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Issue 14, Volume 77
LECTURE
Prof critiques No Child Left Behind Author calls for educational reform, more resources for American schools in lecture Ryan Rockett
THE DAILY COUGAR In a country with middling educational rankings on a global scale, UH professor Gary Dworkin said that a decreased emphasis on standardized testing and higher accountability standards are necessary to improve national education in the wake of the controversial No Child Left Behind program.
The professor and co-author of the 1991 book “Giving Up on School: Student Dropouts and Teacher Burnouts” presented, in an appearance on Wednesday in the Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall room 232, information reflecting the negative results of the 2001 educational reform initiative during his lecture titled “Some Unintended Consequences of the Standards-Based Reform Movement”. “I think that educational reform is needed, but I don’t believe that No Child Left Behind is the answer as it’s implemented,” Dworkin said. “I think we need a national curriculum and national testing but we don’t want tests to be the only thing
by which we evaluate children or schools. Struggling schools need more resources; they don’t need to be shut down.” Dworkin cited a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress identifying 36 percent of Texas 8th graders at below basic competency levels in science and 26 percent below basic competency in reading. Dworkin then showed survey information supporting the notion that floundering statistics and poor teaching practices have been exacerbated by programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. Dworkin said that the two educational reform initiatives impose “draconian
punishments” upon under-performing campuses, which results in schools instead that try “gaming the system.” “No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top assume that through threats and sanctions the school districts, campus administrators and teachers will work harder and help students raise their achievement scores through legitimate means,” Dworkin said. “However, in a hierarchy of distrust, schools focus on the appearance of desired outcomes and not necessarily their actual attainment.” Dworkin listed encouragement of EDUCATION continues on page 3
ARTIST TALK
SOCCER
Center for the Arts to host waste management artist
Cougars lace up, go for indoor gold at Mini World Cup
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts will host New York maintenance artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles for an artist talk at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Dudley Recital Hall of the UH Fine Arts Building. She will discuss her life as an artist in the New York Sanitation Department creating works that challenge the issues of waste management. UH art history assistant professor Jenni Sorkin will moderate the event, which will be followed by a discussion with UH resident artists Zach Moser and Eric Leshinsky. Leshinsky and Moser co-created the Shrimp Boat Projects, a creative research project that investigates the culture of the Houston area through art. The talk is free and open to the public; for more information, contact Nicole Laurent at nclaurent@uh.edu. — Jennifer Postel
CAMPUS
US Department of State to discuss career opportunities In keeping up with the series of events for International Education Week, the International Student and Scholar Services Office is hosting a career opportunity event from 3 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the World Affairs Lounge in the University Center Underground. Donna Blair, UH Diplomat in Residence and career member of the Senior Foreign Service, will discuss career opportunities in the U.S. Department of State. The event is open to all students, faculty and staff. For more information, contact ISSSO at 713-743-5065. — Zahra Ahmed
Edgar Veliz
THE DAILY COUGAR Teams of students representing different countries came together on Saturday at Melcher Gymnasium to test their skills at the UH Mini World Cup. The event brought together 10 teams to play more than 20 games in a seven hour period for two purposes: To bring awareness to a niche campus activity and to generate interest in a new club on campus. “We’ve had a ton of people come out and support it, and that’s my favorite part,” said Julian Gomez, a marketing major. “We are also generating a bunch of interest because a lot of people did not know that there was an indoor team forming.” Gomez added that organizing with the tournament brought numerous benefits as he continued to develop the team. Jose Pablo Ramirez, a management information systems major who has worked at previous Mini World Cups, elaborated on the benefits and origin of the tournament. “We organized this tournament for numerous reasons; economically, we want to help pay for some of the expenses that come with forming a club, like jerseys, equipment and everything else,” Ramirez said.
Students represented their country of choice as they competed in the UH Mini World Cup on Saturday, a soccer tournament organized to generate interest in the sport and get people involved on campus. | Johnny Peña/The Daily Cougar “We got together and decided to change it a little, so we brought it (the tournament) indoors. Ultimately, we organized it to generate interest in the indoor soccer club here on campus.” The tournament was also used as a scouting event. As the indoor soccer club
developed, Ramirez and Gomez agreed that a tournament of this magnitude would be an ideal way to gather players. “We scout the games and if we notice someone special, we’ll send them an email so that we can contact them for future events and meetings,” Ramirez said.
“This is also why we’re trying to make money, so we can alleviate some of the economic pressure that comes with joining a team. It’s more appealing when you have good equipment to offer and a low membership fee.” WORLD CUP continues on page 3