Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Dr. Joan Jones REGIONAL VALUES IN EDUCATION 114

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Rev. James A. Woods, S.J. REGISTRAR AND DEAN OF THE EVENING COLLEGE Father Woods, University Registrar and former Boston College student, has served as registrar for the past five years. He feels that the changes in the Office of the University Registrar have resulted in more efficient and therefore more economical services. First of all, there has been a consolidated decrease in duplication. Another development last year was two-semester regis- tration. Because of the incredible amount of drop-adds last January, this system was dropped. With only one-semester registration this year, the program is running so satisfactorily that no more changes are expected. The effort in the Registrar ' s Office now is more towards con- solidation. An example of this is the permanent record card. In the old system some courses taken in schools other than a student ' s own did not count toward his final average. This year a new system has been devised so that all grades count evenly regardless of undergraduate school. As head of the Evening College, he reports that it is growing bit by bit, but that there is no planned expansion. There are 1200 students in the Evening College taking from one to three subjects a semester. In all other aspects it is sim- ilar to the day school. Having been head of the day school for six years. Father Woods is in a unique position to compare them. He feels that on the whole Eve- ning College students are more serious. Possible explanation for this are that they are a few years older and are working. The students bring this real-life experience with them into the classroom. However, because of the problems caused by the grind of both working and going to school, a student can only last the five years required to complete the evening program if he really likes the academic atmosphere itself. 113

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Mrs. Joan Jones, in her second year as Director of Professional Field Services at Boston College, has taught fifteen years at different grade levels and served as an elementary school principal in Kansas City before she came to Boston College four years ago (previous to her arrival at Boston College, she held a similar posi- tion at Lowell State). Very well assisted by her secretary, Mary Devine, her job is to supervise the off-campus teaching program of the School of Education . This is a vital program, for it is an opportunity for theory learned in the classroom to be related to practice. Mrs. Jones ' comparison of the differing school programs in the various regions of the United States was very interesting. She feels that the midwest is more social science and athletic oriented, while the east is more inclined to the natural sciences. She explains that while the midwest has longer school days, the extra time is spent on physical education (football and basket- ball are started in the fourth grade). Pressures for students to succeed academically are more intense here for such vocations as growing vege- tables in many ways lack the respect here that they have in the midwest. There were other facets of eastern life which were peculiar to this region as opposed to the midwest. A Brighton resident, for example, has access to many more sources of news and cultur- al media than those of more inland areas. On the other hand, the less-academic focus of Middle America results in their having a more pragmat- ic philosophy — a sense of identity, purpose. relationship with fellow man and a knowledge of what life is all about. These differences seep into the classroom itself. Mrs. Jones said that at Boston College she found the students very respectful and polite, and at first hesitant to speak up, but she also noted that they have a limited understanding of more isolated people. Although she feels that Boston College ' s uniqueness of background allows good functioning in the classroom, she feels that an experience in which a student can use a different system and relate which values it is supposed to pass on will be the ones who will ultimately be able to make crucial educational decisions. An example of changing values affecting the educational system was during the years of the Space Race when ability groups were formed. This was the era when IQ and Achievement Tests were emphasized and the human element of edu- cation was lost. The cognitive, not the effective, domain was emphasized. Mrs. Jones hopes that now we may be moving back to the Dewey open classroom with smaller groups and the consequential increase in teacher-student rela- tionships. However, she hopes that the emphasis of the center of curriculum will not be forgotten. It is interesting to note her societal emphasis has altered in the past two decades. A teacher who has been exposed to different groups can realize and succeed at work more easily. This is one thing that Mrs. Jones hopes to accomplish as director of our Field Services Program. 115