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Good Morning, Classl
on. how I used to dread school.
The prospect of another day of
ABCs or other tedious exercise
hardly motivated me to drag my
lazy buns out of bed. The real rnotwatcr
was my mother's recipe lor
rise-and-shine, which she very
deftly applied with the palm of her
right hand. Ugh!
by Larry Ledlow, Jr. NA5E
" The ham industry
de votes a great deal ofrhetoric
(and darned little else) to recruiting
young hams into
the hobby. "
School days were either feast or
temroe. intellectually speaking. I
can still recall the countless sessions
recit ing addition tables in
harmony with two dozen other
children. Or the ocean of tiny
cones hunkered down with giant
pencils and Big Chiel tablets, our
tongues positioned lor maximum
concentration, while we made
miles 01 graphite loops between
the lines on the paper. I would ask
myself il there really was intelligent
life beyond second grade.
Better yet , the history lessons,
staring at dalelines, maps, and
family trees hoping to burn the
images onto my retina for easy
recall on the next exam.
You, too, eh?
Sweet Memories
Number 37 on your FMdbaek earo
promote lun and meaningful
learning experiences. But, alas,
the opportunities to explore creative
teaching and learning are
few and far between, especially
in ou r nation' s public sc hool
systems.
Nonetheless, there are a few
shining lights in the darkened
halls of academic end eavors.
Take a look at Peter Kemp's
BEARS project in thi s issue .
Carole Perry WB2MGP of the
New York City school system is
another innovative instructor
you' ll read about in an upcoming
issue. And a handful more
teacher-hams recognize amateur
radio as something more than an
end in itself.
They view this great and varied
hobby 01 ours as an effective
teaching tool. They use amateur
radio as a means to get the students
invOlved with the subject
at hand: science, geography,
government, loreign languages,
civics, mathematics, and so
on. The student and faculty responses
have been overwhelming.
Amateur radio's use in the
classroom to teach a variety of
Ah, but who remembers the subjects works . Full stop. It's
taste of paste? How about leeding fu n l or both students a nd
the gerbils? Then the Chemistry teache rs , and amateur radio
experiments. making that book- gains some respect amongst noncase
in wood shop, or the field trip hams.
to the candy factory? THOSE The ham industry devotes a
were the feast days. those mem- great deal of rhetoric (and darned
arable interludes from the hum- lillie else) to recruiting young
drum 01 rote learning. Those hams into the hObby. Is there a
special days and events actually better way to expose the public at
meant something. They were large 10 amateur radio than in the
diverse sensory experiences. I got school system? Students, parmy
hands dirty, created some- ents, teachers, and administrathing
tangible-I used something tors-most of us fit into at least
more than a book or the blah-blah- one of those categories-would
blah lectures to learn something all be exposed to amateur radio!
new. All of the truly memorable Further, it doesn't have to be timexperiences
in school were FU N! ited to high school or elementary
Thank goodness lor innovative grades. Why not extend the conteachers
and understanding ad- cept to college or adult continuing
rmmstretcrs. who succeeetuuy education programs?
110 73AmateurRadio . April, 1988
Just the Beginning
OK, suppose we all agree that
ham radio would succeed as a
teaching tool. Big deal. That's the
easy part. We have to successfUlly
pitch the idea to hundreds of
thousands of non-ham teachers
and school board members .
THAT could be a problem, but not
il we're smart about the sales ;ab.
First, we need to find the sympathizers
amongsl the teachers .
By highlighting successful programs
already in progress around
the country, the industry is bound
to win over quite a few converts.
After all, a lot of the teachers are
just as tired of the routine exercises
as the students. With data
on current programs, the next
step would present the pros, cons,
and hard 'acts to the National
Education Associa tion (NEA)
and other teachers' organizations
at national and regional conventions.
An important point: Sympathelic
educators who believe in the
potential of ham radio in the classroom
would have to make the actual
presentation. I seriously
doubt the NEA or other educe­
Iional groups would view a ham
industry pitch as anything other
than a commercial venture . That
doesn't mean the industry can't
support Educators for Amateur
Radio, however. For that matter.
all of hamdom should support
such a group to give the hobby a
great shot in the arm.
Why not team up with other organizations
with similar goals?
For example. the Institute of Electrtcat
and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) is especially concerned
about the dwindling number of
engineering students in America.
Certainly amateur radio programs
in schools would interest many
students in electronics teennology.
Hence, a common interest
between the IEEE and the ham
industry.
A plan well thought out and
properly execu ted between
national organizations would
carry a lot more weight than a call
to arms on editorial pages
of the ham magazines.
You're probably saying, " Yeah,
sure. This is just a lot more
r heto ric . Nothing will ever
happen." Why not? There's a lot
of inertia to overcome, but with a
few shakers and movers, we can
get things rolting.
Volunteers, please step lorward!
The Tax Man Cometh
Speaking of education, like a lot
01 other folks this year, I am learning
about the new tax laws that
took ettect on January first.
There's nothing quite like staring
down the barrel 01 a 1040 long
form aimed squarely at my pocket
book to make me read the fine
print.
Our politicians, in their infinite
wisdom, have decided employerpaid
education benefits are now
taxable! Yessir, all tuition-assistance
benefits to US employees
are subject to Federal income tax:
and Social Security withholdings.
Imagine gening your employer to
pay for a few evening courses you
need for the next promotion, then
finding your lax bill increased by
another $500!
The impact is potentially disasterous
on advanced engineer.
ing and technical education in
this country. After all, many technical
graduates, until now, have
pursued after-hours degree programs
sponsored largely by
"Congress
no longer feels education
is ofparamount
importance."
their employers. With education
eeneuts taxable , some ernployees
can no longer afford
school, thus putting an end to
their academic careers. Obviously,
Congress no longer feels
education is 01 paramount importance
in our society. This does
not bode well lor the future of
America .
Uncle Sam has just taxed our
efforts to improve ourselves.
(WOUldn't it make more sense 10
tax the uneducated?) Warm up
your pencils and word processors
and encourage your representatives
in Washington to
make tuition assistance untaxable
again. We'll all be better
lor it. III