and their parrot asks them outright, "Is something wrong?"
"This class is designed as a condensed version of the class I teach in the fall semester," said
Dailev, pro-
Answer Key:
"You have to earn their love. I like that," she said.
equal a good pet.
fessor of social welfare. "This is a special opportunity for students to examine issues of sexuality." Dailey said the class was an alternative for KU
Dailey: Will teach condensed version of fall class
who might be interested in the class but have not been able to fit it into their schedule.
The class, offered Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Jan. 15, is not for credit. Dailey said no mandatory tests or assignments would be given.
"If people want to do the reading, they can. Some people even take this class after they take the one for credit," said Thad Holcombe, director of campus ministries at ECM.
Enrollment is unlimited and open to the community. The class costs $30 for KU students and $40 for nonstudents. In past sessions, students' ages have ranged from 17 to 72 years old.
"We don't really limit the students," Holcombe said. "We usually run 90 to 100 people. It is a good mix of international and regular students and is open to all religions."
During the 10 sessions, students watch films and discuss topics related to human sexuality.
"Students in the 10 classes get exposed to a little less than half of what is covered in the regular class," Dailey said. "We see a fair number of films. We cover physiology, anatomy and masturbation."
The class is sponsored by ECM, Lutheran Campus Ministries and the Canterbury House. But Dailey said the sponsorship did not influence the class content.
"The ECM is deeply committed to providing classes for students, and one area of concern is human sexuality." Dailey said. "The course isn't religiously or theologically influenced."
"I think sexuality is not only physiological; it is the way we make a connection with our world." Holcombe said.
Holcombe said the class was not a conflict of interest for the organization.
The spring class began four years ago when the Social Welfare department limited the class to Fall semesters.
BUY
Students may enroll at ECM, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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