The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 106

The Commwrial Appeal Memphis Sunday Octobsr 9 1988 Deibel is tea 'V the Apple ripe? C-- 11 part of what it takas Carnegie Foundation chief Ernest Boyer in fw 1 for the teacher and the students however The microprocessor has become today's status symbol in American education Sales of both hardware and software what used to be called computer programs are soaring as virtually every district in the country wrestles with the meaning of computer literacy and its place in the classroom is a testament to the community says program director Moore States such as California and Minnesota which pioneered statewide programs are as rich in technical resources as per-capita wealth he says And the Houston schools have used their big-as-Texas tax base to regear an entire educational system to the new technologies 1-1 By MARY DEIBEL WASHINGTON When Steve Owens was president of Ifesslck High Schools Class of 73 he went to the theneuperintendent of the Memphis schools in behalf of three whiz kids who wanted computer time Ten years later Messick is gone but Memphis is "in the forefront of bringing computers into the classroom" accordlns to David Moore the schools' director of computer education Moore recently told a House science and technology subcommittee on which Owens serves as counsel about the computer curriculum from kinder- his report on America's high schools warns that the same computer firms pushing tax credits cautious about developing dost ffllm "are software market a A final focus of federal concern is the growing gap between i rich and poor students and schools in computer education The National Science Foundation recently found that wealthy -schools are four times more likely 1 to have computers than their poor counterparts a finding Tennes- seel Gore and others call "un-: questionably disturbing" THE DIFFERENCE "threatens1 to separate groups and communl- ties oy giving some people more effective tools for living in the computer age" according to Ronald Anderson one of two Minnesota professors who did the NSF study For that reason alone he and others say Washington and the states must work to lessen the disparity Peripatetic governors PTA bake sales and the like can do their best to buy computers for classrooms but by themselves they cant bring equality to i puter education 14 policy school board level to Washington lawmakers Last year Rep A1 Gore Jr (D-Tenn) chairman of the House subcommittee that held last ipul its for donating hardware to latma schools A similar measure is planned this year Alexander who favors state and local initiatives in education and has joined in "walkathons" to help public schools in the state buy computers says such legislation is one way the federal gov- eminent can lend support He recalls "Last year I wrote every Republican senator" asking hi the tax BllL is only a slow start 1 oung new ad Gov Lamar Alexander were rejected until this year when the pressures of reforms federal coi dered by federal courts and overcrowding at Parchman combined to break legislative resistance have taken 10 years for It may havi the ideas' time to arrive but it did the state Building Commission moved rapidly choosing the Rankin County site in June and awarding the first for rough rite grading late last month Commission officials say the site work should take 80 to 90 days and they hope to have some concrete on the ground in January when the Legislature begins its new term The 8252 million complex planned as a center for toting and screening inmates coming into the correctional system and a housing unit was the centerpiece of a 851 million prison building program approved by the Legislature after a heated ite dispute that lasted losing hours until ht rlnring tended 1983 awton- of the ex- WHILE OFFICIALS in Green ville and McComb lobbied extensively for the new complex it drew heated opposition from Rankin County officials who threatened to go to court to stop construction if the site near the State Whitfield were select-Buildlng Commission panel on a split vote lngs begin on Clinton's latest finance formula until Friday ground agreed in June to build the pro-? cessing facility at Whitfield afid the promised lawsuit neves materialized While much of the attention has been focused on the Ranking County facility Building Commas- sion officials say work on other 'i phases of the construction pro-' gram are progressing on jq schedule A contract has been awarded -V for construction of a new SOOdo man minimum-security uniC'atK Parchman and renovation of th old Parchman Hospital is firthe'V with planning stage with the wdrtt garten through 12th grade a priority set by Supt WwTHerentona year ago April uputei Com junior prominently in the 1 Elan proposed by Tennessee Gov amar Alexander His skills first computer skills