Commend teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week
During Teacher Appreciation Week this week, let’s take time out to commend all the teachers in our community.
We are so fortunate to have many exemplary educators in our community. They may be found at the numerous local colleges, universities and trade schools. There are charter, parochial, private and public K-12 programs.
You can still find preschools, which stand alone, but there are many incorporated within the K-12 schools.
Our schools are required to do more than they ever have in the past. Most teachers are devoted to their field, putting forth a tremendous amount of time, effort and expertise into the planning of a single day to enhance student interest, no matter what type of school it is.
I imagine many of us have a diverse background of schooling. When I began my formal education, I wasn’t fortunate enough to experience preschool. When it was time for me to attend school, there was no kindergarten program in my parochial. My initial encounter was a very positive one, as I attended kindergarten at a public school.
Next, I spent 12 years at two parochial schools. Then, I completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees at one of our state universities. Upon completing my bachelor in education, I landed a teaching position for two years in the parochial school where I spent 50 percent of my student teaching stint.
The other half was completed in a public school where special education programs exist. After two years, I decided to venture back to my starting point, the public school system. This move enabled me to utilize my special education endorsement. I look back in awe, realizing the numerous teachers who positively influenced my endeavors to give back to the community during my 33-year tenure.
As a child and adult, I had the best of all worlds, a public, parochial and state education.
Highly effective educators don’t need to be driven by merit pay, but have answered a calling to accomplish the immense task of leading our children to become productive citizens.
Great teachers know fully well it’s not just about test scores, but about inspiring students to pursue their ambitions while accomplishing academic growth. They have accomplished so much more than what could ever be measured on a test.
So to show our astounding educators our appreciation, you might want to write a note of thanks, drop off treats or even say something in person to let them know they have gone well beyond the call of duty, often putting in 110 percent.
A big thank you to all the teachers of our community!
Cindy Curtis, retired teacher
We give lip service to quality education
Matt Kelty wrote a very persuasive, coherent column April 30, the gist of which I fully agree with. But there is one small paragraph where he is unfortunately off the mark.
He wrote, “We live in an era in which education is sacrosanct. We believe that we have an obligation to provide our children the best classroom opportunity.” Oh, how I wish that were true!
Sacrosanct? When there is a lack of respect for teachers? When it is easier to build prisons than schools? The best for our children?
We are now fighting to get the minimum for our children. I know Matt remembers the uproar over the attempt to get reasonable facilities for our children six years ago, and now there are letters complaining about the current proposal, which would cost the average homeowner about $27 a year.
No, it’s not just here in Fort Wayne but across the country — even as close as northern Wells County, where an attempt to renovate the 40-year-old Norwell High School has been voted down twice since 2007.
We give lip service to the importance of quality education for our children. But when it comes to “putting up,” we hear, “We paid when our children were in school” or “Why do they need luxuries like air conditioning?”
Everybody agrees that there is no such thing as free lunch, but many still want one.
Leonard M. Goldstein
Paul only one drawing attention to problem
It’s easy to forget the effect of inflation on our money. We used to live out in the country in 1970 and had a 200-gallon tank that Lassus brothers would come out and fill at about 35 cents a gallon.
Now, in 2012, if we used money with the same buying power it would cost us $2.07 a gallon. Part of the increase we see in higher gasoline price is this decreased value of the dollar.
When the Federal Reserve prints more and more money out of thin air, it devalues the money you’ve saved. It’s an invisible tax by the government. Ron Paul is the only candidate to see and draw attention to this problem in our failing economy.
Look up “inflation calculator” on your computer and you can put what you paid for an item in the past and see how much you would now pay.
Vote for Paul in the Republican primary.
Paul Reszel
