News you can use

Northern is failing the Hi-Line

If your daughter decides she wants to be a high school math teacher, don't bother to send her to Montana State University-Northern because Northern no longer offers the degree. If your son is good at English and history and wants to go to college to study to become a high school teacher, you will have to tell him that he will have to leave Havre because Northern no longer offers the degree.

In fact, Chancellor Jim Limbaugh has made the decision to terminate all secondary education degrees at Northern. The chancellor has made this decision despite the opposition of the faculty, and despite the fact that secondary education majors constitute 10 percent of the bachelor degrees Northern awards and without consulting either the students or the local educational leadership.

Indeed, there are more than 50 students currently majoring in secondary education. For the past 75 years Northern has done a fine job training high school teachers who then stay on the Hi-Line and in Montana and teach in communities like Malta, Havre, Rocky Boy, Box Elder, Hayes, Choteau, Conrad and dozens of other towns. These teachers often teach several different subject in our vast state. Sadly, Chancellor Limbaugh knows his only job is to make certain that Northern does not stand in the way of Waded Cruzado's plan to increase the enrollment and funding for her "One University" in Bozeman.

For the past 24 years I have had the privilege of teaching the hard-working students of Montana in this dusty little corner of the world, and I have seen the state higher educational leadership fail these same students again and again. I urge the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as the business community, to let the Board of Regents know that this is one decision that cannot stand. The time has come to turn the lights back on at Northern. The folks of this area deserve better.

 
 

Reader Comments(5)

Joe writes:

I think Northern would be much better off minus the troublemaking Dr. Snider. ( and his S**t stirring cohorts also) Limbaugh is at least trying to make Northern a functional and quality higher ed facility. What are you doing Dr. Snider?

Disappointed writes:

This is very disappointing. The Education program at Northern brought in many students, and finding quality secondary education teacher is tough. I personally graduated from Northern with a BA in Secondary English and Secondary Mathematics, but it looks like I'm the last of a dying breed. The Secondary Mathematics program was brand new when I started it half way through my undergrad, but it seems to have died on the vine, just 5 years after its inception. Very disappointing...

Haverite writes:

Rush Limbaugh's cousin does not care about Northern only the resume and looking good to President Cruzado. He has gotten rid of and/or chased off many excellent faculty and staff over the past year.

sugarnelsen writes:

So sorry to read that Northern will no longer produce secondary teachers. Hope this is not a final decision. I happen to be a teacher who came from a quality NMC program. In the 60's and 70's many outstanding teachers were graduates of NMC. We were products of some outstanding teachers like Hagner/Walcheck/Craig. We had our ringers, but so did MSU/Bozeman.

puzzled writes:

Dr. Snider raises interesting points.While it is true that the Secondary Ed program is being eliminated, he misleads Havre readers with false statements.How can Secondary Ed comprise 10% of Bachelor degrees awarded when the English & Math programs graduate 0-3 students a year? He claims the Faculty opposed these cuts, but he and his fellow Profs refused to advocate for their own programs during the review process.Don't object way after the fact & then say you have all along, because you didn't.