Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410110071
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The emphasis should be on the word ``alternative.'' That means having certified teachers, promotion of one grade level per year, and teaching a number of required courses did not work for these students who were not interested in school, who were dropouts and discipline problems.
Some are unable to do work on grade level but are 16 years old or older. Some have no home support at all. Some dropped out and now want to drop back in.
I ask that Roanoke educators remember one thing: Alternative education isn't ``education as usual.'' Not what subject the teacher is certified to teach, but what type of child he or she can teach and motivate, should be the basis for hiring.
Roanoke has excellent, certified teachers in its system. But these people failed to reach our alternative-education students. A different type of teacher is needed and different goals must be set. Please, let these young people know we're on their side and that we really care what happens to them. Let the child be more important than the subject we're certified to teach.
In fact, if all teachers remembered to teach individuals, not subjects, we'd all be better off.
LUANN BELL
ROANOKE
Don't be duped by flag and Bible
IT BREAKS my heart to think of Virginians, the most wonderful people on Earth, being duped by a demagogue - a person who tries to stir up people with appeals to prejudice and emotion, to win them over quickly and to gain power. This clearly describes Oliver North.
Many are disappointed in the way our country is going, and we're overwhelmed with problems. We want fast, painless solutions, we want to see life in stark blacks and whites, and this understandable desire makes us vulnerable to a charming, accomplished actor who says all the right things.
But we need to exercise our minds, think about facts, and not be fooled or charmed. This requires effort.
Anyone who wraps himself in the American flag and holds a Bible needs to be looked at past the emotionalism involved. We respect the Bible and our flag, and it's tempting to follow such a man. But a lot of bad things have been done in the name of morality.
We need to work for a lawful world, not wink at lawlessness. We need to ask questions and refuse to be swept away by appearances.
JANE F. HOLLOWAY
ROANOKE
Let's stop takeover of government
THE RELIGIOUS right is making a determined effort to take over the United States government. I find this a frightening situation. As a Southern Baptist, I'm aware of the damage done to the Southern Baptist Convention by the religious right, and wouldn't want to see that happen to our government. Academic freedom has been replaced with rigid doctrine that doesn't allow a layman to think for himself. Although God gave us brains to think with, the religious right believe only their way is right and all must conform. Do we want our government to tell us how we must think?
If this mentality should take over, I fear that eventually our children will again have to fight a revolutionary war to regain the freedoms that our forefathers fought and died for. Beware America! Let's stop this before it's too late.
RUTH HAYES
BEDFORD
The Back Pew's voice of reason
IN RESPONSE to the Sept. 18 ``The Back Pew'' column by Cody Lowe (``Teaching Genesis AND evolution - it's not all that difficult) regarding evolution and creationism:
As a Christian, a scientist, and instructor of general biology, it's wonderful to finally have a voice of reason. Thank you for such a balanced presentation of viewpoints.
JUDY HENSLEY
ROANOKE
Haiti won't help Clinton's popularity
I'M A Vietnam veteran who didn't vote for Bill Clinton. I find it ludicrous that this draft dodger, who was too much of a coward to fight for his country, could ask the American people to send their sons and daughters to a country we have no business being in.
We have no business in Haiti, or any other country, until we can solve our own problems. The billions of dollars we spend on trying to solve other nations' problems should be spent right here on the streets of America. I have news for Clinton: The only way he's going to solve his popularity problem is to tell Americans the truth - that he's not competent for the office to which he was elected.
Willingness to shed American blood in Haiti isn't going to help him as Desert Storm did for George Bush.
LEWIS A. CRAGET
CHRISTIANSBURG
Not a 9-to-5 kind of job
A RECENT news report said that the union voted no to a tentative agreement at Yokohama Tire Co. One worker interviewed said, ``The company doesn't care anything about us or they wouldn't make us work 12 hours.''
My heart breaks as I write this. The thought of that poor man being on his feet 12 hours makes me want to cry. And for what? A mere $17 (or more) an hour? I can barely see through the tears - and what's worse, to have to work two Sundays a month.
I'm so overcome with pity for those poor workers. It just makes me wonder what other atrocious conditions they must toil under. I can only assume they get a meal break and two 15-minute breaks a shift.
But have heart, gentlemen. While you're off on a Sunday afternoon, enjoying family time, and just for example, you have a heart attack - what will you do? Where will you go?
To the local emergency room. We're open 24 hours a day, even on Sunday. It's a good chance you'll be taken care of by a very competent nurse with far more education than you have, making much less than you do, and working a 12-hour shift on Sunday.
Twelve hours are a normal shift for a nurse. She probably hasn't had a lunch break, much less a bathroom break. Don't worry, she'll take excellent care of you - that's her job! How do I know? I'm the one proudly doing that job.
TRENA SOUTHWORTH-BOUDREAUX
BOONES MILL
Trigon's verdict risks a life
I READ the Sept. 18 Business article, ``Fighting back,'' concerning Blue Cross-Blue Shield [Trigon]. My wife has breast cancer and needs aggressive chemotherapy and a blood-stem transplant to survive. Although this type of treatment has been recommended by most cancer physicians for years, Trigon still considers this ``experimental and investigative'' treatment and refuses to cover participants.
My wife's oncologist believes this treatment is her best chance for survival. So do we, and so does the Massey Cancer Center.
However, the center (Medical College of Virginia) estimates the cost of her treatment could reach up to $120,000. I don't have that amount of money, nor the full amount for the down payment. A fraction of Trigon's surplus would ensure that my wife would receive the treatment she needs for a chance to live.
PAUL E. CLARK SR.
ROANOKE
Before building a power line
REGARDING Bill Tanger's Sept. 13 letter promoting a new power line through our region (``Conservation and power are needed''):
Contrary to his suggestion, all feasible energy conservation measures are neither an impossibility nor irrelevant. They just don't happen to be convenient for a large utility company fighting to become even larger.
It isn't so much that Southwest Virginia needs a new power line as much as it is that Appalachian Power Co. wants a new line to increase its market share on the East Coast. Cleverly worded scare tactics don't change that fact.
Yes, we need electricity. Yes, the vast majority of us are dependent on Apco's monopoly in selling us this service. But in an age of rapidly depleting natural resources, all feasible energy conservation first is the only sane and responsible approach.
JEFFREY S. FOUNDS
FLOYD
by CNB