Education Letters 8/10

Responses to guest column “We fail students by minimizing arts,” and Maureen Downey’s column “Hover or hang back,” Opinion, Aug. 3:

The arts give students 
a lifetime of joy, pride

I read Millie Turek’s column on the arts in schools with interest. My grandson attended Sandy Creek High School where Ms. Turek teaches. She instilled a love for music in him that has influenced his adult life. While he was a student, the drama and music departments under Ms. Turek’s direction did a professional-quality program of “West Side Story.”

This type of program is continuing today under her leadership. How do we help our policymakers understand the importance of “aesthetic” education?

Teachers like Millie Turek are constantly asked to defend their programs. Are teachers asked if they think the “three Rs” are necessary? Often, the arts program is the only motivation some students have to remain in school.

Keep on teaching young people to love music, Ms. Turek. There are many of us who support you.

Martha Kruse, Peachtree City

Hesitate to hover and your children are lost

Maureen Downey’s article on whether to “hover” over children in school is so patently naive, it is astounding. In this state, if you are not “helicoptering” your kids in public school, they will never get the education deserved.

It’s a given that the systems in this state are so poor that a parent has to make an vocation of advocating for their children in school. You can’t even take the teacher’s word, let alone the administrator’s word, that they are on top of your child’s needs. They just aren’t.

Parents, go out there and be armed with information and objectives. Don’t assume otherwise, and don’t hesitate for one second.

Jim Simpson, Atlanta

Our children care too much about students

Please help us with an unusual parental dilemma. My husband and I are trying to teach our children not to care. Our son and daughter-in-law teach in Fayette County.

From the beginning of their careers, we have heard of the lack of supplies as well as the lack of administrative and parental support. But this year they will be doing their jobs with a significant decrease of pay and benefits; they are being “furloughed,” up to 10 payless days over the school year.

From the comments of parents and students, we know our children are good teachers. But in the eyes of the system, teachers are a commodity with the goal to purchase the fewest possible at the lowest possible price.

So, we are trying to teach our teacher-children to care less. Don’t work so hard or so long. Don’t worry whether the troubled child gets help, or the struggling student learns. But we’re not having much success. It’s really hard to make a good teacher stop caring.

Sharon Kienast, Newnan 


Mother zoomed in after classroom paddling

I can remember only one time during my school years that my mother came to school for a conference. It was after a fifth-grade male teacher chased me around the room with a wooden paddle. I’m certain I deserved it.

I don’t know how my mother found out, but the next day during recess she showed up for a conference with the teacher. I was embarrassed, but my classmates were excited, because it was the longest recess we had that year.

My mother didn’t “hover,” she “zoomed in.” I don’t know what was said and can’t remember my mother discussing it with me, but I do know that I wasn’t a problem in that class again.

The end result in any teacher-parent conference should be an improvement in the classroom situation for everyone involved. Sometimes it’s a delicate balance when the student and teacher work it out together, but the role of the parent must always be an option.

Jerry Schwartz, Alpharetta


Dedicated teachers show up without pay

The governor placed many local teachers on unpaid leave last month as part of the state’s budget-cutting measures. Teachers certainly understand budget cuts in hard times, but their response to the leave is interesting.

The majority went to work anyway, knowing the school year doesn’t get started without adequate preplanning. As a teacher educator, I’m in contact with teachers across Georgia. Most ignored the furloughs and placed students first. I visited Pepperell Elementary School in Floyd County on the first day of furlough and found the school full of teachers and administrators. I bet this is true across Georgia.

Superintendents would have to lock down schools to keep most teachers away at the beginning of a school year. This makes me thankful to be part of a professional community committed to service.

I only hope folks don’t assume preplanning days are unneeded when Georgia’s students enter rooms prepared for learning. Instead of the state taking days away from teachers, Georgia’s teachers have been graciously donating days (millions of dollars) to the state.

Dara Wakefield, Berry College’s Leland Green Professor of Education


Leadership, effort leads to Hall school’s success

As students prepare for the start of another school year, it will be anything but usual for East Hall Middle School. The school is no longer classified as Needs Improvement status after two consecutive years of achieving Adequate Yearly Progress.

Student demographics of the school in 2007-2008 indicate that Hispanics made up 46 percent, exceeding the average for the system and state.

This contributed to the 14 percent of students who were limited in English proficiency, which exceeds the state average.

The most distinctive feature is the 73 percent of students eligible for free or reduced meals. This gauge of poverty far exceeds the system and state average.

As a former teacher there, I have some insight into the transformation. The great success is a result of implementing research-based practices addressing the needs of the students. Extensive staff development in teaching strategies, the infusion of technology and training in data-based decision making were provided.

Most important was the commitment to the idea that every student can learn. The leadership provided by principal Kevin Bales and his team of teacher leaders deserves the highest recognition for their hard work and commitment to the students in this community.

Gregory Scott Sell, graduate student, North Ceorgia College and State University

Losing ‘tedium’ will lead to loss of faculty

After reading Maureen Downey’s column, “Lose the tedium in class,” Opinion, July 27, I wondered who would want to work for Dr. Bowen at Southern Methodist University. Apparently, he’s not averse to throwing his faculty under the bus (“Most of the lectures on campus are terrible ...”).

In addition, how are faculty members compensated for these additional online duties, which clearly double the prep time?

Since Downey and Bowen seem to be so interested in making residential higher education more competitive in the market, how will they keep outstanding faculty, who see the importance of balancing academic publishing alongside teaching, from passing up SMU in favor of competing institutions that do not require podcasts or additional lecture material?

Unfortunately, Downey and Bowen’s call to be “innovative” and “more competitive” sounds like yet another transparent attempt to demand more while paying their faculty less.

That’s not a recipe for good teaching or a great university.

Joseph F. Brown, Marietta