[originally transmitted on 9/2 to Elwood Community Network]
In today's Newsday, on page A35, there are two letters written in response to an Op-Ed published on Aug 27th which was authored by an obviously dedicated Lynbrook teacher, regarding how he spent his summer vacation.
If you would like to read Mike Imondi's original Op-Ed, you can access it on the Newsday website:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/expressway-a-teacher-s-lazy-summer-1.3124601
Additionally, if you would like to read the somewhat angry response by Peter Haynes of Bayport, which has many elements of truth to consider, you may read that on a different Newsday web page:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-teachers-and-their-time-off-1.3138796
But, I feel that the following letter (also found on the immediately-above web page citation), from a former member of the BOE of Port Washington, provides a more comprehensive perspective which challenges not only the absurd notion of some people that "all teachers are lazy whiners", but also the absurd notion that "all teachers are equal, and all teachers try really hard, and all teachers deserve the same compensation."
That latter attitude merely depresses the prospects for the very best teachers while protecting all but the very worst teachers, as if each deserves nothing more, or nothing less, than the others.
Jerry Hannon
.............................................................................................
Letters: Teachers and their time off
Published: September 1, 2011 7:37 PM
The Expressway essay by teacher Mike Imondi ["A teacher's 'lazy' summer," Aug. 27] rankled me. It's not that I haven't seen dedicated public schoolteachers like his self-description. I have. We had three daughters go through the public school system with good results and many dedicated teachers.
One problem is that there aren't more such teachers, especially for the middle to struggling students. In my district, teacher absenteeism is very high (7 percent). High absenteeism adds needless expense and hurts students' education. Absenteeism is a better measure of dedication than the amusing testimony of a hardworking English teacher.
English and social studies teachers may take more work home than other teachers, but those who don't take work home (or lack dedication) are paid the same as those who do.
A related problem is that the system does not support responsible teacher behavior. Unions demand short hours. That hurts students and makes the system unaffordable. Most successful education reforms include more contact time between teachers and students, more days and more hours per day. It's especially important for students with fewer resources at home to have more time in a school's constructive environment.
I prize the instances when I hear from teachers who criticize the system to stand up for the students, but they are rare because both administrators and unions slam courageous whistle-blowers. If Imondi's piece were a call to responsibility for our less professional teachers, union leaders and administrators, it would have been far more valuable. Students do not need another self-serving defense of the status quo.
Joseph Mirzoeff, Port Washington
[Newsday] Editor's note: The writer was a member of the Port Washington Board of Education from 1995 to 1998.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Another Corporate Executive Proclaims "Enough, Already"
[originally transmitted on 9/2 to Elwood Community Network]
The logjam in Congress, which seems focused more upon the interests of a political party rather than the American people, has caused another corporate CEO to shout "Enough, Already."
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote the following, which was also E-mailed to all those with a Starbucks account:
.........................................................
{Begin Text}
September 2011
Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:
I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.
Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.
We are better than this.
Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge:
First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.
In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all - the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.
We cannot let this stand.
Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by "No Labels," a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org
America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today's elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.
Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.
With great respect,
chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company
{End Text}
.................................................................
I feel that Mr. Schultz will strike a responsive cord with most citizens of this country, whether Republican or Democrat or independent.
Those who speak only from the right wing, and those who speak only from the left wing, have a lot to answer for already.
The best traditions of this country have come from the broad center, but Republican moderates and Democratic moderates are increasingly berated by the extremist wings of their own parties and the result is a total logjam which has made it impossible for the basically centrist views of the President to progress and succeed.
Yes, those who have hated Barak Obama from the beginning will never accede to a moderate approach, just as those who have wanted a left wing President -- and are furious at the more moderate approach of Mr. Obama -- will never accept his basically centrist views. But, whatever your own views of his presidency, and there is much to be disappointed in just as there is much to applaud, you surely cannot countenance the obstructionism in Congress which has further deteriorated the economy as well as prevented our historical approach as Americans of putting Country before Party.
Mr. Schultz speaks wisdom for those whose eyes and ears and minds are actually open.
Jerry Hannon
The logjam in Congress, which seems focused more upon the interests of a political party rather than the American people, has caused another corporate CEO to shout "Enough, Already."
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote the following, which was also E-mailed to all those with a Starbucks account:
.........................................................
{Begin Text}
September 2011
Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:
I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.
Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.
We are better than this.
Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge:
First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.
In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all - the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.
We cannot let this stand.
Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by "No Labels," a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org
America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today's elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.
Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.
With great respect,
chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company
{End Text}
.................................................................
I feel that Mr. Schultz will strike a responsive cord with most citizens of this country, whether Republican or Democrat or independent.
Those who speak only from the right wing, and those who speak only from the left wing, have a lot to answer for already.
The best traditions of this country have come from the broad center, but Republican moderates and Democratic moderates are increasingly berated by the extremist wings of their own parties and the result is a total logjam which has made it impossible for the basically centrist views of the President to progress and succeed.
Yes, those who have hated Barak Obama from the beginning will never accede to a moderate approach, just as those who have wanted a left wing President -- and are furious at the more moderate approach of Mr. Obama -- will never accept his basically centrist views. But, whatever your own views of his presidency, and there is much to be disappointed in just as there is much to applaud, you surely cannot countenance the obstructionism in Congress which has further deteriorated the economy as well as prevented our historical approach as Americans of putting Country before Party.
Mr. Schultz speaks wisdom for those whose eyes and ears and minds are actually open.
Jerry Hannon
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