Speak Out 11/03/03

OK, RETAIL salesperson. After I'm finished rifling through the clothes, I'll put them back in their proper place -- on the condition that you'll quit hiding from me and provide at least minimal customer service.

Not very Christian

I HAVE ceased to be amazed, but I wonder if others are seeing the same things I'm seeing. For example, people who shack up all week long, then on Sunday morning grab their Bibles, which they haven't opened all week, and head out to church. Sunday night they're back in the sack.

It's corruption

LENGTHY DELAYS are a corruption of the court system. We also have corruption in the U.S. Senate by the refusal of senators to vote, up or down, on judicial appointments.

Too much security

I WAS alone, a 60-year-old woman going into the federal building for the first time. Going through the door, I was confronted by three security guards, strutting around in their attractive navy blue blazers. I was asked for my driver's license and told to run my purse through the X-ray. I was told I had a tape measure and a knife in my purse. By the time we got the problem resolved, you could smell the testosterone in the air. As I was leaving the building I was told with a sarcastic tone to have a nice day. The point I want to make is this: The combined salaries of these people represent thousands of our tax dollars a year. Are we paying for security or harassment?

Opposition to name

I'M A member of the Central High School Student Senate. I'm outraged to learn that the head of the Career and Technology Center is heading up the effort to oppose our changing the name of Silver Springs Road to Tiger Pride Drive because he says the career center is not part of the Cape Girardeau School District but a regional institution. I believe his paycheck comes from the school district, and he should get on the bandwagon and support school and district pride.

Wallet is returned

MY SON lost his wallet on the bus when he went to St. Louis to the band competition. I want to thank the First Student bus system for returning the wallet intact. We're very appreciative.

Need spring event

THERE'S SOMETHING at Central High School that I think needs to be changed or at least looked at. In the fall, there's a dance in which all fall activities are allowed make nominations for king and queen. In the winter, there's a dance and the wintertime activities such as basketball get to pick candidates. But in the spring when there's track and baseball, there is no dance and no nominations. This needs to be rectified. The spring activities are just as important as the fall and the winter activities, and they should have the same opportunity to have a queen and king candidate.

Conference idea

IT'S SCHOOL conference time again. They're holding the conferences in the cafeteria and gym. Parents get few chances to be in the school buildings. Wouldn't it be nice to have seats set up by the teachers' rooms and be allowed to attend the class? Most parents have put in a good day's work, and to put them standing in line to wait to talk to a teacher is absurd.

Teacher responds

AS A teacher I need to respond to a couple of comments. One person said there weren't counselors in the elementary schools when they were in school. I'm in my 50s and went to school here in Cape Girardeau. We had counselors in the elementary schools. There was a comment about teachers having the kids grade papers. That implies to me that you're thinking about regular testing. That's not what the counselors do. They don't do classroom testing. They do individual testing of students needing special services. There are all kinds of things that the state and federal government require that we test kids for. As to the woman who said she supports our schools with her tax dollars, which gives her the right to give her opinion. Almost every business somehow benefits from taxpayer dollars. So let me come in and start telling you what to do. I have no problem with taxpayers speaking their mind, but they need to be informed. Some of the comments in Speak Out about the MAP tests and what teachers want are both ill-informed and ridiculous.

Thanks for the help

I JUST wanted to call and say thank you to the men and women of the inspection department who helped out a young woman with her vehicle at city hall a few weeks ago.

Teaching method

YOU WOULD think that an educator would know that when all the students do poorly on a test that there's something wrong and maybe some material needs to be taught over again. But that's not the case with my son's math teacher. She doesn't grade their homework at all. The kids grade their own work and make all their corrections. So when she sees it, there are no errors, and she doesn't know what they've done wrong. Every two weeks or so, she has a test. Then she fusses at the kids because they're not doing well. When my son has asked for help, he's been told he needs to stay after school. Isn't that what the class period is for? Why should he have to stay after school to get help from a teacher? I've brought this up to the school and have been told this is how they all teach. Maybe that's why our MAP scores aren't very good.

Too many trains

WE ARE one of the many families who live along the Burlington-Northern Railroad in Scott County. We have been told the railroad plans to let 30 more trains from another railroad use this track every day in a few months. We are saying please think about it before it happens. With the trains now, our houses and windows shake, our walls all have cracks because of the heavy cars. Years ago, trains only pulled a dozen cars. Now there are more than 100 cars on one train. These tracks will not support that many trains a day. The railroad is putting our homes and our lives in danger. Also, the crossings would not be open very long for school buses and people going to work. What if an emergency vehicle had to cross the tracks?

Killing perspective

EVERY TIME the news comes on, we get a report of how many troops have been killed in Iraq since President Bush said the major fighting was over, not the end of the war. I would like to see a comparison of how many people have been killed in automobiles in the United States since May and how many of those have been caused by drunken driving.