Journalism School To Review Statistics Course Requirement

EVANSTON, Ill.

Many aspiring journalists enter the field for several reasons, often to avoid dealing with numbers. Not so at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, which is assessing options this year to restructure the statistics requirement to make it more applicable for aspiring reporters in response to criticism that current statistics courses are irrelevant or too difficult for many journalism majors, according to the Daily Northwestern.

All Medill students are required to take a quarter of statistics out of the 45 courses needed to graduate. Many opt to take 200-level courses such as "Introduction to Statistics" or "Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences."

Faculty members are considering the addition of a Medill discussion section for current stats courses, developing a course within the statistics department that would relate to journalism, or creating a separate statistics course that would be taught within Medill. Currently, journalism students take the course within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Rich Gordon, an associate professor and co-chairman of the curriculum committee, says a knowledge of statistical methods such as sampling error, question wording and polling is essential for all journalists.

CHICAGO

Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. is partnering with the Chicago-based Black Star Project to send parents back to school. Toyota has committed $240,000 to launch the new three-year program, the Toyota Black Star Parent University, to help parents obtain skills and resources to build strong families.

The Toyota Black Star Parent University, designed for parents of Chicago Public School students, will also be available to parents throughout Chicago. Classes, some of which will be available in Spanish, will be held in schools, community centers, churches and park districts. Local parenting experts, who will serve as "professors" will teach courses that range from educating children about resolving conflict to developing financial literacy. The three-year initiative will begin in Chicago with an expected national expansion.

"Parents and young people face many obstacles," says Phillip Jackson, executive director of the Black Star Project, (see "Last Word," Sept. 23). "The Parent University will provide them with support and services to help guide their families. It will open doors for parents who may not traditionally have access to these services, providing a strong foundation for developing children who honor themselves and their communities."