next" approach calls for spending S2J million the first year and $7 million the second on computer education with 80 per cent of the money going for computer hardware or the machinery itself MEMPHIS AND Tennessee alone in pushing an Apple Reel By GUY REEL LITTLE ROCK By all accounts the special legislative session that began last week got off to a sluggish start Gov Hill Clinton who urged legislators to move with dispatch on his education and revenue program didn't exactly assist that process with an intermittent method of filing bills In some mbadi sponsors for his measures was rebuffed by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee when he requested that the committee endorse several pieces of legislation THE MAJOR portions of Clinton's education and revenue package were in hand but legislators still found themselves with little to do on Wednesday when the House was in session for less than half an hour On Thursday the House convened for a couple of hours but no action was taken on any bills Instead legislators filled the lary Rodham Clinton the gover- nor's wife and head of a commission which drafted new school standards for Arkansas On Friday the Senate didn't meet and the House scheduled a morning session that was de-signed to have them finished by noon Too debate on some so-called measures and few expected a quick approv- there Once the formula is approved and if it is acceptable to key legislators who will largely be responsible for the tax package the rest of the session could come to a rajMclose Although an in- the sales tax from 3 to 4 percent and a hike in the corporate income tax by 1 percentage sage formula forget it THE CORPORATE Income tax which increases from 6 to 7 per- itlohs cent the rate on coproral earning over $100000 and would generate about $108 million is the least likely revenue bUl to succeed For one thing it takes a three-fourths vote of both houses scheduled to go to bid shortly ll after the first of the year Contracts should be let'fbr6- ft to pass For another it hits a contemporary schooling Ides worry that computers may lust be one more "newfan-' idea" when basics are need- gled ed Education Secretary Terrel Bell recently told the House sub-sfeell added that "the committee computer however has great potential for accomplishing the best in well-disciplined rigorous mastery of learning" Other experts concur For them computers demand even sharper problem-solving skills for students and the sort of training that will serve them throughout their personal and profession-al lives Despite studies predicting a SO percent rise in computer-related jobs by 1990 educators researchers parents pupils and politicians agree that the last thing a computer curriculum should do is to make every child a computer programmer That Memphis would beatra be a trail blazer in bringing computers to off to a has been lengthy in Education Committee came close to amending the meat I requiring that school districts adopt discipline policies and pareni policies are aware of what those The committee nearly removed a provision in the bill which requires districts to document notification of parents and students on discipline policies Later in the week the full Senate debated the measure at length before finally approving it on a 33-2 vote without the amendment BUT ITS STILL too early to tell just how long the special session will be for legislators have shown they can accomplish a lot in a very short period when they set their minds to it The Senate Education Committee proved that when it ap- jrovi ed proposed with ver funding formula with very Utile The formula which remains the most important part of the education rek-age is at least as controversial as Clinton's proposed tax increases The education quick action doesn't mean the full Senate will act with the same haste there are a number of amendments to the bill brewing and the measure could be held up for some time In the House hear- Elvis still the one ITS DEEP INTO the 1983 United Way campaign and volunteers probably think they've heard every excuse known to man from people who are keeping their pocketbooks dosed But a new one The manager of one Memphis upany refused to see United Way volunteers because he dlsa- grees with the gun control policy While that excuse puzzled the volunteer who approached the company the manager had apparently done his homework Lila i Burke executive director of the Memphis YWCA said the national YWCA has a public poli cy statement in support of gun said the local controL And she YWCA is "supported largely by United The excuse also closed the door on any other volunteers probably Just drop it" the volunteer said haven't haven't given anything in the last five years anyway NOTHING SF-KVS to faze politicians during election week Regardless of the cohversatlon those skilled at the art