Letters to the Editor

Advice on giving

Editor: One of my boyhood movie idols inspired me to write. In the Aug. 11 issue of Newsweek, Kirk Douglas wrote an essay entitled, “What Old Age Taught Me.” Douglas, turning 92 in December, among other topics, addressed his deep depression, which developed in the wake of a stroke he suffered 12 years ago.
Besides the tough love he received from his wife, Ann, what ultimately lifted him out of his despair was learning late in life a very valuable lesson: “Now in my golden years, I’ve learned that you can’t know how to live until you know how to give.” The article goes on to describe his very impressive philanthropic projects in Los Angeles, which Douglas confesses make him feel good.
Because of the current state of our economy and the continuous dreary headlines about it, there is a tendency to pull back. As our personal budgets shrink we necessarily cut back in various ways, and yet as Douglas indicated so well, we ought to think twice about whether to stop the flow of our generosity. A Buddhist teacher once said, “When I am down to my last two crusts of bread, I will give one away.”
The fear that rises when we are in an economic downturn can best be met not by turning inward and pulling the covers over our heads, but by finding opportunities to look and serve outside of ourselves. Giving can happen in lots of ways – not just with our dollars (important as that is). The lonely could use a phone call or visit, the blood bank needs blood, our nonprofits need volunteers, etc. By his own admission, it took Kirk Douglas almost a lifetime to find the secret of giving; perhaps we don’t have to wait that long.
Tim Boeve
Sonoma

NCLB not the solution

Editor: I appreciated the Just Joan article on No Child Left Behind for its efforts to inform the public of the destructive effects of this ill-conceived body of law. As reflected in the article, the majority of educators agree as to the importance of educational standards and the need to measure whether they have been met. However, many believe that NCLB exemplifies the arrogant ignorance of those who, metaphorically, would attempt to design the kitchen without knowing anything about cooking.
Among these legislators and administrative policy-makers are some who would intentionally undermine public education in the interest of funneling public money into nonpublic schools or privatizing public schools to be run like any other business, treating students like any other “product.” NCLB ignores the complexities of the teaching-learning process and the individuality of students, deprives educational professionals of decision-making, and most importantly, harms students by subjecting them to one-size-fits-all, single-instrument, high-stakes tests, which typically do not measure success by the progress a student has made within a given year.
About a decade ago, I participated in an international program, which took me to Japan for nine weeks. Educational reformers shared their concerns related to the Japanese system. They stated that single-instrument, high-stakes tests had produced students who were suffering from: emotional problems that too often led to suicide; lack of social skills and a “zest for life”; and ambitiousness that left no room for empathy. These educators expressed feelings of helplessness and frustration in having no way to help solve educational problems in light of the ever-tightening grip of centralized decision-making and curriculum dictates.
At the same time, the Japanese educators were rightly proud of their country’s “real science” and full-curricular programs in music, art and physical education. In effect, our ill-informed legislators have strapped public schools with all that is problematic in Japan, while effectively depriving students of that which should be imitated. As a result of simplistic, unreasonable, unfunded, and pedagogically unsound demands, legislators and policy-makers have forced schools to drop or severely cut already meager music, art and physical education programs.
Anyone who knows about the brain knows that these subjects support achievement in reading, math, and science. Such people also recognize that humans, especially children, need shelter, nutrition, and safety in order to be focused on learning and achievement (Maslow), much less be alert-on-demand for single-instrument, high-stakes tests. Moreover, there are multiple ways of demonstrating and assessing learning (Howard Gardner). Common sense dictates that those who are with students daily are in a better position to make such determinations than ivory tower legislators or standardized tests used as the sole and ultimate authority on success or failure.
NCLB should be trashed. When legislators “return to the drawing board,” they should meaningfully involve a socio-economically diverse population of those in the trenches, namely teachers, governing boards, administrators, students and parents. The public should continue to be outraged by NCLB and to demand that politicians be put in touch with reality as a means of finding practical, effective, and respectful solutions to problems in public education.
Maureen Dowd, retired teacher
Tucson, Ariz.
(20+ years in the classroom)

Supports Obama

Editor: Recent military actions by Russia in Georgia seem to be playing right into John McCain’s hands by providing an opportunity for the Republicans to appear stronger than Obama on national security. That this has happened just two months before the presidential election is more than just a coincidence. McCain does not want voters to know that Randy Scheunemann, his senior foreign policy adviser, is a personal friend of the president of Georgia who spent years as a paid lobbyist for Georgia. Scheunemann was also a prominent neoconservative who helped engineer the Iraq war. By advising Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to invade the breakaway province of South Ossetia, Scheunemann knew a belligerent Russian military response would result. Reigniting cold war tensions with Russia is an election issue made to order for McCain. The only snag with this strategy is that it happened in August, and we now have time to get the word out and prevent the conservatives from having an “October surprise” to help steal yet another presidential election. Vote for Obama so we can throw the bums out who have so badly damaged our government and foreign policy for the last eight years
Matt Metzler
Sonoma