Congratulations on publishing some excellent letters illuminating the necessary conflict over our educational system. We are experimenting with evolving something that has many unknowns, in a context of constant change, by a polyglot population striving for equality. It's like nothing seen before in human history.
There is no one best way. There are many promising possible variables that need to be researched because they can contribute to a broad solution. But teaching a broad population of children and adults to succeed in balancing effectively their need for constant adaptation to an ever-changing personal, social and physical environment is not a linear problem to be resolved by top-down decree or bottom-up enterprise.
It involves the active participation of all actors in the drama and an agreement to restrain from ideological partisanship. Trying to solve this conundrum by altering one variable like teachers' salaries, assessment testing or parental participation does not work with complexity. And today's success can be tomorrow's anchor when conditions and participants change.
Fred Whitehouse, Land O'Lakes
Excessive brass | Nov. 4, letter
Service is due honor
I attended a military academy in the Vietnam era. Academy graduates had the privilege of putting their lives on the line in the service of their country for the princely sum of $212 per month. Many (too many) were killed. Many returned to civilian life and some chose to remain in the service of their country.
Decades later, the best of these best achieved the highest ranks, admirals and generals united in the fact that they had served their country in the harshest of circumstance.
For the letter writer to suggest that these people "could not care less about the American taxpayer" and "the taxpayer exists to support their selfishness" is incredible and, I submit, demonstrates exactly who is selfish.
Stephen Small, Indian Rocks Beach
The economy
Tighten those belts
Less spending is a logical response to the loss of jobs and higher prices for food, gas and utilities. We seem to be taking responsibility for our decisions about how to spend our shrinking dollars.
If there is another surge of cash for the average citizen from the government, we would be smart to save it instead of spending it. Let retailers face the fact that there is a lot less money for impulse buying. The credit-card-fueled profligate spending of the past is just that, a thing of the past. As a nation we need to get over it.
Sarah Allen, Dunedin
Thanksgiving
Holiday trimming
With the end of Halloween (and all the parties and candy and everything) and the approach of Thanksgiving it might be prudent for Americans in this economic squeeze of late '08 to make a vow of cutting back on the turkey dinner and other trimmings.
Try to inventory how much you overdid for Oct. 31, and shave at least that much — and hopefully more — off the next holiday. At least, that's one way.
It might be a solid, collective step by all citizens (as well as noncitizens) toward a better tomorrow.
Tim Gardner, Fort Myers
Protect our parks
It has come to my attention, through my membership with the Florida Native Plant Association, that the state is considering "temporarily" closing 19 state parks in an effort to save money.
What concerns me most is the management of the parks during a temporary closing. I hope that wildlife protection would be given priority over human recreation during this time.
Please contact your legislators and our governor to express concern over this issue, and ask that plans be in place to continue to protect these parks even if they must be "temporarily" closed.
Mary-Beth Wagner, St. Petersburg
Torture of kids remembered at school | Oct. 27, story
Story deserved more
I commend the Times for informing Floridians that our state is finally acknowledging this horrific chapter in its juvenile justice history. The article's first-person accounts of brutality against young boys were heart-wrenching and, without question, of great public importance.
Unfortunately, the Times did not see fit to send its own reporter up to Marianna to offer a whole series on this Sunshine State-sponsored torture. Worse, it placed the story in the back of the B section.
Contrast this with several days of front-page space recently wasted on a surrogate mother who did not get pregnant — an essentially private matter that belonged, if anywhere, in a lifestyle section. How disappointing.
Carla Ippolito Strobl, Tampa
Hospice can help
November is National Hospice Month, a time to recognize the importance of end-of-life care in our communities. Each day, dedicated hospice professionals and volunteers offer caring support to patients and families facing the issues associated with life-limiting illnesses and conditions.
Acknowledging that a cure is no longer possible can be an extremely difficult step in someone's life. But it's important to know that you and your loved ones have help with hospice.
Hospice care is specialized care that addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our patients, giving them a deciding role in their health care strategy and allowing them to live their lives as fully and as comfortably as possible.
In my 15 years associated with hospice, I've heard so many wonderful stories about the kind, considerate and skilled care our patients and families have received from hospice caregivers. But the phrase I hear most is, "I wish we would have known about hospice sooner."
If you are facing an incurable illness, I encourage you to contact your local hospice to discuss your circumstances. With hospice, you will find compassionate people to give you the support you need to face this challenge.
Cheryl Hamilton, executive director, LifePath Hospice Inc., Tampa
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