Spring 2002

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North 40

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Carved Runes in a Clearing

Beautiful Soups

Trying to Know Tomorrow

Exchange: To and from the editors

LETTERS IN PRINT, SPRING 2002

THE ALLEN YEARS - MODEL OR MANIC? THANK YOU FOR JOHN STIFLER'S excellent article on the Allen years at the School of Education [“No Fear or Loathing in Amherst,” UMass Gatherings, Winter 2002]. The deafening silence since 1978 about this extraordinary period has surprised and disappointed me for many years. Did those of us who enjoyed the privilege of being part of this adventure make mistakes? Absolutely! In fact, that was part of the point – to take the risks necessary to making a difference. But the story has another side that I was afraid had disappeared into the mists of some strangely revisionist history. Under Dean Allen’s leadership the School created a model, a momentum, and a meaning whose impact literally has been felt around the world. During more than 20 years of work in Africa I have regularly encountered other professionals – Africans and Americans – who still speak proudly of their time at the School. Perhaps it’s time to consider more carefully what lessons, positive and negative, we can learn from Dwight Allen’s revolution. Phil Christensen ’72G Centurion, South Africa AS A SCIENCE MAJOR AND education minor from 1967 to 1971, the dictates of common sense steered me away from what the School of Education had to offer. For me, that was a good decision. The School of Education was more interested in promoting social justice and equity than establishing accountability for student learning. They diluted the degree program by reducing and eliminating requirements for education majors. In addition, they encouraged unqualified candidates to enter their masters and doctorate programs and ultimately the bureaucracy of higher education. I saw the impact of this lunacy among my peers. Instead of striving for excellence, students saw a world which rewarded the declaration of politically correct ideals and minimal effort. It is tragic for kids, not to mention society, that it took until the 1990s for Massachusetts to realize that standards of accountability for educational curriculum, instruction, assessment, and teacher evaluation were long overdue. Testimonials from the communities where the alumni marathon conference attendees have applied their educational expertise would illuminate “what really happened at the School of Ed back then” more sufficiently than a love-fest of self congratulatory intellectual ingrowns. I’ve been waiting years to hear the truth about Dean Allen and the UMass School of Education in the ’70s. It sounds like it’s not coming any time soon. Deborah Nadeau Carter ’71 Windsor THE ARTICLE ABOUT the School of Education during the Allen years neglected to describe the effects of Dwight Allen’s changes on undergraduates. I was an elementary education major from 1966 to 1970, and although I enjoyed attending UMass, I was not satisfied with some of the changes in direction at the school during my last two years. In our methods courses my fellow students and I were learning about innovative methods of teaching. However, [for our student teaching assignments] most of us were placed in very traditional classrooms outside of Amherst. The teachers in those schools did not want us to try anything different, and our UMass supervisor could not help us at all – he was a graduate student who had little to no classroom teaching experience! After my student-teaching experience I took more education courses to fulfill graduation requirements. These courses were not practical. They were what one would call “touchy-feely” or “New Age.” I learned more in my first year of teaching than I did during the education courses I took my senior year. According to another article in the same issue [Branches of Learning, Winter 2002], there are currently more graduate students than undergraduates in the School. I do hope undergraduates who want to be classroom teachers are not being shortchanged. Julie (Berlow) Lindsay ’70 Rochester, New Hampshire F FOR EFFORT NO WONDER THE KIDS ARE having trouble coming up with the answers the test designers require [“Test Yourself” sidebar in “Only a Test,” Winter 2002]. Look at page 26, Question 3, which posits” a beaker of water.” Now, look at the answer, which involves “both beakers.” Also, the question asks what will happen chemically and what will happen regarding appearance, not what change will occur volumetrically. Not a very well crafted question from the experts. Roger Hewett Amherst Roger Hewett, a retired director of planned giving at UMass, was but one of a small spate of readers critiquing the MCAS sample questions taken by writer Marietta Pritchard from online sources. Regarding the beaker/beaker(s) anomaly, there is a somewhat mitigating detail: On the test form the question is accompanied by a drawing of two beakers. No such mitigation regarding the other instances of imprecise language; this lends credence to the suspicion of Paul Gilroy ’79 that “the person who wrote the questions is not going to graduate from high school this year.” SPEAKING OF IMPRECISE LANGUAGE I APPRECIATE YOU NOTING in the Winter 2002 Exchange [“Greengrass memories”] that I was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award last year. It is important to note however that I am not the Commander OF the Navy Nurse Corps, but am a Commander IN the Navy Nurse Corps. Mary Chaffee ’83 Montgomery Village, Maryland Commander Chaffee has also recently been appointed special assistant for homeland defense in the Pentagon’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. MOVED BY TODD HILL TRIBUTE AS UMASS ALUMINI AND RESIDENTS of Battery Park City, three blocks south of the World Trade Center, we read with sadness and tears the stirring tribute to Todd Russell Hill by