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  • Why we should fight for public education

    The fight for public education funding is very newsworthy. As a retired teacher and concerned citizen, I worry about our children’s future. It’s a national problem. Wouldn’t we all agree with this quote from New York state teacher union President Dick Iannuzzi: “Cry out with one voice to fight for the future of public education. It’s a fight about celebrating, not demonizing, educators. About supporting quality in higher education, not pathways that lead nowhere. About informative assessments, not the tyranny of obsessive standardized testing. About schools and children, not corporations and billionaires . . . About dreamers and the DREAM Act, not denying access to children and immigrants . . . It’s a fight about the future of public education--and getting it right.”

  • Oppose the STEM trend in favor of real learning

    The much-touted program of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education is really about training people for jobs in technology companies. But training is vastly different from education, and STEM is a perversion that everyone who believes in true education should oppose.

  • Train spill responders in Tacoma, save costs

    Here is the information about a recent press release from Ecology (state Department of Ecology News Release 13-122, May 7, 2013, ecy.wa.gov). Every year this group goes to Eastern Washington to train. Most of the spill responders reside in Western Washington.

  • Mental health support fights an uphill battle

    The recent tragic circumstances regarding a mental health counselor should not overshadow the work that mental health organizations do for those suffering with a very debilitating disorder. We live in an age where those with mental illness are isolated and vilified. Even the very definition of mental illness is skewed daily in the public eye.

  • Children can be violent and teachers must cope

    A letter in the May 7 issue aired the complaints of a parent whose child received some bruises at school, supposedly by school personnel. I am retired with 35 years as a classroom teacher, mostly special education. I believe the public would be shocked to see how violent and physical small children can be when in a “meltdown.”

  • City could have built downtown parking lot

    The City Council of Olympia has always said its supports the downtown businesses, but the installation of the parking meters is so counterproductive to encouraging people to come downtown. Enough with the parking meters.

  • Tired of robo calls all day, every day

    I want to know how we got to the point at which being on the “Do Not Call List” has been redefined to mean “Annoy Me All Day With Your Harrasing Calls.”

  • Ex-Clark County staff suggests a recall vote

    The Olympian says Clark County is “Looking more like a banana republic than a progressive metropolitan county.” I agree with the sentiment. But Clark County is a banana republic because we elect banana Republicans.

  • Give schools funding but also some reforms

    As a parent and a taxpayer, I urge the Legislature to look at what is really going to get better results for our students, and to give those programs the funding they deserve. Budget negotiators should prioritize funding for full-day kindergarten, academic acceleration, teacher and principal performance evaluations, implementation of the Common Core State Standards, and a 24-credit high school diploma that will actually provide students with all the credits they need to get into a state college.

  • Give legislators letter grade on easy, irrelevant criteria

    So state Sen. Rodney Tom and others think schools would be improved by assigning them letter grades based on test scores and graduation rates. What a wonderful, simple idea.

McClatchy Opinion »

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