Traveling abroad these days

Rosemary Kew, assistant professor, foreign languages, who is working with three university study-abroad programs to France, says she hasn't changed anything about the programs, "but I am talking to [the students] about the new world situation, advising them to keep monitoring it in as broad a cross-section of media as they can find, and telling them that the orientation session will be addressing a lot of things they really need to hear." Kew adds that although she has no plans to cancel any trips, "it may at some point be taken out of my hands."

Contact Kew at 615-898-2283.
rakew@mtsu.edu

Class size and performance

Do kids really perform better in smaller classes? It's not class size alone that makes the difference, says Dr. Kathy Burriss, professor, elementary and special education, but how a teacher manages the classroom. Smaller class size does allow a teacher to better accommodate differences and implement community-building strategies, she notes. "However, the current push for public school standardization negates children's individual dignity. Despite the inappropriateness, children are controlled and drilled in large numbers." The long-term societal outcomes of such practices are yet to be realized, she adds.

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2323.
kburriss@mtsu.edu

Spotlighting excellence

Outstanding MTSU students will be honored during a ceremony at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 10, as the university presents the prestigious President's Award, Provost's Award and Achievement Award. Two additional honors will include the Outstanding Student Leader Award and the Community Service Award. The program will take place in the JUB Tennessee Room. A reception will be held earlier at 12:30. Eric Freundt, the student who has been in the news because of his groundbreaking tick research, will receive the President's Award. Media most welcomed.

Contact Deana Raffo at 615-898-5786.
draffo@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA: TODAY THRU THURSDAY, April 7-10, 7 p.m.--The 4th annual Student Film Festival features seven films. They will be shown each night in the Keathley University Center Theater and will be judged on creative and technical aspects. Awards will be presented Thursday night to the top three. For more information, contact Tommy Gibson at 615-898-2551. This is free and open to the public--and media are welcomed.
TUESDAY, April 8, 9 a.m.--The Holocaust ... why did it happen and could it happen again? Nancy Kemp, chair, department of social studies at Centennial High School, will present a videoconference in MTSU's Videoconferencing Center in the Learning Resources Center. A live studio audience will be composed of local students in grades 8 to 12. For more information, contact center director Dr. Connie Schmidt at 615-898-2560. Media welcomed.
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 5 p.m.--The 12th annual Windham Lecture in Liberal Arts presents author John Shelton Reed, professor emeritus at UNC Chapel Hill, who will discuss "What's Southern About the South?" in the Business and Aerospace Building S102. The series was established in 1990 by Dr. William and Westy Windham. Dr. Windham was a member of MTSU's history faculty from 1955 to 1989. For more information, call 615-898-2534. Media welcomed.