Contact:
Philip Patton, registrar, (319) 273-2283
James O'Connor, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa is the first public university in the state to develop and use an electronic transmittal program for high school transcripts, according to Philip Patton, registrar at UNI.
“The Electronic Access System for Iowa Education Records (EASIER) system pilot program with Des Moines public high schools is now operational,” Patton said. “It gives applicants to UNI a range of advantages – First, UNI provides an immediate guarantee that the transcript has been received. Second, because of increased efficiency, UNI can give faster notification of admission. Third, electronic transcripts are automatically authenticated.”
These advantages are the results of a voluntary, cooperative effort, begun in the early `90s, among the Iowa Department of Education, the 375 public school districts and the three Regent universities. UNI has been pursuing a pilot program with the Des Moines schools since 1995.
“The success of our EASIER program is the first step in creating an electronic data communication system among public schools districts, community colleges and the Regent universities,” Patton added. “Merging data from all three levels is a formidable task. The close cooperation between the UNI Admissions, Registrar and Information Technology Services departments, and the Des Moines high schools, has led the way for similar future projects to help students throughout Iowa.”
For more information about the EASIER system, contact Patton at (319) 273-2283.
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Contact:
Rachel L. Flint, acting director, UNI Gallery of Art, (319) 273-613
James O'Connor, Director of Media Relations, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-6170
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Gallery of Art will present “Art, Design and Camouflage” from August 21 through September 14. The exhibit will feature photographs and other examples of military camouflage, designed by various artists during both World Wars.
The exhibition is curated by Roy R. Behrens, UNI professor of art, who has researched and written extensively on the historic involvement of artists in natural and military camouflage. Among the hundreds of American artists who served as wartime camouflage experts were Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Arshile Gorky and Ellsworth Kelly.
In 1981, Behrens published the book “Art and Camouflage: Concealment and Deception in Nature, Art and War.” As a result, he has been interviewed for several international, national and state television programs including NOVA (PBS), Equinox (BBC) and Living in Iowa (IPTV). He also has consulted for the Discovery Channel, the Imperial War Museum, NATO and the U.S. Army. Behrens is working on a second book on the same subject.
In connection with the exhibition, Behrens will present a one-hour slide lecture, titled “Ship Shape: Artists' Contributions to Dazzle Camouflage,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 7, in the Kamerick Art Building auditorium, Room 111.
Both the exhibition and lecture are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. The Gallery is located at the corner of Hudson Road and West 27th street in Cedar Falls on the main floor of the Kamerick Art Building. For more information, call (319) 273-3095 or visit www.uni.edu/artdept/gallery
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Contact: Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS -- For twelfth-graders across the nation, senioritis has probably already set in. This is the year –– they are closer to adulthood and the end of mom's and dad's rules, than they've ever been before.
“By this time in their life, seniors begin to find high school boring and it just doesn't mean as much,” notes John Krumbholz, principal at the University of Northern Iowa's Price Laboratory school. An educator for more than two decades, Krumbholz has seen many seniors come and go, and he recognizes all the signs of senioritis. “Right now, they are feeling the need to expand their horizons, to spread their wings, so to speak. And they may rebel a little bit, trying to find themselves.”
For the most part, it is more annoying to the parent than it is dangerous to the senior. However, there are occasions when the students will cross the line and venture into troublesome territory.
He encourages parents to be as involved as possible. “I know there is a temptation to treat them like adults, but in reality, they are still minors and they still need supervision.”
Often, says Krumbholz, parents just concede the battle at this stage in their child's life, figuring it is the best way to avoid invading a kid's privacy. “In fact, they just aren't ready for that kind of freedom. Too much freedom is the freedom to make a poor choice.”
Once a poor choice – such as skipping school or experimenting with alcohol – has been made by the student, the best thing a parent can do is allow the child to pay the penalty. “If you bail them out, they'll come to the conclusion that their mistakes are someone else's responsibility.”
Krumbholz says parents have to walk a fine line between allowing the senior to spread his wings, and making sure that boundaries are set. “So you're saying, `while we may allow you to go to a certain
party, there will still be a curfew. Or we may allow you to attend certain events like concerts where older people will be present, we will not allow you to engage in all the same activities those adults enjoy.'
“You just have to remember that they are still minors, still children. And they do still need your help.”
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Contact: Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS -- Mickye Johnson contends that, when it comes to high school requirements, a parent can be a child's best friend, or their worst enemy. “If you don't educate yourself about high school requirements, you're doing your child a huge disservice,” says Johnson, who knows of that which he speaks. The father of four children, Johnson has logged many hours with classroom teachers and guidance counselors in the name of helping his children succeed.
High school requirements for graduation, college admission and military enrollment change regularly and can sometimes be complicated. Presidential candidates are giving lots of attention to the subject too, so things are likely to change again soon. But, says Johnson, parents simply must understand them in order to guide their children successfully through senior high school.
Johnson is director of the Classic Upward Bound program at the University of Northern Iowa. A college-prep program for students in eighth through twelfth grades, it provides academic, cultural and social experiences for its participants. There are more than 500 Upward Bound Programs in the United States today. The UNI program currently has a 100 percent high school completion rate and a college placement rate of more than 90 percent.
