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PrintEducation is everywhere, including the Steelers parade
I am writing in support of the decision of Superintendent Patricia Green to close the North Allegheny School District on Tuesday so that children in the district could attend the parade celebrating the Steelers' world championship.
Quite frankly, I am stunned by the myopic view of an "education" professed by some in the region. To them, a decision to attend the parade was of no educational value ("A Steelers Victory Parade Is No Reason to Miss School," Feb. 8). How wrong they are.
In our home, we teach that excellence, whether in the classroom, the workplace or on the football field, is to be celebrated -- and that is what the day off permitted our family to do.
I understand and appreciate that some parents in the school district were inconvenienced by the school closure. But if that is the case, say so. Please don't wrap yourselves in the blanket of "education" and then suggest that Dr. Green's decision somehow violated her duties to the children of the district by denying them a day of learning in the classroom.
The opportunity to learn is everywhere, including at a parade celebrating the excellence that is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As a parent, I consider it my obligation to make memories for my children. The memories my children have from the parade will last a lifetime. Thank you, Dr. Green, for permitting me the opportunity to make those memories without the fear of my children having an unexcused absence from school. I am hopeful that, should the same situation present itself in future years, you will make a similarly wise decision at that time.
KURT R. GINGRICH
McCandless
Civic pride lesson
I would like to disagree with Jonathan Miller of Franklin Park and others who were of the opinion that the Steelers celebration parade was not a legitimate reason for missing school, or even work ("A Steelers Victory Parade Is No Reason to Miss School," Feb. 8).
My reason is very simple. Having feelings such as civic pride can be just as important as one day in the classroom. Considering you will attend more than 2,000 days of class from first through 12th grade, missing one to show civic pride and have a memory that will last a lifetime can be just as important. In many situations, lessons learned outside the classroom and experiences outside the classroom end up being just as valuable as the classroom.
In a time when there are so many negatives printed about Pittsburgh, allowing your sons and daughters to revel for one day in this glowing high point that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave us this year will not adversely affect the rest of their lives. Why are people not supposed to have fun anymore?
RICK PURCELL
Mt. Lebanon
A sound decision
In regard to Jonathan Miller's Feb. 8 letter ("A Steelers Victory Parade Is No Reason to Miss School"), I say, lighten up!
I thought it was thoughtful and generous of our superintendent to allow the students and staff to celebrate the Steelers victory if they wished to do so. North Allegheny is already one of the best districts in the state and obviously a great amount of thought and effort goes into the education of the students.
Furthermore, learning and education do not always come in the form of a textbook, but, rather, through a wide variety of experiences. Pittsburgh winning the Super Bowl is a historic occasion, and the students at North Allegheny were allowed to experience history rather than read about it.
DONNA HYDOCK
Marshall
Spirit before profit
Perhaps Super Bowl Sunday should have been declared a holiday in Pittsburgh as the city was on an all-time high!
Special thanks to all those hospital workers and employees who needed to provide essential services in the city, and don't forget those who kept us hydrated and nourished during the game while also providing a place to watch the game. Kudos to those employers who put community spirit ahead of profit and closed early.
Shame on those who kept their employees hostage during the game -- and you know who you are. You have failed to capture the essence, the heart and the soul of the people of the city of Pittsburgh -- the Pittsburgh Steelers! You are the losers. Perhaps next year you'll get on the Bus!
HELEN DeFRANCO
Churchill
Italian? Who knew?
After all of his years in office, isn't it interesting that Sen. Rick Santorum is finally waving the Italian flag and proudly proclaiming his Italian-American heritage ("Santorum Wants Reid to Apologize for 'Slur,' " Jan. 28)?
Interesting but not surprising since I have no doubt that the senator would have maintained his "closet Italian" status if he hadn't viewed Sen. Harry Reid's innocuous analogy as a chance to thump his chest and rally his "countrymen" in order to garner a few votes. As an authentically proud Italian American (100 percent, no less), I am most offended by Sen. Santorum's sudden burst of Italian pride.
There is a plethora of Italian Americans of note. Captains of industry, inventors, physicians, entertainers, many of whom work to make the world better or brighter for his or her fellow man -- all of whom make the rest of us even more proud of our heritage, even more proud to be a "paisan." In my opinion, Sen. Santorum doesn't even know what a "paisan" is.
With his dismal record of anti-labor, anti-public education and anti-underdog legislation and votes, Sen. Santorum will never make any Italian-American Hall of Fame. I certainly preferred it when no one even knew he was Italian.
NINA ESPOSITO-VISGITIS
Marshall
About casino traffic
In response to the person who thinks that the traffic precludes putting a casino at Station Square ("Giant Harrah's Development Looks Like Huge Traffic Mess," Jan. 30 letters): Have you ever been to an event on the North Shore? Have you ever been to an event at the arena? Casinos are different from concerts -- people do not all leave at the same time.
HARVEY HOROWITZ
Churchill
Voter ineptness
I'm puzzled by letter writer Margaret Frankoski's intimation that the 2000 Florida presidential election was marred by lack of a paper trail ("Wise Up," Feb. 6). Actually, the paper ballots used by Floridians and the subsequent numerous government and independently sponsored recounts of these ballots proved conclusively that George W. Bush won the election in that state.
The problem in Florida was not the lack of a paper trail but the ineptness of the Florida voters. A similar situation could arise here as the use of electronic voting machines might prove daunting to people in our area accustomed to pulling a lever.
WILLIAM R. CASEY
West Mifflin
Math and science professionals can reach out to students
In his State of the Union address Jan. 31, President Bush said, "We need to encourage children to take more math and science" courses. He announced the "American Competitiveness Initiative," which would "encourage innovation throughout our economy" and "give our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science." The goal: to provide American children with the skills they need to obtain high-paying technical jobs and to keep our nation competitive. Those needs are as present in our own Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania community as they are for the entire country, and many of us can help right here.
Feb. 19-25 is Engineers Week, and thousands of professionals from more than 70 corporate, government and educational organizations will visit K-12 classrooms to talk about careers in math and science. These engineers and other professionals will show thousands of students the importance of a technical education. They hope to motivate students to pursue engineering and other technical degrees by seeing firsthand how interesting and fun science can be. The participation of just a few of these professionals can reach so many.
Last year, volunteers from my company met with more than 200,000 students worldwide, some of whom are right here in Pittsburgh. In recent years, dozens of IBM volunteers have participated in classroom visits to work with students as part of Engineers Week. In addition, 15 percent of the more than 2,600 Pennsylvania-based employees volunteered thousands of hours in classrooms and nonprofits to strengthen understanding and use of technology.
Professionals can help too by making a special effort to reach a diverse population of students to maintain a strong "pipeline" of future engineers and technical workers. In the United States, only 10 percent of all engineers are women and fewer than 7 percent are minorities. Industry needs the creativity and brainpower of our diverse population, and our students benefit by opening their possibilities to an exciting, well-paying future.
I encourage all professionals with a math or science background to talk to their employers about participating in this important program.
As parents, teachers and community members, we can play a role in encouraging students to pursue math, science and technical pursuits. The future of our country and our community depends on it.
LIZ HINES
Program Director
WebSphere Business Partner Technical Enablement
IBM Corp.
Downtown