of running some cases school 1 1: I -ft a L5 XA VI Brosnan Backdrop roamer says -'city's doing fine renovation work on Unit 16 in March or ApriL tracts for similar work onthL- aHwiliiMpatlAw KniMlnA 'A administration building contracts probably will be awato-' ed during the summer GEARING UP FOR anothfcV legislative session the Building Commission has developed a "wish list" which llkely will put on hold until the money shortage is over JJ Included on that new list is "Round of the decentralize-'-tion program a 500-man unit! proposed for the Gulf Coastin' too was first proposed in the Mas- ter Plan for Corrections in sippi a study offered to the Legls-)i lature 10 years ago Vj-if ov -vn: -r-rvtii the boom S'W 14 Unfortunately Alexander conv tinues to Insist that his bettef -I schools plan shouldn't cost locaf- governments any more mopeyiV thus providing proportionately proportionate: less benefits to dtizens like" those in Memphis who hfcve-3 taxed and sacrificed to support the schools than those who refuse" to properly back their student! Yet he is not shy about sng- Resting that the 10-member book Commission impose foorsi uniformity in the textbook seleov tion process or perhaps by Until ing the number of textboos-' available to local schools in eaptyg subject Are we preparing children tp stay in Tennessee or preparing them to be in the world tlons Dr Merlin Cohen a membef of the commission and the Unldn City School Board By JAMES YOUNG WHITFIELD Miss Whenever ground is broken for a new industry It usually means there will be a line of dignitaries hold-1 shovels as they lng gold-painted pose for the public relations photographer Tomorrow on a gently rolling site there will be a groundbreaking without ceremony for Rankin County's newest Industry Local politicians won't be smiling even on the more though the plant going up 70-acre tract will create than 200 Jobs with an annual payroll of about 84 million Bulldozers from the Morton Construction Co are expected to begin pushing dirt for tne industry that Rankin County resisted and other communities wanted a 505-bed reception and diagnostic unit for inmates assigned to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections Even though politicians won't mark the historic occasion with a speech when the dozer blade first nits the ground it will be making history ABOUT 60 YEARS alter the state's prison farm system was abolished and all the in slppl Penitentiary at Parchman win begin the de- the bulldozer centralization of the prison Decentralization and the Rankin County site were ideas first broached 10 years ago But they and stopped to ponder the problem After a few minutes he and the male security guard tried to get the young man to his feet When that work they- dragged him outside to the sidewalk on Poplar He lay on his back breathing deeply ly call ai lance?" somebody call an ambu- "Aw he's just some body said offering no sympathy He just wants to get in one of the security guards said seeming to take that as a reason that he be allowed in the jalL A police sergeant walked by took a look and kept on walking don't look like no wino" a well-dressed woman said He He was wearing a clean T-shirt and fairly new jeans and was between 25 and 30 years Old Eventually the young man roused himself He slowly to his feet and began We all cowboys We all He tried to go back into the justice center but the security guards wouldn't let im- A WELL-KNOWN education figure will soon be returning to Memphis Shelby Counce who left after 25 years with Memphis city schools to become superinten- dent of Huntsville Ala ichoola in he will be coming back 1977 said he to Memphis after he home in Huntsville Counce 60 former city schools executive deputy superintendent is driving to Memphis once a week this semester to teach a class in the Memphis State University College of Education A teacher was needed after the death of an MSU faculty member several weeks ago Counce stepped down from the Huntsville superintendency this year but is senrlna as a consultant to the school system until June errui constituency of many legislators The proposed increase on the natural gas severance tax on the other hand has the support of Just about aU the lawmakers except those in the Northwest part of 1 of new nat- state where the price ural gas would be increased markedly Most legislators recognise that Arkansas severance tax is the lowest in the country and see now as the time to raise it for public office can always weave their political pitch into a conversation It happened this week during ire serious moment at the City arare CoundL A Memphis youth who had saved the life of a neighbor the life of a neighbor by pulling him from a burning build-hftd boon a council commendation As the apple 1 Council for the youth faded Chairman Billy Hyman was the first to make the