SPEAKOUT

THIS CALL IS in response to a Thursday, April 18, Speak Out comment concerning public versus parochial school education. I have relatives who have taught in either public or parochial schools, and I have attended both public and parochial schools as a student. There are many excellent teachers in both educational settings. The difference is, in the parochial school setting, there is a much greater degree of parental involvement. When many parents care enough to volunteer and get involved, the children get the message that education is important, and thus usually perform better in school. It is not fair to criticize the teachers for the shortcomings of parents who do not care enough to see that their child at least tries in school. Thank you.

THIS IS TO Peter Kinder and to others concerning the education issue. I will be glad when Mr. Kinder and the others finally put their head on straight. You cannot compare oranges and apples. When you compare the other countries to the United States you're being totally unfair to the people of the United States. The other countries do not educate their whole nation; the United States does. The other countries educate only the superior, the others are given vocational training, and that's it. You have got to realize that the United States is trying to do more with less. Your teachers are highly educated, very underpaid, have no respect. The parents do not back them up, the children are taught by their parents that the teachers are not the ones in control, that the student is. When the teacher has to deal more with misbehavior of the students than being able to teach the subject, or, if they're having to deal with administrative bureaucracy, as you call it, then they're not able to devote as much time to the education of the American student. I see that you're using a Mr. Shanker in your column in Sunday's paper, but I would like for you to understand that you are comparing again oranges to apples. The legislative body, the president, and the secretary of education are not educators. Thank you very much.

I WOULD LIKE to comment on Ronald Fischer's response on delinquent sewer bills. He says we haven't had an increase in bad debts in them and the sewer debt is about 3 percent of sewer-usage revenue. Well, personally 3 percent is a pretty high percentage when the banks, for instance, only put aside less than 1 percent of their total sales for lost reserves. Fischer goes on to say that that's our cost of operation and it's not a significant part of the sewer rates. I think of $1,000 that I have paid in this category over the years. Three percent of that is pretty significant and the revenue could be used for the city if the matter was pursued in a more business-like manner. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO COMMENT about the situation now in progress between the railroads, the carriers and the government. I'm a railroader and most of us resent having the government shove a contract down our throat. Workers of the United States no longer have any rights. People had better wake up and see what the government is doing to the unions and to the workers of the United States if they want to have any rights to negotiate for contracts anymore.

TO THE PERSON who objected to the $300,000 funding for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission, a better question would be, why do we live in such a place that refuses to accept a federal holiday honoring one of our greatest Americans? Would you be nearly as upset if the money were spent to fight casual marijuana use? Thank you very much.

I'D LIKE TO say I really enjoy watching the people playing with the skis downtown on the waterfront. I'm glad to see them enjoying themselves and not causing any harm to anyone. As far as the people complaining about them showing off their expensive toys, you're probably the same people who complained about the kids driving up and down Broadway and are jealous of anyone who has anything nice. I like watching these guys. My whole family enjoys watching them, and my wife has even thought about buying one. So don't complain about things you haven't tried. It's hardly a quite place anyway with the railroad trains going by. Thank you.

I OPPOSE ANY bus garage being built near a school next to a residential area. I am not a resident of Springview Drive or the surrounding neighborhood but I am a parent of a child who attends Orchard Drive Elementary School. It's my opinion no action should have been taken in this matter until everyone had been advised and had a chance to speak out. Letters should have been sent home with the children from school letting everyone know about the upcoming vote for the special-use permit. Letters are sent home for everything else from every other organization and it should have been done for something as important as this. By the time the rest of the parents learned what was happening it was too late to do anything about it and I feel cheated.

THIS IS TO the SEMO student who thinks that higher wages for the teachers would make better students and smarter people in America. I would like to say that I spent a good bit of time on different occasions in classrooms and almost always the teacher was absent from the room, doing everything but teaching. I cannot see the logic of his thinking because I think our teachers are the best paid teachers in the world, and yet the people in the schools are learning nothing because the teachers are teaching nothing. Our teachers are so interested in money and unions that they are not at all interested in teaching. All of them I have ever seen deserve to be fired and be made to realize that there's more to teaching than campaigning for raises. They should be ashamed of themselves, individually and as a group. Thank you.

THIS IS TO the people who think parochial school children have better educations than public school children. If you believe they are better educated, you will find that the education is not what is counting with these children; it is the parent support and push from people who are paying to have their children go to a parochial school. The public schools do not have this parent support. Thank you.

IN RESPONSE TO the complaining river watcher who doesn't like jet skis. We know Cape Girardeau is a historic city but times have changed since the 1800s. At least citizens going to the river have something exciting to watch instead of just looking at the polluted water. If you would like for us to jet ski somewhere else you could have passed the Bollinger lake project. Besides, cars put out more pollution than jet skis do, and many more cars are being used than jet skis. So find us another good place close, and we'll jet ski there. Until then you can still find us in the river, and, if you don't like it, you can sit in your back yard and have your time away from traffic and commotion. Thank you.

I, FOR ONE, am pleased to see that Central is making a change in the football and basketball programs. Being a good guy and a friend of Marty Mishow does not make one a good coach. The win-loss record can be deceptive; Central routinely has enough talent to win more games than they lose. Since most of the young men and women who play high-school sports will not go professional or even play in college, factors such as team discipline, self-discipline, fundamentals, team unity, self-concept, mutual respect, and public image are also very, very important. The number of games won and lost will be reviewed every Monday morning, but personal values learned and instilled will be practiced for the rest of one's life. Thank you.

IN RESPONSE TO the person against jet skiers, you are hardly picking a place where there is peace and quiet. There are barges constantly cruising up and down the river and every time a train goes by they lay on the horn from Cape Rock to Smelterville. That's hardly the noise created by a jet skier. Our family enjoys going to the river and watching the skiers. It is actually something that us as parents and our children enjoy doing together as a family. Hopefully the jet skiers will keep riding like they always did. Thank you.