Letters To The Editor

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Business letters by fourth graders?

District 81 Associate Superintendent Cynthia Lambarth’s comment that the drop in the fourth grade writing assessment test (Sept. 9) was due to the fact the the fourth graders were asked to write a business letter, which was something they did not have much experience doing, reveals more than she realizes.

Her response is that the schools will have to teach more forms of writing earlier. However, the real issue is what educational lunatic came up with the notion that fourth graders should have to know how to write a business letter. Is this really a fourth grade skill? What is going on here? I can imagine every fourth grader rushing out to revise their resume.

In the rush for testing, it seems that little attention has been paid to what really counts as appropriate grade level knowledge. I only hope that some sanity prevails or these tests are going to amount to nothing more than waste of time as teachers are pressured to teach to the test rather than doing something that will actually educate students. William R. Large Spokane

Gonzaga Prep is not that way

Re: “Ad campaign designed to make teens think,” (Sept. 9)

I am a sophomore at Gonzaga Prep and I feel this article misrepresented my school and its community. Staff writer Robin Rivers, citing a hypersensitive source prone to exaggeration, failed to support her story with a secondary source and factual information.

Quoting a freshman who has attended the school for no more than a single week, Rivers did not further investigate Prep’s policies or even seek to confirm the story from another Prep student.

Granted, a well-written article should have an introductory device, commonly known as a hook, but it should not include four paragraphs targeting a single school with sketchy information from an inexperienced student. If the student had these qualms with male students at Prep, the issue should have been brought up with the Dean of Students.

As a member of the Prep community, I think I speak for a majority when I say Prep is a school dedicated to providing the best environment possible for its students. Rivers owes the school and its community an apology for failing to represent Prep and its students for what it is: a high school committed to doing justice and raising the sensitivity levels of the students. Carmen J. Engstrom Spokane

PE is about a healthy lifestyle

Re: “Good riddance, physical education” (Sept. 7)

If all you do is read, write, watch TV and eat, breathing may prove very difficult as you age. The lessons learned in physical education about health, fitness and the importance of a physically active lifestyle will provide health benefits throughout your life. By participating in a variety of activities, students experience skill building, teamwork, sportsmanship and are exposed to activities they otherwise would not pursue.

Heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and stress affect millions of Americans each year. With each of these ailments, physical exercise is an important component in the treatment.

Physical education is not just about sports. It is designed to educate our young people about the benefits and importance of a physically active lifestyle, not only now but throughout life. Marlys Nicola Busch Spokane

Montessori: Your mileage may vary

Re: Bridget Webster’s Sept 15 letter.

As an instructor for the Montessori Teacher Preparation of Spokane, I’m curious about her perceptions of Montessori. What schools did she visit?

For a number of reasons, the name Montessori does not guarantee quality or ensure that all teachers implement the method effectively. Even so, the commentary reflects some common misunderstandings.

Yes, most children learn best when self-directed. Maria Montessori scandalized the educational world when she introduced this concept at the turn of the century. Yet, she did not see freedom of choice as license for destructive, meaningless behavior. She recognized the need for a learning environment prepared to assist the child’s natural urge to explore his world in positive ways. This environment must meet the true developmental needs of children and nurture their self-construction.

Piaget’s theories closely parallel Montessori’s beliefs. Noted psychoanalyst Erik Erikson was a Montessorian. Modern neuro-educational research supports the value of Montessori activities.

Presenting materials in sequence develops the capacity for logical, orderly thought, but the sequence may be more rigidly adhered to in some areas than others. Children in my classroom have many choices where the sequence is less important than seeing their joy in meaningful accomplishments and watching them develop an inner calm and self-assurance.

The Montessori child is excited about her world and her place in it. That’s the bottom line. Elizabeth A. White Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Dams costly and unnecessary

To continue to spend millions on trucking and barging salmon to return numbers to a sustainable level is ridiculous. Scientific research supports the efficacy of breaching the four lower Snake River dams and returning the river to a natural state.

The Northwest can realize up to $1.25 billion and 62,000 jobs annually from commercial fishing, sport angling, tourism, marine supplies, charter and tackle businesses - not possible if salmon are extinct. Thus, the $150 million needed to keep the 14 agri-businesses operating seems a small price to pay.

About 4 percent of power generated by the four dams is used in the Northwest. Idaho receives only 0.175 percent of its electricity from the four dams and could easily recover that amount through conservation.

Operating and maintaining the dams runs over $36 million annually. Shippers save $5 per ton of agricultural product shipped by barge rather than by rail or truck. Lewiston shipped 855,000 tons of goods in 1994, saving $4.3 million over rail or truck.

Spending over $36 million and depleting wild salmon to save $4.3 million is not worthwhile. Saving Salmon is the correct answer to this issue. Troy Tvrdy Sandpoint

Loss of industry the real worry

Re: “River’s future clearing up,” (Sept. 7). Let’s call it Death Creek. Through dishonesty, industry was killed. The thousands of children who used to play in the river are gone away. As they grow to adulthood in some more-dreary place, they are less able to earn decent incomes and provide properly for their own children.

The planet now houses far more people than it could support without technology. Technology is funded from one source alone: industry. Kill industry and you kill the planet. The inexorable growth of population crowds us closer and closer together. Makes us less able to develop an escape from the Earth.

