Character development by parents is essential

I am writing in response to the Sept. 3 Forum commentary "Why Education 'Reform' Isn't Working" by Gary J. Niels, head of Winchester Thurston School.

Not once during his article does Mr. Niels mention the word "parents." Did he ever hear the adage "an apple doesn't fall too far from the tree"? Where is the parents' role in teaching their children these important qualities that Mr. Niels feels should be taught within the classroom?

I have been a teacher for more than 25 years and have seen the surge of moral decay manifested in my students over these years. I knew we were morally in trouble in the '80s when certain sitcoms and cartoon shows, which promoted disrespect, became the most popular television programs that our children watched weekly. Being insulting and disrespectful became the norm, and the media picked up on this.

Little by little, this gnawing away of respect has filtered down into our schools. Respect is a thing of the past. In days gone by, students used to listen to teachers, even boring teachers, when they were being taught. Now, as a teacher, you have to be an entertainer to keep students' attention. Classroom management is an art form, but if the students lack respect, all the skills as a classroom manager go out the window.

In this day and age, a true educator not only teaches the various required skills and concepts within the curriculum but will also incorporate a moral environment during his or her daily classroom routine.

As an educator, I am limited to how I can impart these important qualities. Shouldn't the teaching of values and morality first begin in the home? Truly, development of character should begin within the family.

DIANNE BAUMAN
Robinson

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Away from reality

With regard to "Why Education 'Reform' Isn't Working" (Sept. 3 Forum): Gary J. Niels, head of Winchester Thurston School, is correct when he says, "Independent schools do not face the significant challenge that exists in many public schools." True, private schools can and do opt out of educating a representative sample of the total population of Pittsburgh to the standards of No Child Left Behind.

Under NCLB, all students must meet the same range of test results, including the child who has no English, the child with significant developmental delays, the child for whom two-thirds of her nutritional needs nine months out of the year are unmet by low-quality, high-calorie, highly processed and reheated foods by the federal school breakfast and lunch program. The same results must be achieved by the child who must balance homework with supervising younger siblings while parents work, the homeless child, the child with mental retardation, the addicted, pregnant and/or seriously emotionally disturbed child.

How much "critical thinking and integrity" does it take to keep these children from being admitted in larger numbers to private schools? How can one speak of teaching "empathy, community and diversity as the school's ... most important values" when one of the designs of the system of private education is to keep these children out?

The irony of the head of a private school presuming to speak to the "American educational school system," when privates are so far removed from it and are not held accountable to it, should be commented upon.

SHEILA MAY-STEIN
Squirrel Hill

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About character

The effort to teach empathy through active listening at Winchester Thurston High School is laudable but trivializes the discussion of character building ("Why Education 'Reform' Isn't Working").

Good listening skills can be taught, particularly for students headed for college. Character emerges from a person's capacity to stand up for what one believes to be good and true. Character is instilled through actual life experience, not through intellectual study. Acts of character can be experienced in the classroom, but this is rare, if not impossible, in the typically chaotic, public school experience.

Many of our schools are most intimidating for children who are bullied and harassed. The schools must first ensure that every student is safe from physical and mental intimidation. The full support and cooperation of parents to accomplish this is most needed.

It was a sign of character for Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt to stand outside a school to greet students on the first day, given the gutsy changes he has instituted. We should all emulate his character.

It is the school's mandate to teach, not necessarily to build character or to serve as mental health counseling centers.

THOMAS HATHAWAY
Shaler

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Dangerous ideas?

Reading Jack Kelly's column in last Sunday's paper enlightened me ("Meet the Worst Ex-President: An Odious Iranian Will See Jimmy Carter on His U.S. Visit," Sept. 3). I now understand that inviting the former president of Iran to visit the United States is a dangerous idea. It is always dangerous to try to understand one's enemies.

Having Mohammad Khatami speak to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard may result in future leaders learning more about Iran so that we use diplomacy instead of bombs as we have in dealing with Iraq. Sen. Rick Santorum is right to fear that listening to Mr. Khatami could mislead the American people, just as their listening to this Pennsylvania senator has done.

I am impressed by Jack Kelly's use of metaphor. When he describes ex-President Carter as "snuggling up to every tyrant who will allow his buttocks to be smooched," the columnist demonstrates the depth of understanding that he has of this ex-president who has worked so hard for reconciliation between nations and world peace.

Perhaps Mr. Kelly's column should have been titled "Meet the Worst Ex-Columnist," and the Post-Gazette should omit his columns in the future.

SHIRLEY STEVENS
Avalon

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Beyond the music

While in Germany last week, I had the good fortune to hear our very own Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra perform with violinist Sarah Chang in Dortmund's Konzerthaus and Cologne's Philharmonie, two stops on the PSO's just-ended European tour.

In concerts dedicated to the memory of Mayor Bob O'Connor, the enthusiastic audiences in both cities heard superb music played by some of the world's best (yes, world's best) musicians. The orchestra brought what Germans call "Glanz" -- glamour, glitter, glory -- to our city and reminded me that we enjoy this rich cultural treasure year after year right here at home.

But this was not all. The symphony joined forces with the Allegheny Conference and corporate partners to launch economic development events in several of the cities on the PSO's tour to highlight Pittsburgh's well-deserved reputation as a first-class location for foreign investors. What a creative combination. Bravo!

PAUL OVERBY
Squirrel Hill

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Not an oil solution

The Sept. 6 article on a "big" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico needs to be placed into context ("Big Oil Find in Gulf May Ease Worry"). Currently the world uses 30 billion barrels of oil per year. In 2013, when this field comes on line, demand will be approximately 33 billion barrels per year. Let's take the most optimistic number for this new field, a total of 15 billion barrels. Therefore this field holds at most about a six-month supply of oil.

Further, peak oil does not posit that the world is "running out" of oil. It holds that there is a maximum production level that will be reached, and thereafter decline will set in. The fact that this discovery is in an extremely difficult and expensive location is in line with peak oil theory: the low-hanging fruit is picked first, new fields are increasingly harder to locate and expensive to develop.

Anyone who predicts such discoveries will lower gas prices is misinformed or duplicitous.

DAN BEDNARZ
Edgewood

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Much of what the media report nowadays isn't newsworthy

Two weeks ago we had John Mark Karr, ad nauseam. Last week it was Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter." The recent coverage of the publicity gaffes of actor Tom Cruise and the capture of polygamist Warren Jeffs was excessive.

At a time of unprecedented unrest in this country and throughout the world, I wonder if we'll ever see an emphasis on newsworthy news. The media are truly failing the American people who are interested in serious journalism. All we are getting is Hollywood-style hype, which I suppose helps the ratings.

Finally, years after the illustrious TV journalist Walter Cronkite retired from the "CBS Evening News," a reporter asked him if he had seen any changes in the news industry. He said, and I paraphrase him, that much of what is being reported is not news. I wholeheartedly agree.

BERNADETTE KAELIN
McCandless

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