Speak Out 06/12/04

New works program

I BELIEVE the non-violent offenders in prison could be put to work planting trees where there have been fires out West or cleaning parks kind of like a WPA program. It would be beneficial to society and save money also.

Admiring the home

I JUST finished reading Jo Ann Bock's column in The Best Years. I was thrilled to see the picture and read her article about the house at 1453 Broadway. I have lived in Cape Girardeau for 50 years and have made many trips down Broadway, always admiring this stately home. I never had the opportunity to see the inside of the home but always wished I had. It will be a very sad day for me if this lovely two-story brick is ever dismantled. I'm glad to know that other people besides myself have over the years admired this home.

Change jobs

THIS IS in response to the comment from the teacher who said her sister makes more money as a waitress than she does. The job market's wide open. Why doesn't she change jobs? We need more people to get out of teaching, because they are interested in money instead of trying to teach our kids.

Tearing down

I GET a good belly laugh every time I see a conservative extremist use the term "Bush haters." Do they think we've already forgotten how the same writers who cry about criticisms of President Bush did nothing but tear down Bill Clinton on a daily basis? Isn't this the definition of hypocrisy?

Pressure teaching

I'M A dedicated third-grade teacher. The family as a unit is slowly slipping away. If families are the same now as they were 30 years ago, why do parents never come to my conferences, or why do I only have three parents come to my open house? Where are the parents when one of my students is having a reading or math problem? There are many students with very dedicated parents, but there are also a lot of students without substantial support. Just because they show up at a high school graduation does not indicate their support for 13 years of education. You need to look at all the stuff teachers have to teach nowadays. We don't just teach the three R's. We teach children how to deal with worldly problems. Need I say more? Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love my job, but don't criticize my job until you've walked in my shoes.

In the aftermath

I'M A nurse. Yes it's a motorist's choice to wear a seat belt or not, but many of those who don't end up unconscious with a closed-head injury. Then their families are the ones that hover in the hospitals for months, covering the walls of their room with pictures of family and friends and playing their favorite music to try to bring them back to awareness. Their families are the ones who pay the bills for these people who want their own choice. If you don't love your family any more than that when you're awake and alert and with it, you ought to tell them now so that they know what they have ahead for them if you wind up with a closed-head injury.

Storm damage

WHY NOT be thankful the storm took trees and power lines and spared houses?

Limited family

OF COURSE the families always show up at graduation. But where are they day in and day out raising their child? Where are they when we call because their child is not doing well and we're worried about them and think they need some extra help or some extra attention? We're doing it on our time for free. But the parents don't return calls. You have no clue what we deal with. Parents don't come to back to school nights. Less than a third of our parents show up. They don't come to parent conferences. You know why? Some parents tell us, "I have my own life, I don't have time to mess with this. You take care of it." Don't tell me these kids have families in the true sense of the word who are dedicated to helping them grow up the best way they can. Just showing up at the happy events does not create family.