Inbox: Jun. 18, 2007

Failing to Make the Grade

As a teacher and parent, I give No Child Left Behind (NCLB) a failing grade [June 4]. There is no way to fix a law that operates under the flawed assumption that tests rather than teachers should govern curriculum. Testing is simply a tool for measuring learning in the same way that a thermometer is an instrument for reading temperature. What would happen to the health of a nation if lawmakers tried to force doctors to spend a large portion of their time taking patients’ temperatures instead of practicing medicine? The reality of NCLB is that it allows few children to get ahead.

Lynn Becker Haber TRUMBULL, CONN.

Why do some educators believe that memorization is the key to intelligence? What about balancing the potential of the right brain with the left? Have developing creativity and encouraging imaginative thinking been put on the shelf? And what about the need to encourage integrity? The narrow-minded definition of what constitutes a bright human being is certainly altering the nature of the broader learning experience.

Al Beck, Professor Emeritus, Culver-Stockton College, MONROE CITY, MO.

You did a great job identifying steps to improve the supply side of education, but what about the demand side? In how many schools is being smart seen as uncool? In how many schools are the real heroes those who excel in sports rather than academics? How many parents are not involved enough in their children’s education? If we can inspire a greater love of learning–not for test results but just for a high regard for achievement–there would be no need for the NCLB legislation.

Robert Littlefield PROVINCETOWN, MASS.

On the index page you explained that you created four cover images “to reflect the diversity of students” affected by NCLB. But you managed to leave behind an entire gender: there was not a single male student on any of the covers.

Marina Krefft, DARIEN, ILL.

NCLB does need a major overhaul. Among many other proposals, the Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB stands out for its power to attract widespread support. The statement has been endorsed by 129 national education, civil rights, disability, civic and labor organizations, representing 50 million Americans. The groups recommend that Congress replace arbitrary and unrealistic “adequate yearly progress” requirements with reasonable expectations for improvement, reduce testing mandates, ensure the use of multiple measures instead of one-size-fits-all tests, remove counterproductive sanctions and greatly increase funding. The NCLB should require and provide support for schools to take reasonable steps to improve educational quality.

Monty Neill, Ed.D., Co-Executive Director, FairTest, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

I have observed that plenty of children get left behind. The needs of students with no hope of passing proficiency tests and those who will certainly pass are largely ignored. Pity the poor child who just barely fails. He is prodded with extra tutoring morning, noon and night in the hope that his scores will cross into the light. As a 33-year veteran music teacher, I also notice how the arts and other subjects are sometimes disregarded. We are short-changing the multiple intelligences that our children possess.

Jay Singer, PEPPER PIKE, OHIO

Your writers asked if there is too much reading and math in Grades 1 through 6. Children need to master the Three Rs (reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic) to fully comprehend and appreciate history, science and all other subjects. Those who don’t will truly be left behind.

Dennis Hurst, GAUSE, TEXAS

As a public school teacher and mother of a Marine, I read with equal interest about NCLB and “One Day in Iraq.” It is ironic that I will lose my job if I fail to meet President George W. Bush’s NCLB benchmarks for progress in my class, yet his Administration squanders our tax dollars and children’s lives and tells us we have no right to expect accountability and progress with its protracted war in Iraq.

Helen Logan-Tackett, FULLERTON, CALIF.

As a veteran English teacher, I need to speak some ugly truths you will never hear from politicians or school officials: this country is full of clueless, disengaged parents who can’t or won’t control their kids. Many of my students shamelessly admit they never study, do homework or read books for fun. Meanwhile, I spend a lot of instructional time shutting them up, waking them up and telling them to put away their cell phones. I love my job and my students, but I’m tired of taking all the blame for education’s problems. Everyone needs to be held accountable.

Stephanie Powers, TAMPA, FLA.

On the cover you gave NCLB a  C. ANY government program that gets a grade of C is a stunning success–leave it alone!

John Ratto, PACIFIC GROVE, CALIF.

