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‘ CHARLOTTETOWN, P. E. l.

FEBRUARY 20, 1970

WHAT Is. A STANDARD or *‘ EDUCATION?

by Carolyn Duffy

What is an educational standard and who is responsible for its ef- fectiveness or ineffectiveness? '

In a recent statement released to the local press, John Keaveny, president of UPEISU, commented on the low standard of education at UPEI. It would be interesting to know what criteria he assessed which enabled him to make such an evaluation. Any discussion of a standard is ambiguous and I feel that Mr. Keaveny ought to have clarified and justified his state- ment. -

How does one assess the quality of education one receives at a par- ticular university? It’s a difficult question but I would like to exam- ine it from the student’s point of view. Students are given an op-

OI' ‘

\

LET’S GET WITH IT

portunity to play a significant and vital role in helping determine the quality of education they receive.

The first couple of years at uni- versity are disillusioning for most people. They find themselves in large classes and feel depersonal— ized. The emphasis seems to be on lectures, examinations and as- signments, and the curriculum doesn’t offer a real personal chal- lenge. There comes a point, how- ever, when one begins to question the relevance (validity) of the whole learning stuation. Am I be- ing dictated to and victimized by the system or have I chosen to be a bored non-participant? Once one reaches this point of critical evaluation then he can do one of two things: he can choose to sit around and bitch about the sys- tem until he qualifies for its stamp

Commission of Inquiry into the N on—Medical ' use of Drugs

Public Hearings CharlottetoWn

The Commission is investigating every aspect of the non-medical use of mood-changing drugs in Canada.

Drugs under study are sedatives, stimulants, tranquil- izers, narcotics, hallucinogenic and other psychotropic

drugs or substances.

The Commission is holding public hearings across the country to determine the extent Canadians are involved with these drugs and the effects. \

The Commission is also taking evidence in private and anonymously. These arrangements should be made With Mr. James J. Moore, Executive Secretary of the Commis- sion, during the public hearings. I

Submissions —— signed or anonymous -—— may be sent to Mr. Moore, 0/0 the Commission, Vanier Building, Nepean Street, Ottawa, Canada.

The agenda of these hearings in Charlottetown is as

follows:

Saturday, February 21 9:30 am. to 4.30 pm. at the Lecture Theatre, Confedera-

tion Centre

1 pm. to 2 pm. at the Junior Common Room, Montgomery Hall, University of Prince Edward Island \

In due course the Commission will recommend to the Federal Government measures designed to deal wrth problems raised by the non-medical use of drugs.

The quality and impact of these recommendations will ' depend mainly on the Commissron’s exposure to every point of view on the subject. The Commrssron therefore invites and encourages written and/or verbal_subn_1rssrons —- formally or spontaneously -— from any indivrdual or

group.

of approval (a degree) or he can decide to be challenged by the system with an aim to improving it through participation. It’s easy to blame the system but how many times have we chosen not to exer- cise our personal freedom within the educational framework? Sure- 1y you can’t deny that you do have a personal responsibility in deter- mining what the learning exper- ience will mean. You have free- dom to choose your curriculum, your professors and are given an opportunity to voice your concern in all areas of university adminis— tration. If your experience in the academic 'milieu‘ proves to be meaningless and frustrating then the onus is on you and not the system. Can we accept that res- ponsibility ? M a n y apparently can’t. It is very demanding of the individual in terms of time, ener- gy, tolerance and patience and even with that, any change you may have affected will seem to only have scratched the surface. However, if we all were to play our part then the situation would be radically different.

We all have our own personal vision of what a situation ought to provide for us. The decision to fight for personal independence within an educational system de— mands that we avoid the group poop; abandon the attitude of clin- ical sophistication; be less tolerant of mediocrity and be more critical of our own attitudes. Decide not to be a bored non-participant be: cause it’s easy to sit around un- der the pretense of learning and tear down the system.

It is, therefore, my contention that to a large degree, we, as students are responsible for help-

ing create a “standard” of educa- tion. We determine the quality of our educational experience and possibly because of our own par- ticipation while here at university we have helped create a better situation for those who will follow us.

Participation is demanding, frus- trating and downright depressing at times but it is also challeng- ing, interesting, and a real learn- ing experience. ‘It is what you choose to make it!

KEAVENY CLARIFIES

When something is referered to being low, this indicates that in relation to other somethings there is a degree of inferiority present. Miss Duffy requests that I clarify and justify my statement. Your question is, as I see it. “Where is UPEI’s inferiority most pronoun- ced -

To answer this question I would refer to the AUCC report on their visit to UPEI and offer as your answer their remarks which indi- cated to me that there was some room for various improvements in our UPEI.

“Some upgrading would be de-

sirable in some of the humanities

and social sciences departments” (referring to teaching staff) “The consolidated university library ap— pears adequate for the present and immediate future, provided some selective filling is carried out.”

Further quotes from the report. “The committee felt that in gen- eral, the new institution was well embarked on the process of merg-

. ing the academic programmes of

the two pre-existing institutions. It was felt however, that a good deal of sorting and sifting of of- ferings. should take place in in— dividual departments over the next few years. At present, there seems to be more courses than are neces- sary or desirable for the under- graduate liberal arts and science

V programmes which the university

is in a position to offer. On the other hand, there are significant gaps which can be filled when un- necessary dispersion has been re- duced.”

“The Visiting Committee recom- mended that UPEI be re-visited in two years time to assist in the process of consolidation and up- grading.”

It seems to me that when I made a statement concerning standards I said they were low, and in var. ious way they certainly are —— please realize that in some depart— ments we have good faculty and

\accordingly, AUCC said, “The qualifications of the teaching staff in science appear to be quite ade- quate” ....... .. ’

There is a tendency of the media (Radio, TV, commercial newspa- pers) to include “raw statements”, which when examined in a cursory manner" (as I‘ feel Miss Duffy has done) tend to mislead the listener,

viewer or reader.

It is apparent to me that Miss Duffy is concerned with my state- ments and indeed. has been consid- erably mislead. Suffice it to say UPEI has the possibilities to offer a higher standard of education, I ' said it was low — perhaps lower than it should be, would be more correct.

Look fellas...like I told ya a million times. ltwas‘ just a gag. I hand the Qampusbank tellerthe note. She’s supposed to laugh. Like ha ha. ‘-

True Chequing Accounts.

True Savings Accounts. Complete banking services for students and faculty.

Visit your‘Campusbank Bank of Montreal

_The First Canadian Bank a