Letters in response to Paige "terrorist" remark ...

["Susan Allison" <sueallison@comcast.net>]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24806-2004Mar2.html

washingtonpost.com 
Mr. Paige and Students' Real Needs 




Wednesday, March 3, 2004; Page A26 


Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige's comment that the National Education Association is a "terrorist organization" [news story, Feb. 24] adds credence to the theory that the administration believes anyone who disagrees with it is a traitor. 

It also displays the glaring anti-union bias within the administration. 

LUIS E. HESTRES

Arlington

.

While supporters of the No Child Left Behind Act [op-ed, "Focus on the Children," Feb. 27] typically paint critics of the legislation as obstructionists who care little for the welfare of children, I as a teacher (and critic of the act) believe supporters want what is best for kids. The problem is that they want it on the cheap. And nothing is cheaper, shallower and more sensational (i.e. headline-grabbing) than foisting a federal one-size-fits-all testing scheme on an endeavor as complex as educating a child.

I find much irony in comments like those of Alan Greenspan that our educational system must be "forward-looking" to confront the "evolving needs of the economy and the realities of our changing society." If this society demands a workforce well schooled in the rote memorization of standardized trivia, then the act will have our country well positioned. But if the future demands depth of understanding and innovation, I fear America will be left behind.

True education innovation will never come from the White House, Congress or the Department of Education. It will come from the front lines (classrooms) and from "forward-looking" contributors to education.

DAN OTTER

Bethesda

.

Education Secretary Paige makes the mistake that most of the education debates in this country make: saying that schools are the problem and that vouchers and "accountability" are the solution.

Mr. Paige is wrong when he says teachers are "the single most important factor in student achievement." The most important factor is parents and home life. Nothing a teacher or school does can replace a responsible adult supervising, loving, respecting and teaching a young person. 

DAVID KLEIN

Doylestown, Pa.



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