Gas Pains

I found Nancy Gibbs’ “Pain in the Gas” mildly disturbing [June 4]. How can people not care about how much it costs to fill their car’s tank? What about hardworking Americans like me who live check to check and simply cannot afford to spend $55 to $75 to fill up? I drive a 1989 Volvo, which gets 24 m.p.g., but I live far from work. I get less than a week’s commute out of a tank of gas. I’m paying a lot of money that I can’t really spare just to get to my job.

Brian Dower, NEW MILFORD, CONN.

The high gas prices we are paying are due not only to the increased demand by drivers but also to that by the plastics industry for crude oil. When we rein in our use of plastic, we will stop shooting ourselves in the foot at the gas pump.

Sonja Schlesner, LAKE GENEVA, WIS.

The story’s closing line read “A man’s car is still his castle, and you don’t pick a castle for its energy efficiency.” Flip a few pages to the heartbreaking stories of our fallen heroes, many of whom have left behind parents who do not support the war. Isn’t the war in part about the future of our fuel supply? The 25% boost in SUV sales and the $130 spent at the pump show that we support the war. Setting aside the issue of global warming, how can we think so little about where all this gas is coming from? Are we a country that prizes its creature comforts over the lives of our youths?

Karen O’Shea, SARASOTA, FLA.

Honoring Lives Lost

After reading “One Day in Iraq,” I hope the American people never forget the pain of war [June 4]. What a sad day for the U.S. and the families of these young men. Aureliano De La Torre said, “Now that my son is gone, there is a vacancy in Iraq. Maybe the President would like to send one of his daughters over there to continue to fight in Jesse’s place.” Let us not forget that Bush himself passed on the chance to fight. After reading the stories of these six men, it seems the vacancies will be hard to fill.

Mark O’Neill, OMAHA, NEB.

While I sympathize with De La Torre for the loss of his son, he should be reminded that his son chose to enlist in the military knowing that he might make the ultimate sacrifice. De La Torre’s statement that Bush should send one of his daughters to fight in his son’s place shows that his disapproval of this war is overshadowing his son’s very adult, brave and selfless decision. As the wife of a former military officer, it saddens me that people forget we do not force anyone in this country to join the military. The men and women of the military don’t need the American people to protect them. They need America to support them. That means supporting them both in time of war and in their decision to enlist.

Michele Posehn, WATCHUNG, N.J.

Herbal Healing

Dr. Sanjay Gupta warned of the side effects of herbal supplements, but herbal therapies and mainstream medicine have long been successfully integrated in Germany [June 4]. Since 1998, the English translation of the herbal equivalent to the Physicians’ Desk Reference has been available in the U.S.: The Complete German Commission E Monographs.

Scott S. Smith, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.

I have no problem with Gupta’s cautioning readers about herbal supplements. The reactionary fear of natural remedies was interesting, though, given that more than 10% of the issue’s pages were dedicated to ads from pharmaceutical companies.

Adam J. Hecktman, CHICAGO

I would like to see a comparison of how many people in this country die each year as a result of taking herbal supplements and how many die each year as a result of faulty prescription-medicine usage. Print that; then let’s talk some more.

Perry Robinson, SEYMOUR, TENN.

Should Pirates Walk the Plank?

Never have I felt so in tune with a critic as I did while reading Richard Schickel’s review of the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie [June 4]. He was right that you can’t follow the story while wide awake but that sleeping is out of the question because the movie is too noisy. I had no idea what the characters were doing but I loved watching them do it. My husband said if they make another one, it will be about the fountain of youth. I responded, “Oh, Lord, you mean they might make another one?”

Sybil Schmidt, NEWNAN, GA.

The only people who were confused about the ending were the ones who didn’t pay attention. The director put all the key points right in front of the audience, so it wasn’t hard to see how and why everything worked out the way it did. I suggest Schickel watch the movie again.

Natalie Conger, WRIGHTSTOWN, N.J.