Johnson tells parents of high schoolers to educate themselves first by reading their handbooks. Most schools provide them at the beginning of the year. If you don't get one, simply call or visit the school to get a copy. The handbooks typically explain the basic requirements for graduation, listing classes and necessary credits. Johnson says parents can use the handbook as a guide as they check their students' actual class schedule against what is required.
In earlier, simpler times guidance counselors would typically assist students in making out their schedules, and help the students stay on track. But guidance counselors today have increased duties, and also often handle disciplinary problems. “Further, the average ratio of guidance counselors to students is 300 to 1,” says Johnson. “So they really don't have the necessary time to spend with each student. Parents have to take on some of the responsibility.”
Parents should also familiarize themselves with college admission requirements long before their
students are high school seniors. “Because by then it's too late to make up what they may have missed,” says Johnson. Instead, he tells parents to look at college admission requirements three to four years before a student graduates. That way, a parent can make sure the child is not only taking the requisite high school courses, which typically include up to three years of post-algebra math, English and science; but also can ask that the child be placed in either advanced or college-prep courses.
“Those things don't automatically happen,” he says. “It's not that anyone is being negligent, but that our school systems carry heavy burdens and aren't always able to give each schedule a huge amount of individualized attention. Again, it's up to the parent to be knowledgeable, and to be assertive.”
He tells parents to ask questions as well. “Find out what kinds of special programs or placement the school system has in place. Many offer – and pay for – dual enrollment after a student's sophomore year, allowing students to enroll in and attend college courses on nearby campuses.”
Above all, says Johnson, don't be intimidated by the system. “This is your child and it's your responsibility to look out for them, to guide them the best you possibly can.”
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Contact: Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS -- The value of recess in elementary education programs is a topic often debated in this era when schools are being called upon to provide instruction on an increasing number of topics. A longtime elementary principal at the University of Northern Iowa's Price Laboratory School says he “would come down on the side in favor of recess, but it's not an argument in isolation.
“If you don't look at recess in the context of how you think about teaching and learning, it may not seem to be a productive use of time,” says Lynn Nielsen, now working with UNI's Office of Student Field Experiences.
“Time is certainly a pressing issue in curriculum development at the elementary level, but how we think about teaching and learning is one of the things that guides the discussion,” he says. “If a district is motivated to eliminate recess because they have so many other things they need to teach, then they're probably in a mode some refer to as `cars on the train'— this train that these teachers are pulling just keeps getting more cars added every time the district sees a new need.”
Nielsen says he believes a more developmental and positive mode is to allow teachers more responsibility for making curriculum decisions. “There are a lot of ways of adding topics and addressing perceived needs without having to add another car on the train. You can simultaneously teach a number of things at once.”
When the classroom teacher can integrate various disciplines into the regular classroom, it reduces the tension between the time and recess factions. Other recess issues include fears of lawsuits and of unsavory adults who might be lurking around the edges of playgrounds, as well as the cost of appropriate supervision.
“The philosophy of the National Program for Playground Safety, located on the UNI campus, is that a lot of learning can occur in a play setting,” says Nielsen. And the elementary years are, developmentally, when this should occur.
“Recess and playtime are seen as being an important part of the socialization process with kids,” Nielsen says. “Learning to negotiate and to play informally can help children learn to get along, to include others and to negotiate some problem-solving situations. A lot of these things can happen at recess time.”
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Contact: Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS – Every parent struggles, at one time or another, with the issue of daycare. Many worry about leaving their children in the care of others, and many more are concerned about the effect of all-day care by a non-parent. If you do your homework, says Rheta DeVries, director of the Regents Center for Early Developmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa, there's really little reason to worry.
“I don't think we should conclude that day care is bad for children—but that bad day care is bad for children,” she says. “Research has shown that the single most distinguishing characteristic that defines good day care is that the teachers have had training in child development.”
She says in too many day care settings, teachers have a limited educational background and limited training in early childhood education. She believes this is due, in large part, to the fact that day care teachers earn so little money and more highly qualified people simply go elsewhere.
While day care in this country remains largely unsubsidized, DeVries says corporate day care is usually of a high quality because companies make an investment and subsidize it. But, for those who may not have this option, she says there are a number of things parents can look for to place their children in a high-quality setting.
She suggests asking to see resumes of the people who will work directly with the children and ask if they have had training in day care.
A site visit, sitting in the classroom and thinking about the kinds of psychological experiences the children are having also is important. Parents should also check that the physical characteristics of the center are acceptable in terms of cleanliness, hygiene and safety.
“I think it's very important to observe the kind of teacher-child relationship in the classroom,” says DeVries. “Does the teacher express affection for the children and do the children seem to feel affection for the teacher? Check whether the teacher is an authoritarian personality with the children, or if the teacher promotes children's autonomy by giving them lots of choices, responding to their needs and desires by consulting them about what happens in the classroom.”
Finally, says DeVries, “Be sure there are a variety of challenges for children that maintain their interest and inspire them to new developments intellectually.”
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