Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410260016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
I asked the council members what plans they had to purchase additional buses so children could get to school in a timely manner, without having to rely on parents to do the driving. I was told that there are no current or future plans to do anything to add additional buses. So, if that is their definition of "to complain" then so be it. I understand that this is a small town and that it is not financially feasible to purchase several buses at one time. However, the fact that council has no intention to ever do anything to improve the busing system is disturbing to me.
Do they realize or care how many parents leave their jobs each day to pick up children and then return to work? Do they realize or care how many parents travel several times a day to different schools, which begin and end at various times? Perhaps they truly are uninformed as to the reality of the school bus situation. It's time for City Council to become educated about the needs of the children so they can start planning financially to procure additional buses. They chose not to listen to the voice of one person who dared "to complain," but they cannot ignore the voices of many. It's time for parents to make their voices heard.
JoAnn Forrest
Radford
Public schools in desperate need
I am a senior at Christiansburg High School. Every day, while doing errands in and out of school, I am made aware of problems in our school system. This concerns me to say the least.
On occasion, I am called to baby-sit some preschool and elementary children. During this time, the children and I read books and play games or watch cartoons. While reading, I am disturbed to see that these children do not recognize simple words. When I was in elementary school, my class had reading. We sat down and were taught how to sound-out words if we did not know what they were. Some of these children cannot do this.
I have noticed also that these children cannot spell very well. When making Christmas cards with second-graders, I was astonished that they misspelled "Merry." They were using "Mary." This is just one example of many. Most people I know were able to spell these words and more advanced words in first grade.
Today, teachers do not have enough time to spend one-on-one with children. They are too busy, trying to keep class in line and things running smoothly. We do not realize that children cannot read or write or spell very well until much later, when their grades start to fall.
If we could take money from governmental officials' salaries or from supporting an invasion of Haiti, maybe we would be able to give the money to public schools to hire more teachers or build other schools to reduce the number of pupils in a class. Then the pupils would be able to receive the one-on-one attention they need and deserve.
Nicole Hall
Christiansburg
Arts, education left high and dry
This letter is to express my overwhelming concern about the lack of funding for the arts and for education in the arts in this country today. The arts function as an invaluable tool in education, as written in a study conducted by the Missouri Arts Education Task Force, and compiled by the Arts Education Advocacy:
"In 1975, John F. Kennedy High School and eight other high schools in New York City initiated a reading program for 10th-graders whose reading scores had declined for two years. The written work was based on daily arts experiences. For every six months in the program, the students gained one year in reading achievement as measured by standardized test scores. The students strengthened ... sequential and verbal abilities through experiential and visual processes. By integrating their right and left hemispheric processes ... students improved their reading skills." (John F. Kennedy High School, Bronx, N.Y.)
Where the time and money were invested, the benefits were obvious. I am writing to brings this issue to the attention of residents of Southwest Virginia, on behalf of artists, educators and employers interested in the future of art and our children.
Robert Smith,
Virginia Artist-In-Education
and Virginia Commission for the Arts
Blacksburg
Boucher no friend to vets
Rep. Rick Boucher claims that he supports the rights of veterans. That's funny, because you would never know it from his record. When Rick Boucher voted with his friend Bill Clinton to pass the largest tax increase in our nation's history, he also voted to delay the cost of living increase for military retirees.
In addition, active duty personnel are not receiving adequate pay raises. Rick and Bill will probably claim that the raises are too expensive, and that we need to cut federal spending.
But at the same time that they aren't taking proper care of our active and retired servicemen, Boucher and Clinton are spending millions to build houses for Russian soldiers!
Tell the truth, Rick Boucher. You don't really care about our nation's servicemen. In fact, you seem to care more about the welfare of the Russians than you do about or own troops.
I have served my country in combat. Unlike Clinton and Boucher, I am a veteran, and I'm sick of Rick.
Let's send Bill and Boucher a message; vote for Republican Steve Fast on Nov. 8. Rick has been in Washington too long.
Frank Early
Blacksburg
by CNB