pitch reminding the young man and his mother lived in council District 2 lust happened to be a reelection in the district Not to be outdone Oscar Edmonds an at-large member of the Council suggested they also could vote in the at-large races WORST PREDICTION: At a forum at LeMoyne- Owen College mayoral candidate Timothy Matthews was asked if he would support the black candidate if there were a runoff between a black and a white His reply: me make myself perfectly dear There is no way in the world there will be a runoff There is no way in the world I am going to lose this election" The audience responded with a roar of laughter BEING DRUNK in public is still a crime but you wouldn't have known it from the reaction of security guards sheriffs deputies and policemen at the Criminal Justice Center recently A young man obviously drunk passed out near the Traffic Violations Bureau on the first floor A security guard came over took a look and used her radio to ask for help Another guard showed up They stood around for a while trying to figure what to do next Maybe we ought to call the police roggjM deputy walked by r- hit By JAMES BROSNAN NASHVILLE Gov Lamar Alexander still awall tlve grades on his plan for select-tile sta ing me bat teachers is taking on a new picking out tne best textbooks But his early notions suggest Alwindur ntff moffi htHMWOfk on this promising but perilous tic before he launches any-as sweeping as the master Why Tennessee get publishers to write textbooks according to its standards Alexander asked the state Textbook RnmmlHnn "You've got to be kidding You don't spend was the response when the question was re peated to Don Eklund vice president of th it of the school division for the Association of American Book Publishers Alabama spent less per -r pupil child cal taxpayers for textbooks in Tennessee in 1982 according to statistics compiled from publishers by an accounting firm for the association Tennessee is two rungs below Mississippi at 81641 and 10 below Arkansas at 819 JL 1398 thaneSl contributed by state andlo- THE STATE contributed about 88 million on the S12JS million spent on textbooks in 1982 and Alexander ider is proposing to ln-that by UA million in his next budget While out on the hustings for the incentive pay bill Rep 'Steve Cobb (D-Nashville) reports finding teachers more concerned about how they have to dip into their meager salaries to buy instructional materials and even toilet paper for their jjupils because of stingy local governments Memphis which took a black from a recent article in the all Street Journal came out con siderably better in a niece in a Travel-Holi- vacation magazine day magazine that roams the globe" The article written by Atlanta writer William Schemmel after a spring visit was long on praise if snort in a few factual matters On the positive side Schemmel glowed over downtown activ ity pointing to The Peabody as 'just another indicator that Mem-mis has marched confident- back into mainstream" "If a million Memphians could speak with a single voice luce to tell the world their city's doing fine" he writes later On the "oops" side of the led- blues singer Laura Dukes oses the final from her name in the article which perhaps due to an early deadline mentions the now-defunct Dock restaurant among the riverfront eateries where Memphians "groove on jazz and Dixieland and sup on steaks and barbecued And Schemmel antlcl that press release mom be more correct than they have proved to be offered a description of then yet-to-open Beale Street as "once again a pulsating venue of music clubs cafes a Center for Southern Folklore shops street fairs and offices" John dreams are made of such On other matters however the writer seemed right on target While Schemmel was a little generous in his evaluation of Elvis Presley's decorating taste at Graceland he has hit some nails smack on the head in saying "for millions of people from Arkansas to Australia Memphis is not the Mississippi Beale Street or Handy their hearts this Southern metropolis is only Elvis" 1 Give Mud IslanH time Mr SchemmeL COHEN BELIEVES the preSehtll-system in which the commission approves a wide range of books is-'- best because it leaves the final decision up to the best person the teacher Twenty-eight states have 16 state screening process and mbst-J of the rest follow the open i like Tennessee Texas which spends 860 pm-T'-lion a year on textbooks I the local selection to five in eaeh subject That often has made Tex-i the as the focal point of battles with" dare' right-wingers and special lnt groups over textbook contehtV Eklund contends that Teus has no more aay-ao than any otlfeC state which spends large amount- for textbooks He also disputes the notion some parents and politicians that education may have i are not as cause the textbooks tough as they used to be i.