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60 Million to Crowd Schools Facts Behind Figures Help Clarify Challenges Confronting Parents As New Fall Term Approaches By JAMES BRANDON Once again this year's enrollments in schools and colleges of the nation move toward explosive levels. No pun is intended. The reference is only to figures and the background factors they tend to help illuminate. Hopefully, what appears to have been the peak of the stu­ dent militancy that was the most widely and heavily publi­ cized aspect of the educational scene this past year -- a mili­ tancy that in some larger cities penetrated downward to high schools -- is losing some of its steam. Support for senseless and violently rebellious acts began to dwindle as administrators and faculties sat down with stu­ dents to try to work out their gripes on the basis of reason instead of threat. Resort by officials to "due process," by ap­ peals to the courts Instead of police, brought democratic responses. Behind the numbers forecasting a grand total enrollment of 60 million (students) at all age levels for this fall are facts that may clarify for parents especially, and also for students, what needs special consideration as preparations are made for the opening of the new school term. Essentially, it would see, the nation's elementary and high schools have become one big college preparatory school. This view grows out of something more than simple ambition on the part of parents of the youngest to point them toward a college career from the beginning. A major challenge there­ fore comes out of the increas­ ing demand for more funds with which to provide the more classrooms, the greater number of trained teachers, and to cover mounting oper­ ating costs of the education plant. Taxpayers have been re­ sisting imposition of addi­ tional levies for school pur­ poses during recent years. In some areas there has been downright rejection until it became apparent that schools would have to close for lack of funds. Then* is something here akin -- perhaps in reverse -- to the student unrest that derives rather obliquely from the huge Federal expendi­ tures for defense and the cost of the unpopular Vietnam war. • Taxpayers feel harder hit by school taxes than by Fed­ eral income taxes, one parent has pointed out to the writer, because school taxes are local and specifically assessed on separate bills for school pur­ poses, whereas there is no specific information avail­ able on payment of income taxes, as to what will go for what purpose. Emergence of modern dis­ content on the campus is traced by some to the years so recent all can remember when campus enrollments began to soar to the point where registering for classes became almost a mechanical operation for students *Many protested that "We are be­ coming numbers instead of names." During this period they al­ so began to complain that they seldom saw or were able to listen to the famous pro­ fessors whose reputations prompted them to seek en­ rollment in the colleges of their choice. Assistant professors and sometimes graduate students took over while the name professors became busy with outside research assignments and as counsellors to indus­ try and government. Presidents and Deans, once fairly accessible to students, were becoming so involved in raising funds for expanding facilities, or in working out research contracts, they had little time to consider "re­ quests" from students for re­ form -- requests that have escalated since into demands actually going beyond the purview of the campus. Moderate students more interested in getting an edu­ cation began to change from a passive attitude to one of OCT. 8, 1969 - PLAINDEALER- PG. 11 inactive support for some of the radical movements. Involvement, Relevance, As Goals College and universities have taken constructive steps toward overcoming the prob­ lems precipitated originally by "bigness" and which have become demands for "involvement" of students and "relevance" of courses, now that these educators, hitherto comparatively inex­ perienced in coping with stu­ dent revolt, move toward conference, convocations, meetings in which the stu­ dents now take part. What the students appear to want most, and are begin­ ning to get, is more partici­ pation in decisions affecting their campus careers and in determining what they should be taught and by whom. _ DOUBLE FIRE ALARM A double fire alarm, a gen­ eral all-companies call, sound­ ed at the city hall at 8:24 a.m. Saturday, from the Villa Nurs­ ing hQrnfc at Pistakee Bay and Brake Parts on Industrial drive. Firemen were dispatch­ ed to the two scenes but it was discovered that a malfunction in the alarm system had short­ ed the board. The accelerating pace of change In the social order stemming partly from pres­ sure of population increases, but more Importantly, from amazing advances in tech­ nology which in turn alter the nature of educational re­ quirements, the "informa­ tion" explosion through mass media furnishing everyone Including youth with an im­ mediate look at "what's go­ ing on," requires learning how to live in these "new times" as well as learning how to get a Job. Thus what is happening in and to colleges and universi­ ties these days is as impor­ tant to the parents of chil­ dren who will be going to school for the first time this fall, as it will be to those in the elementary and high school age groups. Illustrative of the pres­ sures created by numbers alone is a 58 percent increase -- over a period of only five short years -- in college en­ rollments, from a massive enrollment of 4,800,332 at the beginning of the 1963 school year, to 7,500,000 at the start of the term last fall. More High School Grads to College At this rate it is not incon­ ceivable that institutions of higher learning will be called upon to take care of 8,000,000 or more students this fall. This growth on the campus stems from the following: Publicly financed elemen­ tary schools enrolled nearly 45,000,000 pupils last year. This was a 2.4 per cent in­ crease over the previous year. These figures account for all age groups inclusive of the beginners who start earlier these days at age 5 in pre- prlmary classes, through the elementary and high school grades and age 17. But It does not include the mounting numbers of children enrolled in private schools, or the youth enrolled frequently in special part-time classes out­ side the traditional educa­ tional system. Significant is the fact that 77.6 per cent of the pupils who entered the 9th grade in the fall of 1964 were gradu­ ated from high school last year. Potential For Cable Television Deserves Support Of Congress Recently the House Subcommittee on Communica­ tions and Power persuaded President Nixon to release the important Task Force Report on Telecommunica­ tions which had been more than a year in the mak­ ing. The White House made the report public while the Subcommittee was holding hearings on cable tel­ evision, which was covered in the study. Congressman Torbert Macdonald, Subcommitte- chairman, then asked Dr. Eugene V. Rostow, who headed the Task Force, to testify at the hearings. What Dr. Rostow told Congress was that with every- • thing considered, cable television offers more prom­ ise for telecommunications in America than any oth­ er form of development. More promise for diversifi­ cation of TV programs, for specialized education, and for overcoming the alienation and sense of isolation of minority groups. That was quite a compliment for cable television (CATV). The industry started in the late 40's as a community antenna in mountainous or rural regions that picked up signals from distant stations and brought them to subscribers' homes by cable. Today, some systems originate their own local TV programs, such as local news and sports, and city council meet­ ings, and send them out over the cable in addition to the programs picked up off the air. For all of this, there is a reception charge of about $5 per month for CATV. But it is not to be confused with Pay-TV, which charges for special programs such as first-run movies or boxing matches. Thus far Congress has passed no legislation affect­ ing CATV, leaving the Federal Communications Com­ mission with a free hand in controlling the industry. The result: FCC last December issued rules that have virtually stopped all progress and growth for CATV. In his testimony, Dr. Rostow told Congress that FCC is using "excessive restraint on the potential growth of CATV, a restraint that is greater than that - required by the nature of the problem." Mayors from cities in Indiana, Florida and other states told how the FCC curbs on CATV had caused loss of jobs, industry and local tax revenue. The Macdonald Subcommittee will continue its hear­ ings soon. Hopefully, a bill that will recognize the potential of CATV will emerge and be enacted into law by both House and Senate. If cable television realizes its potential for diversi­ fication, education, and communication with the min­ orities it must have support. Members of Congress should be urged to give this industry a chance by en­ acting legislative guidelines now. ST Coupon $1.25 VALUE (FREE) $1.25 VALUE Automated Car Wash & Wax WITH ANY FILL-UP AT Deep Rock Car Wash 4416 W. 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