Views in brief
When testing equals teacher-bashing
FABULOUS PIECE ("Answer No. 1: Stop scapegoating teachers"). As a parent with 13 years of experience in the New York City public school system, I could not agree more.
No Child Left Behind and this "reform" movement has boiled down to union-bashing and teacher-bashing--and even those poor families in neighborhoods with terrible schools should be able to see how little the reform that was supposed to help them most has actually brought them.
Every year, parents, teachers and administrators now obsess over testing and scores. When I look at them and say I don't care about another doctored exam (on which many people actually cheat!), they think I'm insane.
I want my children to have a conversation in their classrooms, to develop a sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness, and to learn the tools to satisfy that sense of wonder. How do test scores measure that? How's reform working for us? Here in New York City, it's been a disaster!
Sarah Nikolic, New York
The attack on teachers' unions
THIS IS a great article ("Answer No. 1: Stop scapegoating teachers").
I think what is overlooked is the fact that teachers are the largest unionized group in the U.S. The presence of such a huge union in the U.S. is especially dangerous to union opponents during a time like this, because of the "threat of a bad example."
The teachers' union is a large, long-standing and strong union. Everyone can see this huge, successful union, which is very discomforting for labor opponents.
Needless to say, unions are considered a threat in this country, because giving people proper wages and conditions will shave off some profit. In order to remove the threat of unions in the U.S., it is imperative that the country's largest union is smashed. And a good way to begin breaking that union is to transform teaching from a profession into a "job" like working at the Gap, or even a "McJob."
This way, young, desperate, debt-infused young people can be harnessed for a year, two or three--working in a low-paying, yet difficult, field, until they are burnt out, then discarded for the next young crop.
Jerry Cargill. teacher, Local 1211, Palatine, Ill.
Teaching can't be reduced to numbers
THANK YOU to Sarah Knopp for the excellent article ("A teacher pushed to the edge"). It is at the same time comprehensive, objective and humanistic.
The latter is a quality that needs to be recognized by education policy makers and administrators alike. We are people educating people, and need to appreciate the qualitative, as well as the quantitative, measures of progress and performance.
Our approach needs to be cogent, as is Sarah's, as well as sensitive, to the art of teaching and learning.
Again, thanks to Sarah Knopp for well-researched and pointed arguments against the pseudoscience that threatens public education policy and thus our students, educators, public schools and the very democracy which rests on public education.
Susan McLeary, San Pedro, Calif.
Sold out by the UAW
REGARDING "THE UAW's push for concessions": They did a contract extension vote at the Three Rivers American Axle and Manufacturing plant about one month ago. We voted it down by 45 votes.
Less than a week later, corporate visited the plant to see what went wrong with the extension agreement. Two days later, a letter (from the plant manager) came out and was distributed around the shop. It stated that we needed to reconsider our position, or 200 people could "anticipate" being let go.
Then, at the next Local 2093 membership meeting, someone put in a motion for a revote. Hmm! We had the revote and it passed. We are stuck with a seven-year extension with people starting at $10 an hour and 50 cents a year raise.
Why is our UAW selling us out? Are they getting golden parachutes too?
Matt Montcalm, Three Rivers, Mich.
Duke employees getting left behind
I READ this article in my local paper and was revolted. I wanted to share and see if you were interested in spreading the word.
It states: "The top three earners at Duke Health System were Chancellor Victor Dzau, with a base salary of $979,435 and a bonus of $983,654; CEO William Fulkerson, with a base of $539,994 and a bonus of $318,799; and Senior Vice President Kenneth Morris, whose base and bonus were $567,173 and $264,691."
My wife, an employee at Duke, had all raises and bonuses (hilariously small anyway) suspended in 2008; they are yet to be restored.
Why is there not equality in the compensation structure? I'm not convinced that everyone needs annual bonuses representing 80-100 percent of their salary rather that nobody does or everyone gets something modest. Truly amazing and despicable.
Anonymous, from the Internet