They lied to you about the creek. They lied to you about the fish. Worst of all, they lied to you about lead. Perhaps you could do a story about the National Centers For Disease Control’s refusal to expose the cause for leading in the second Silver Valley blood-lead surveys. John H. Wiegman Osburn

Meddlers precipitated fire loss

The Sierra Club and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were responsible for a fire near Lake Chelan last month that turned 8,000 acres of the public’s forest into blackened toothpicks, polluting the streams and destroying wildlife habitat.

Al Murphy, the district ranger, had planned to thin some overstocked stands, which would have reduced the destruction. When the fire reached an area thinned in the mid-1980s, it burned across the ground but spared the trees.

But the Sierra Club appealed the thinning project because part of it was in a roadless area. Activist Mark Lawler, who filed the appeal, admitted the motive was purely political. The club wants Congress to designate the area wilderness and thinks thinning might prevent that.

Part of the area burned was spotted owl habitat. In the Inland Northwest forests, the most fire-prone in the nation, spotted owls indicate an unhealthy forest. As inland forests became dangerously overstocked, the birds spread east from costal forests. The ESA prevents managing their habitat and it burned. because of soil damage from the unnatural heat of such fires, the forest will recover slowly if at all.

From 50 million acres nationally in 1930, wildfire declined to 4 million acres per year but has risen since the 1970s, paralleling the rise of such groups as the Sierra Club. All reputable forest scientists agree that the only way to restore forest health is by management. Wellintentioned but misguided laws and self-serving outdoor recreation groups should not be allowed to prevent it. Edwin G. Davis Spokane

PEOPLE AND ANIMALS

Circus animal treatment spoils show

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will soon come to town. Rather than being excited about it, I’m appalled.

Ringling Brothers trainers have been caught as recently as this May beating and jabbing their elephants, including a baby, with bull hooks and whips. It’s 1998 and nothing has improved for circus animals. It’s still a life of misery and abuse, even at the so-called greatest show on Earth.

I challenge any circusgoer to ask to be let backstage to photograph or videotape the animals. I’m sure you’ll be denied access to see how the animals actually live. An animal lover with any knowledge of animal behavior would find the animals’ living conditions woefully inadequate. As for training, circuses don’t allow impartial observers to witness animal training sessions - where most abuse occurs. In front of the audience, it’s merely a crack of the whip or the movement of a stick to threaten the animals. But when the animal doesn’t do the trick properly, it’s back stage for punishment again.

Please wait until we can bring an animal-free circus to town. Until then, do not attend this year’s edition of the Ringling Brothers show. Kelly J. Tansy Spokane

Be alert for and report animal abuse

The recent abuse of Rowdy the dog at the hands of pathetic individuals equipped with a baseball bat is totally incomprehensible and inexcusable. God bless the gentleman who intervened and cut the strap that was rendering this poor dog totally helpless. I pray that the judge will impose the maximum penalty for such a heinous act.

A neighbor was quoted as saying ,”He’s been beaten and abused his whole life.” Why did she wait until the abuse had become public knowledge? Why weren’t Rowdy’s previous beatings reported to the proper authorities? Our animals are unable to speak for themselves and rely on us to be their voices.

Please report animal abuse and neglect. Only we can put an end to their needless suffering. Pick up the phone and make a difference. You may possibly save an animal’s life. Jan K. Fry Greenacres

Request soy-based estrogen replacement

Re: plant-based alternatives to Premarin.

Why confine pregnant horses for a substance which is available from the plentiful soybean? I decided on a generic form of Estrace called Estradiol, manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squbb Co. This decision was after long talks with my pharmacist. To be sure of the origin of this hormone, I phoned the 800 number for Bristol-Myers Squibb to inquire as to the origin of Estradiol and was assured it is indeed soy based.

When I requested this change from my doctor, he agreed it was an acceptable alternative. I would really like to know why our doctors don’t offer us this choice right at the beginning when they find it necessary to prescribe estrogen.

Perhaps with the information stated here, more animal-loving, estrogen-deprived women will be able to make a choice for a soy-based product that is less expensive than Premarin. Marita C. McDonough Priest Lake, Idaho

AGRICULTURE

Our besieged farmers deserve thanks

A recent report says we are running out of greener pastures. Sprawl is described as strip commercial developments and large residential subdivisions spreading out over what was once farm land or forests. If we contain farming and forestry to just our liking and are unwilling to live with inconveniences, the land will fall to the sprawl.

Sprawl contributes to increasing costs of public services, declining central cities, environmental degradation, loss of farm land and degraded quality of life, according to the report. It warned that “every hour of every day, the nation loses 45.6 acres of its best farmland to subdivisions, shopping centers, strip malls and roadways.” That’s about 400,000 acres of land a year.

Pioneers came to the Northwest to settle this part of the country. Farmers broke the ground, raised crops and sold their surplus harvest. Life on the farm is much easier now, but more complicated environmentally. Family farms are becoming scarce because fewer young ruralites are engaging in the age old farming practice.

So thank you, farmers, for the fruit, vegetables, bread, milk, meat, eggs, wine, cheese, cereal, nuts, flowers, herbs and for the grass that covers our golf courses, school yards, parks and home lawns - our pride and joy.

Who will feed us in the future and where will they go for greener pastures? Patricia M. Prince Thornton, Wash.