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PAGE 7A
JOBS
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Neal Doolin, a senior from Shawnee, poses with a board he made for his advanced physics class that he teaches at Lawrence High School. Doolin teaches two classes every day.
Budget cuts to affect students with futures in K-12 education
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
School budget cuts, larger class sizes and a greater use of technology all mean University students returning to the classroom as K-12 educators will see a significantly different school system as teachers than they did as students.
While Kansas saw a slight increase to state K-12 funding this year, overall state funding for schools has decreased by 13.2 percent since 2007 when adjusted for inflation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Cassie Absher, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., said that, as a result of these cuts, class sizes have increased. Absher, who aspires to teach middle school earth and space science, has observed how this makes giving attention to individual students more difficult.
"Students who struggle, who are lower performers, who have learning differences or who are English language learners are the most hurt by larger class sizes," Absher said.
Along with greater class sizes, less school funding results in decreased materials budgets and a wider wage disparity between teachers and fellow professionals, said Steven Case, director of The
Center for Science Education at the University.
"Long term, school cuts can drive teachers out," Case said. "The primary reasons people leave are because of working conditions and pay gap."
Students in the University's UKAnTeach program can pursue degrees in STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — while becoming certified to teach these subjects as part of their degrees. Case said these students can teach or work in a STEM field. Teaching positions can pay between $15,000 to $20,000 less annually than a STEM job outside the education field. Case said.
Fifty percent of teachers leave after their first three years, Case said.
For Neal Doolin, a senior from Shawnee, teaching science is still his preference, even with his degree in physics. Despite a smaller salary, Doolin thinks finding a job will not be difficult, even with budget cuts.
"School districts pay new teachers less," Doolin said. "They will get a few older teachers to retire earlier and hire new teachers."
Kyle Consovler, a senior for Lawrence who is student teaching mathematics at Lawrence High
School, said he has not seen cuts drastically affect the classroom.
"White boards and dry erase markers are as available now as they were four years ago," Consovler said.
Consolver thinks teaching to the new standards for state assessments poses the biggest challenge for teachers. Kristin Capps, a senior from Lawrence who is student teaching mathematics at Free State High School, said the use of technology has increased in the classroom despite budget cuts.
"Now we have smart boards where teachers can prepare the whole lesson in a notebook file and have all of the equations or proofs written out already for the whole lesson," Capps said. "That greatly cuts down the time the teacher has their back to the students."
Despite a changing teaching environment, Capps still looks forward to being a teacher, just like her grandfather, a University alumnus, who taught for 50 years.
"I saw how easy it was for learners to understand him and trust him and I wanted to be able to have that same impact on learners too," Capps said.
Edited by Brian Sisk
ASHI FIGH LFF/KANSAN
Doolin explains a board he made for his advanced physics class that he teaches at Lawrence High School.
Kansans to conserve water TOPEKA — State officials say the intense drought that's hit Kansas could continue and force expensive water production projects and conservation efforts.
Gov. Brownback urges
back's Drought Response Team how the drought could dry out Cheney Reservoir by 2015 if it continues.
dustry and Kansans to conserve water and that cities will need to work on developing and improving water sources.
State climatologist Mary Knapp says the drought that's hit Kansas could continue for several more years.
Brownback also suggested starting publicity campaigns asking farmers to consider planting less water-intensive crops.
The governor's call to action came after Wichita officials showed Brown-
The Wichita Eagle reports that Gov. Sam Brownback said Friday the state should work to convince farmers, in-
STATE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
International Space Station delivery overcomes difficulty
Associated Press
NATION
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Friday. The rocket, which contained more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments, transported the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
To NASA's relief, the SpaceX company's Dragon capsule pulled up to the orbiting lab with all of its systems in perfect order. Station astronauts used a hefty robot arm to snare the unmanned Dragon, and three hours later, it was bolted into place.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private Earth-to-orbit delivery service made good on its latest shipment to the International Space Station on Sunday, overcoming mechanical difficulty and delivering a lot of supplies with high-flying finesse.
The Dragon's arrival couldn't have been sweeter — and not because of the fresh fruit on board for the six-man station crew. Coming a full day late, the 250-mile-high linkup above Ukraine culminated a two-day chase that got off to a shaky, almost dead-starting.
Moments after the Dragon reached orbit Friday, a clogged pressure line or stuck valve prevented the timely release of the solar panels and the crucial firing of small maneuvering rockets. SpaceX flight controllers struggled for several hours before gaining control of the capsule and salvaging the mission.
"As they say, it's not where you start, but where you finish that counts," space station commander Kevin Ford said after capturing the Dragon, "and you guys really finished this one on the mark."
He added: "We've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done. So congratulations to all of you."
family orchard.
The Dragon will remain at the space station for most of March before returning to Earth with science samples, empty food containers-and old equipment.
Among the items on board: 640 seeds of a flowering weed used for research, mouse stem cells, food and clothes for the six men on board the space station, trash bags, computer equipment, air purifiers, spacewalking tools and batteries. The company also tucked away apples and other fresh treats from an employee*
This is the third time, however, that a Dragon has visited the space station. The previous capsules had no trouble reaching their destination. Company officials promise a thorough investigation into what went wrong this time; if the maneuvering thrusters had not been activated, the capsule would have been lost.
The California-based SpaceX run by billionaire Elon Musk has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to keep the station well stocked. The contract calls for 12 supply runs; this was the second in that series:
Ford said everything about Sunday's rendezvous ended up being "fantastic."
"There sure were some big smiles all around here," NASAs
Mission Control replied from Houston.
Proclaimed SpaceX on its web site: "Hanpv Berth Daw."
In a tweet following Friday's nerve-racking drama, Musk said, "just want to say thanks to (at) NASA for being the world's coolest customer. Looking forward to delivering the goods!"
Musk, who helped create PayPal, acknowledged Friday that the problem — the first ever for an orbiting Dragon — was "frightening." But he believed it was a one-time glitch and nothing so serious as to impel futile missions. The 41-year-old entrepreneur, who also runs the electric car maker Tesla, oversaw the entire operation from Hawthorne, Calif., home to SpaceX and the company's Mission Control.
The Dragon's splashdown in the Pacific, off the Southern California coast, remains on schedule for March 25.