DATE: Friday, March 21, 1997                TAG: 9703200040

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion

SOURCE: GRACE HSIU

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

DREAM ON, MR. PRESIDENT, DREAM ON

IN ALL SINCERITY, everyone has the right to dream - from the disgruntled postal worker to the great pooh-bah of societe d'elite.

When the President Pooh-bah gave the State of the Union Address in January, some of us got extra credit in our civics classes if we watched and sort of paid attention as the president offered his dream for America. It is a pawn used by teachers every year to get us interested in politics.

I remember sitting in front of the TV and taking notes that didn't really matter to me - and probably won't until I'm well on my way into the great abyss known as ``the Future.'' But this year, Bill Clinton certainly got my attention.

I think Clinton's educational goals caught my attention. To review, Clinton wants every kid to be able to read by 8 years of age. He wants every pre-pubescent teen to be able to use the Internet with ease. He wants every certified adult of 18 to be able to go to college. He wants every high school to add a 13th and 14th grade.

The first questions that come to mind are: ``How are you planning to do that?''; followed by, ``Are you insane?'' and ending with, ``Good luck.''

If I ever get to meet the President, I probably would ask those questions in that order. And I would wait with bated breath for his response. Until then, let's take a close look at our leader's education goals for youth.

The first of Clinton's Four Commandments is a given. Most kids can read fairly well by second grade. If they can't, parents can follow the Clinton Curriculum Guide to Improving Your Child's Reading Levels.

And what would that be?

Read to your kids!

As for 12-year-olds on the Net, that might prove to be a bit more difficult. At 12, I'm told, kids are one year away from raging hormones, juvenile crimes, PG-13 movies and the decline of morality. So, what might concern the parents of these preteens is not computer skill, but freedom on the Net.

You want an essay on ``A Tale of Two Cities?'' You can find it right at this web site. Just print it out and stick your name on top. You want Hustler magazine outtakes? The Internet has that, too. Just click and tell your mom it's for your biology research paper. You want to start a relationship on the Net? Just go to the chat rooms. They're easy, fun and not even regulated!

And while the 12-year-olds are navigating the Net, 18-year-olds can be found in colleges - at least 18-year-olds with a high school diploma, a pulse and the much-needed money. Unfortunately, many of these students never will get a degree. Perhaps it's not the ability to go to college about which we should worry; maybe it's the ability to finish college.

Then, again, maybe we shouldn't worry about college at all if we're planning to add two more grades to high schools. If that ever goes into effect, colleges will lose their appeal as institutions of cerebral fine-tuning to average students and to those glorified high school students on every single Aaron Spelling show that stars his own two kids.

At that point, I got up from my seat and turned off the TV. Clinton stopped talking. Congress vanished. The whole screen went black.

Dream on, America. MEMO: Grace Hsiu is a junior at Cox High School. Her column appears

bimonthly. If you'd like to comment on her column, call Infoline at

640-5555 and enter category 6778 or write to her at 4565 Virginia Beach

Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va 23462.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu