Real problem in education is poor kids, not teachers’ pay
Re: “Time to really rethink teacher pay,” Dec. 2
Fred Hess leans down from his ivory tower at the American Enterprise Institute to promote “rethinking teacher pay”. As a former teacher of poor children, I think he is putting the cart before the horse.
To improve public education we must bring class size down to 15 in the lower grades, provide an appropriate education for all children at all levels of ability, and really face up to the problem of poverty that affects a third of the children in our country.
We also need to get rid of the “teaching to the test” that George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind plan promotes, and to reject all proposals to divert public funding to non-public schools, as is currently being contemplated by some in Congress and several state legislatures.
Brendan O’Casey
Aspen Hill
Current policy on gays is best compromise
Re: “We always had ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,” from readers, Dec. 2
President Obama wants to abolish the present policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” to fulfill a promise made to gay voters who helped put him in office. No matter what Congress decides, there will be unhappy people in and out of the armed forces.
Homosexuals are everywhere in our society, even in the military. They are generally good, conscientious workers and soldiers. During the 10 years I was on active duty in the U.S. Army, everyone knew who the gay soldiers were, but no one talked about it.
Some commanders were more tolerant than others, and there was a certain level of acceptance as long as they did not cross the line. However, if they were caught performing sexual acts, they were immediately discharged and in some cases court-martialed.
The current policy is quite simple and should not be changed. Gay people should be given the opportunity to serve their country, but they must obey the rules: Don’t tell others about your sexual orientation, and don’t ask others about theirs either.
Louis Ginesi Dominguez
Warrenton, Va.
Stop picking on National Science Foundation
Re: “More on why our economy is going extinct,” Daily Outrage, Dec. 2
Why is the Daily Outrage always complaining about the National Science Foundation?
I can see being outraged if the science is foolish, or money is being stolen, but the purpose of the NSF is to do science, not create jobs.
Jim Ward
Alexandria
