STUDENTS NOT ONLY PROBLEM IN OUR SCHOOLS

Teens these days get a lot of bad press with reports of declining reading levels and grade point averages.

We're often portrayed as slackers, but perhaps some of the blame (or all of it) should go to teachers. After all, it's their job to make us learn, right?

According to a survey of school administrators, printed in Seventeen magazine, 18 percent of the nation's teachers are "less than satisfactory" (that's just a polite way of saying not qualified). In his State of the Union Address, President Clinton proposed requiring teachers to take a competency exam and/or have a degree in the subject they teach. Great idea. If they're not qualified, why should we be paying them? Keep in touch. It's not surprising that more than 18 percent of U.S. teenagers own a pager. We all know pagers are a great way for teens to keep in touch (that is, if you're willing to pay the $10 or more a month for service charges). But, if you're like me and you're not up to date on pager lingo, here's some of the hottest numeric pager codes, according to Motorola: 5-0: Let's go to Hawaii (yeah, I'm sure that one gets used a lot...) 55: Let's cruise 54321: I'm ready to explode 99-44-100: I'm almost totally completely bored 2468: You're terrific! These codes sound to me like they were written by middle-aged men trying to sound cool. I sincerely hope all of you pager-users have better things to say to each other. Senseless survey. It's May Sweeps, so I thought it would be appropriate to ask teens about TV, specifically the highest-rated talk show among young adults: the Jerry Springer show. If you didn't already think teens are trashy, these results from my survey of local high school students may just convince you: * 24 percent of teens surveyed watch Jerry Springer regularly (more than three times a week). * 57 percent have seen "Too Hot for TV." * 78 percent know somebody who they think should be a guest on Springer. * 40 percent wouldn't mind shaving their heads to be a Springer security guard. * 33 percent want to take over Jerry's job as ringmaster after he retires. College 411. Think college is not for you? Worried your grades aren't good enough or that college is too expensive or that you won't fit in at a university? Pam Jacobs from Educational Search and Placement of Austin, Tex., suggests checking out the Coalition of America's Colleges and Universities at www.CollegeIsPossible.com on the Web for information from admissions and financial aid professionals. Or, call the U.S. Department of Education toll free to request a College Is Possible brochure. Random fact. Goldfish have a memory span of only 3 seconds.

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.