This week’s edition!
Archive for September 2011
LETTER: “Less-than-stellar teachers”
To the Editor:
Would Dick Sabine really have us believe that the poor performance of our communities’ students on the SAT is entirely to blame on their teachers? (Letter to the Editor: “School policies should be judged by a jury,” p. 3, TCT, August 25, 2011)
I have no doubt that there are some less-than-stellar teachers in our school system, just as there are some less-than-stellar workers in many of our other workplaces. But the idea that simply eliminating teacher tenure, even if that were feasible or desirable, would magically transform the performance of our students on the SAT is a bit hard for me to swallow.
Students are not passive vessels that simply “soak up” knowledge imparted to them by their teachers. Learning is an active process. Paying attention during lessons, taking notes, asking questions, practicing with the new material and studying are all crucial aspects of the student’s role in the process.
Collins: Are You Ready If Disaster Strikes?
By U.S. Senator Susan Collins
(R-Maine)
Tornadoes in Northern Maine? An earthquake along the East Coast? A hurricane in New England?
These are acts of Mother Nature that we don’t see very often, and we often have little to no time to prepare once—or if—we receive the warning.
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and devastating storms like Hurricane Katrina reinforced many of the lessons of preparedness and led to a law I coauthored to strengthen our nation’s capacity to respond to natural disasters, as well as terrorist attacks.
The government has established protocols that will help our country through natural disasters, disease pandemics, catastrophic accidents or vicious acts of terrorism. And your household should have them too.
