Speak out 11/4/08

Dangerous barrier

THE MISSOURI Department of Transportation should have installed the crossover barrier in the middle of the I-55 median instead of on the shoulder. Since the crossover barrier was installed on the shoulder and within four feet of the left lane of the interstate, a vehicle hitting the barrier could easily be hit by another motorist on the interstate. If the barrier was in the middle of the median, the possibility of a vehicle being hit by another motorist could be greatly reduced. You would think the highway engineers would have recognized this.

Central winners

CONGRATULATIONS TO the Central High School marching band. I am an alumnus who marched in the band years ago, and I know how much work and dedication is required to win. Central also has a successful cross-country team, soccer team, tennis team, dance team and academic competition team. The recent article about the Merit Scholarship finalist with a perfect ACT score from Central is a good example. I know there are many other successes as well.

Competing cables

THE INTERSTATE guard cable is needed to reduce crossover accidents. The ideal location is in the center of the median. However, there is a major fiber-optic cable in the median of I-55. Also, the two-tenths-of-a-mile markers are cheaper than the old method. The old method involved white plastic markers every tenth of a mile and mile markers every mile. The plastic markers were constantly destroyed. The new ones are much more rarely hit and have breakaway posts, reducing damage to the sign and the car. They promote safety as well. Imagine you are an out of state driver and witness an accident. Calling 911 you need the name of the route you are on, the direction you are traveling and the mile number. Now all the information you need is on one sign within eyesight.

Problems with AR

I AM a reading specialist, and I believe the Accelerated Reader program is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It is supposed to motivate reading, but what it actually motivates is the points students earn. These points are figured into their overall class grade. How is that any different than the motivation that comes from a regular reading assignment? In actuality, students read the selection, take a quiz and receive a score. If the student doesn't master the skills, he must reread the selection and retake the quiz. Guess what? I've watched and listened to hundreds of students, and they do all sorts of things to get around this. They either go back and skim to find the answers they missed, or they ask a classmate who has already passed the quiz, or they do any number of things to pass the quiz. Most of the students I've observed over the years skim quickly over the selection. Their goal is not to read, but to earn the points. Stop accepting the AR public relations and do in-depth research. You will find that objective studies prove that AR is, at best, no more effective than regular instruction and, in many cases, not effective at all.