Michael Petrocelli ’90 [Extended Family, Winter 2002]. It especially touched me, since I walked through the Marriott Hotel on my way to the PATH station in the World Trade Center at 8 a.m. that morning. Alan was home and saw everything from our living room window. We are lucky that we only had to evacuate for three weeks. Michael’s memoir brought fresh tears that we thought we were through shedding. I walked to the Marriott site tonight and said a prayer for Todd. I also said a prayer for his family and friends. We want them to know that they are not alone in their sorrow, and to thank Michael for overcoming his pain and grief to share that wonderful tribute with all of us. Mary (Bernard) and Alan Ralph ’75 New York City We’d like to call attention to a tribute to the September 11 victims made by Alumni Association and Collegian staff members who visited the Manhattan site April 10 with James Kallstrom ’66, director of New York State’s new Office of Public Security. Sophomore Dan Lamothe’s account is archived online at www.dailycollegian.com SOBERING QUESTIONS JOSEPH LARSON'S LETTER [“Grounds and buildings blues,” Exchange, Winter 2002] was a sobering note about state funding and money from athletics, and prompts questions which might be addressed in future magazines. What are the six state universities being compared to UMass? Do these state schools have private universities like BC keeping their football and basketball programs, the two main money-making sports, second-rate? Do they have large private schools with political influence trying to keep their state university subordinated? Did UMass ever get the opportunity to join the Big East Conference, a much more profitable conference than the Atlantic 10, in either football or basketball? Isn’t it true that the year UMass won the Division IA title, we lost money? Did BC or UConn ever dare to play any basketball teams coached by John Calipari? How long did it take to get the commonwealth to finally support a quality sports complex like the Mullins Center? Why have we lost quality coaches like John Orr in basketball and Dick MacPherson in football? I also get frustrated visiting the great land-grant institutions here in the Midwest. They have a profitable conference and everyone from taxpayers to politicians backs their schools 100 percent. They realize athletic programs are the best strategy for generating money for the university. Bill MacLeod ’63 Naperville, Illinois REMEMBERING WILLIAM BOSWORTH IT SADDENS ME THAT UMass has failed to mention the passing of my father, William Bosworth, in the Class Notes section, other than his name in “In Memoriam.” My dad graduated from Mass. State in 1931 with a bachelor’s degree in education, and received a master’s in psychology from the college in 1935. He had a lot of good memories of his days there. He was head cheerleader as both an undergraduate and graduate student. He lived at the Dean of Women’s house during his freshman year, and as a senior lived and did chores at President Thatcher’s house. He loved the horses in the cavalry ROTC of the day. Under the tutelage of “Kid” Gore, he began his lengthy summer camp career while still an undergraduate. He was fond of English professors Frank Prentice Rand, “Pat” Patterson and “Bull” Prince, and a psychology professor, Dr. Glick. He took Professor Chenoweth’s Horticultural Manufacturing course and learned to make jams and jellies, which he continued to do throughout his life. My dad was also the last to pass away among his siblings who were alumni. His sisters Marguerite Rose and Maude Elinor graduated in 1926 and his sister Clare Elizabeth in 1936. He attended class reunions into the 90’s, and helped coordinate some of the reunion doings. He contributed monetarily as well, within his means as a school teacher and retiree, including to Campaign UMass in 1999. I think he would have liked some mention in your magazine. Michael Bosworth ’93G Montague We are glad to publish Michael Bosworth’s tribute as a letter, and to go over changes made to our obituary policy in 1998. Until then we attempted to publish brief obituaries in the print magazine for all alumni, faculty, and student deaths. The brevity proved distressing to readers, as did the unevenness, since for some people we had no information at all. Our solution was to publish a simple list in the print magazine, transcribe published obituaries of all for whom we have them in our online edition, and accept memorial letters to the editor. While imperfect, this system represents our best efforts both to be equitable and to provide the most information we can using both editions of the magazine. CORRECTION ON BEHALF OF OUR COLLEAGUES in the Development Office, we note that in a recently published report of all donors for fiscal year 2001, the following members of the Chancellor’s Council were inadvertently omitted or incorrectly categorized. Sincere apologies are extended for these errors. Chancellor’s Council Benefactors: Peter Alpert; Mary (Desmond) Hankowski ’66; Frank Jr. ’51 and Patricia O’Keefe Chancellor’s Council Patrons: Peter Angelos; Edmund Ward ’75, ’77G Chancellor’s Council Sponsors: Samuel Cannavo ’69; Beverly Dawson; Mary (Pomposo) Knowles ’57; Bruce Parkin ’73; Robert ’73 and Susan (Favaloro) ’76 Powers; Todd Rossi ’94, ’00G; Edward ’69 and Ann Marie (Sullivan) ’72 Rubin; Michael Thimblin Jr. ’89 Chancellor’s Council Members: Thomas and Linda Arny; David and Ellen Campbell; Dana (Paul) Cutts ’64; James Delmonico; Timothy ’75 and Eileen (Polchlopek) ’74 Donelan; Joseph ’80 and Cynthia (Lovell) ’79, ’93 Dugan; Kevin Falvey ’78; Daniel Flynn ’87; Lisa Kautz ’83; Marina Wolf Lebo ’86; Joseph Mattei; Linda (Hurld) Misiaszek ’70; Charles Powers Jr. ’40; Margaret M. Robinson; John Schwartz ’85; Diane Smith

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ALL THE LETTERS, ALL THE TIME

LETTERS IN PRINT, SPRING 2002

SO LONG TO ALL THIS

SO LONG: larger image