Opinion
Education Opinion

Letters

August 17, 2001 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Field Work

While I think “Field of Dreams” [May/June] gives the organic garden at Martin Luther King Middle School a wonderful, positive spin, there’s more to the story. In 1997, I was a student teacher at MLK for the 6th grade bilingual class. Many of the Latina girls resisted working in the garden because the physical labor reminded them of where their families had come from, not where they were trying to go. Many girls spent their garden time gossiping and lamenting the heat, the dirt, and the fact that they were working in the fields, just as their parents and grandparents had done when they first arrived in the United States.

Michelle Potter
Sebastopol, California


American Dreamer

Thank you for the inspirational article “This Is Yousef Hannon’s Story” [May/June]. My past intertwines in many ways with Hannon’s life story. In 1968, I was a camp counselor in Petach Tikva, Israel, so I understand the frustrations he faced in Nablus. When I was a teacher in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I took my District 211 students to an inner-city school and learned about the lack of respect, the poor attendance, and the many challenges facing the heroic teachers who make a difference in such schools. Teaching now in a private school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I strive to show my students how the American dream still lives— and you give me Hannon as an example. My hat is off to Hannon and his family.

Carolyn Brown
DePere, Wisconsin


On the Edge

Having just returned from Antarctica, I was quite intrigued by the “Extreme Teaching” articles, “Educators On The Edge” and “Polar Attraction” [April]. I had not considered myself an “extreme” teacher, but maybe I’m close. In January, I had the opportunity to take a two-week sabbatical to Antarctica. Upon my return to school, the director of our technology department helped me edit the still photos and videos I had taken to produce a 15-minute, narrated color video, which I shared with my school’s 1st through 6th grades. I now have the video for my classes on glaciers, and the school primary science specialist will use it for penguin lessons.

Diane Schmidt
Pine Crest School
Fort Lauderdale, Florida


Rash Decisions

A high school teacher of 30-plus years, I read with interest “The Fourth-Year Itch” [April]. It seems the author missed one very significant point: The blame for this situation lies mainly with colleges and their increasingly early admissions offers. It is yet another infuriating and anti-educational act in which the college tail wags the secondary dog. It is time for the secondary school community to speak up and demand that colleges make their admission offers later rather than sooner. This should be possible in a computer age. If the colleges want an example, I suggest they look to Australia, where college starts in late February or early March and no college admission offers are made till approximately mid-January.

This is a serious problem. Colleges are robbing high school students of up to a year of learning and then have the gall to complain about the lack of preparation among first- year students.

Ken O’Connor
Scarborough, Ontario


Playing Favorites

I found it disturbing, though not surprising, that Sandra Erlandson of Woodlands High School would say Our Town “can be so boring” [“Dramatic Choices,” April]. This play is a work of great subtlety and texture that is not necessarily revealed on superficial reading or viewing. I believe it to be a significant work that deals effectively with enduring themes and lends itself to thoughtful criticism and analysis.

B.W. Coulson
Fairfield High School
Langdon, Kansas


Mad Maven

John Gatto may or may not be a great teacher. We certainly can’t tell from “The World According To Gatto” [March]. Some of his students may have liked him, but that’s only a measure of popularity. The question is: Did the majority of them learn what they were supposed to learn? I have my doubts.

Sure, my students would love to be able to stroll around town and not take tests, but the fact is that there are things kids should learn in school. This “terrible” system of ours has produced millions of competent and more than competent people. Gatto didn’t learn to read from a “fun-loving mayor” or learn to write from a “high- rolling car dealer"; he learned it in school.

I don’t believe anyone thinks things couldn’t be better in public schools. Gatto, however, shows a remarkable lack of logic when he recommends an end to mandatory schooling. His idea of metaphorically blowing up the public school system and then letting nature take its course is not brilliant. It’s silly.

Larry Barrieau
Winchendon, Massachusetts


Spell Check

I read “Spellbound” [March] about the girl who supposedly cast a spell on one of her teachers. I am a 15-year-old who practices Wicca, and I do, in fact, own several of Silver RavenWolf’s books. She states many times that anyone who brings harm to oneself or another person is not considered a Witch because the only real Witches and Wiccans are those who practice white magic. Even if this girl did perform a spell to cause a heart attack on a teacher, the words said at the end of every spell, “Let this be done with harm to none,” would prevent the spell from going into effect if it were to bring harm to whomever it is cast on.

Mandy Nemeroff
Atlanta, Georgia


I was disappointed when I read “Spellbound.” I respect open-minded reporting, and I found the article to be biased and unprofessional. I personally do not support either side of the story, but in my view, journalism should be a statement of facts, not a persuasive essay. I will not purchase your magazine, and our school will not be continuing its subscription.

Katie Kuhl
Scottsdale, Arizona


Teacher Magazine welcomes the opinions and comments of its readers. Letters should be 300 words or fewer and may be edited for clarity and length. All letters and submissions should include an address and phone number. Mail them to Teacher Magazine, 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814. Letters also may be sent to tmletter@epe.org.
A version of this article appeared in the August 01, 2001 edition of Teacher Magazine as Letters

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read