Lessons in Honesty

In “A Question Of Honor” [May 28] Duke University vice provost Bob Thompson defended the decision to abandon the Turnitin.com plagiarism-detection website on the ground that checking student work for plagiarism is inconsistent with “a place that is trying to presume honor.” Honor is wonderful and admirable, but it cannot be willed upon a group of young men and women. Ethics courses and elegant speeches about the value of integrity are not enough to curb academic dishonesty. Thompson seems to think honest students are hurt by the expression of mistrust implicit in using Turnitin. Those students are smart enough to know that they are hurt much more if the authenticity of their good work is questioned and their achievements are undermined because their peers are able to earn the same marks for papers obtained with a credit card instead of a work ethic.

Ryan Rudich, CHICAGO

If we use Thompson’s reasoning, the police should no longer be allowed to use radar to catch speeders, we shouldn’t have to register guns, and the IRS should never audit anybody. We should all be trusted to do the right thing.

Valerie Evans, HARROGATE, TENN.

In 36 years of teaching English, I have learned that plagiarism is a symptom of disengaged learning; inaccurate source citation; and poor reading, writing and organization skills. Teachers must demand not just the product but also the process by giving intellectually challenging assignments, monitoring progress and holding students accountable for their work. Furthermore, students must believe that teachers will help them become ethical, mature citizens and are not just out to catch instances of plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional.

Dorothy Mikuska, OAK BROOK, ILL.

Your article on the growing number of cheating students reported that 67% of respondents to a survey admitted to having cheated. I can imagine that many readers opened their eyes wide in surprise, but we students did not. Even the most honest straight-A students will succumb to the pressure of cheating more than once in their academic career. Students will always stay three steps ahead of administrators in this game. Schools should go after repeat cheaters rather than one-time cheaters. And perhaps teachers should spend less time being worried about the honesty of their students and spend more time upholding the job description outlined in their contracts: teaching. In the end, cheaters will realize that their methods have not been beneficial. How do I know this? Take a wild guess.

Abhishek Chandrasekhar, ATLANTA

White-Collar Blues

James Poniewozik questioned why there aren’t more songs related to the world of white-collar workers, given that 60% of the workforce is employed in the white-collar sector [May 28]. But really, who sounds more interesting: John Henry, the steel-driving man, or John Henry, the quarterly-report-writing man?

Ryan Whelan, LOVINGTON, ILL.

LETTER FROM A SOLDIER

NEWS FROM THE FRONT LINES

I read with interest Joe Klein’s “There’s Good News from Iraq” [June 4]. I can’t help wondering if the American media are finally starting to notice what we who live and work in Baghdad have known for quite some time: that what we are doing is working. In fact, we have had many successes since 2003, and we continue to go forward with our mission. I wonder when the pundits and politicians will apologize to the American people for being so wrong-headed and defeatist. More important, when will the same folks apologize to those of us here making it happen?

Name Withheld, Major, U.S. Army BAGHDAD

LETTER FROM AN HERBALIST

MIXING MEDICINES

As someone who has studied complementary and alternative medicine for two decades and has successfully used herbs for myself and my family, I found Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s warnings of the dangers of herbs alarmist [June 4]. Instead of warning people about herbal remedies because they lack awareness of their usefulness, physicians would do better to educate themselves. Herbs are valuable for persons seeking to limit their consumption of dangerous pharmaceuticals. Conventional drugs hold many more risks, since they are powerful and cause significant and debilitating side effects. Consumers who take the time to research what they put into their bodies should not be discouraged from using herbs. Self-educate to self-medicate!

Elizabeth Mackenzie, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, PHILADELPHIA

LETTER FROM A MUGGLE

KEEPING THE MAGIC ALIVE

Thank you for suggesting possible titles to continue the Harry Potter series [May 21]. They just confirmed my opinion that author J.K. Rowling is right to pull the plug after releasing this summer’s book. Your selection of subjects–Paris Hilton, steroids, American Idol–demonstrate that the bogeymen here in the adult Muggle world are a lot more frightening, if not evil, than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could ever dream of being, and they would only ruin the magic, if you will, of future Harry Potter books.

Pab Sungenis, VINELAND, N.J. MAILBAG Biggest mail getter: No Child Left Behind 80% No Child Left Behind is too focused on testing 20% Parents don’t focus enough on preparing their kids for school

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