Letters To The Editor
December 02, 2009 - MidWeek
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Del.icio.usThanks, MidWeek
Three Filipino organizations - The Philippine Cultural Foundation of Hawaii, the Philippine Business Women’s Association and the Filipino Women’s Civic Club - recently held a joint meeting. On the agenda was “Who do we thank on this Thanksgiving 2009?”
At the top of the list was MidWeek.As one of our members said, “Imagine Oahu without MidWeek - oh my gosh, no way!”
Believe me, I have seen the excitement and joy of people whose faces and names appear in MidWeek. Thank you for touching so many lives in such a positive way.
Maggie Domingo, president,
Philippine Cultural Foundation of Hawaii;
Maria A.F. Etrata, president,
Filipino Women’s Civic Club;
Bernadette Fajardo, president,
Filipino Business Women’s Association
Eight years and ...
In response to Jerry Coffee’s pro-Afghan war column, may I ask what have we gained after eight years of this aimless war? How long will it continue to drain our resources and kill our young people while our own citizens are not able to afford healthcare?
I wonder, will all who advocate a troop surge be willing to lead nighttime infantry patrols?
Where are the Bushites now who created this endless mess for the U.S.?
Chester Lau
Honolulu
Hey, parents!
I’m writing in response to the numerous columns and letters I read in the MidWeek regarding the teacher furloughs. I am a public school elementary teacher and I I am so tired of reading about how lousy our school system is. Sure there are schools that need the extra help in boosting their scores, but everyone is trying their best to meet the No Child Left Behind Act.
If you’re not a teacher, you have no idea how much extra time goes into making a lesson plan, assessments and correcting papers. It takes hours to create standardized lesson plans and matching grading rubrics. And then when it’s time to grade assessments, that takes another day or two.
I challenge anyone who isn’t a teacher to be one for a week and then judge us as to how difficult it is.
My question in all of this is where were the parents and public voices before all the union voting occurred? It’s not like Gov. Lingle didn’t mention that is what was going to happen just recently. The unions knew what the options were, and right after the teachers ratified their contract, then the other unions followed. And only now the public realizes what this will do to their children’s education? Why didn’t they speak up and make a big fuss before?
It always falls on the teachers and administrators to be held accountable. What about holding parents accountable for their child’s education? I have some parents who take no interest in their child’s education. I have parents who don’t sign homework planners, assessments or even weekly parent teacher logs. I make the parents and students sign homework policies that state what every party should be doing to ensure that the child’s education is effective. When parents don’t follow through on their responsibilities, what does that teach their child?
In the No Child Left Behind Act there is nothing that states what happens when parents don’t also take part in helping educate their child. Teachers can’t do and teach everything, especially when we have them only for six hours a day. The reinforcement and importance of values or responsibility and respectfulness should come from home first.
So don’t judge teachers so quickly. Every school and demographic is different. The level of support teachers get is different, too. Why doesn’t anyone ever focus on the good gains that we have accomplished?
Sherri-Lyn Chang
Aiea
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