Monday, May 22, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You can’t make book on it

Frank Wang, a former textbook publisher who left the field to teach at the University of Oklahoma, is highly critical of the textbooks being used in K-12 schools. He advocates doing away with the approval process altogether because it has become too political. Should teachers and local school officials pick their own books? Dr. Ann Campbell, elementary and secondary education, says she can see both sides of the issue, but “with No Child Left Behind and the testing that is in place, there needs to be some consistency in what students are receiving in their classes. Commonly adopted textbooks help with the consistency of all students being presented with the same content.”

Contact Campbell at 615-898-2321.
acampbel@mtsu.edu

The shortcomings of e-mail

A study by the University of Chicago finds that e-mail senders overestimate their ability to communicate feelings and e-mail readers overestimate their ability to correctly decode feelings. The researchers say one reason for this is that people are egocentric enough to assume others process stimuli the same way they do. Dr. Virginia Hemby-Grubb, a professor of business education, marketing education and office management, says, “E-mail messages are often written in a choppy, disjointed fashion forcing the recipient to reply to the message asking for clarification or more information. Many times the email messages fly back and forth between individuals because they cannot be processed or understood, requiring more explanation and more emails, etc. This exercise in futility results in lost work time for companies.”

Contact Hemby-Grubb at 615-898-2902.
kvhemby@mtsu.edu

The power of yellow

Five-point-seven billion dollars in federal tax credits will support the ethanolmarket over the next five years. What will the corn growers get out of this?Dr. Cliff Ricketts, agriculture and agribusiness, recently testified about the future of alternative fuels before a Congressional panel. He says, “Corn growers should benefit greatly in the short run with the increased emphasis on ethanol from corn. However, my concern is the long term effect. I believe we are OK for five to 10 years, but, if ethanol gets extremely popular as a fuel, it could drive corn prices out of sight.”

Contact Ricketts at 615-898-2430.
srickett@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SAVE THOSE TICKETS!—Due to illness, “Fresh Air” radio show host Terry Gross was notable to fulfill her previously scheduled commitments at MTSU. Her appearance has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19. Marc J. Barr, electronic media communication, says new tickets will not be printed. Therefore, people with the original April 17 tickets are encouraged to keep them for the September event. For more information, contact Barr at 615-898-5118 or at mjbarr@mtsu.edu.

THE ART OF GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL--High school students can spend a fun and productive summer at the annual Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts June 11-July 15 at MTSU. Youngsters will enjoy intensive study in art, dance, theater and music during the five-week residence program. Students now will receive six hours of college credit instead of three, as was the case in prior years. “We had a fantastic school in 2005, with more than 200 talented students who had a wonderful, life-changing experience at MTSU,” Dale McGilliard, professor of speech and theatre, observes. “Everything from registration into classes, to buses to dorms, to the smallest detail was excellent, thanks to all the school’s teachers who worked so hard to make things happen for these young artists of Tennessee.” Contact McGilliard at 615-898-2274 or dmcgilli@mtsu.edu.