Chatsworth
Editor: Thank you to Sandra Crockett and The Sun for the very informative article on the Chatsworth School that appeared on April 10.
This school and six other special schools in Baltimore County provide the educational environment necessary for special students not available in the mainstream schools.
Currently in the field of special education there is a much-publicized ideological difference about "least restrictive environment." Defining education in the least restrictive environment depends on each student's individual needs.
It is important to understand that Chatsworth, with all of its apparent segregation, is the least restrictive environment for those students whose appropriate educational placement requires such an environment.
The unfortunate circumstance is that Chatsworth serves students up to age 11. Many learning disabled or emotionally handicapped students require this sort of environment beyond that age. There is no public school in Baltimore County that serves that purpose. A mainstream school is not necessarily appropriate for these children simply because they have reached the age of 11.
I applaud Dr. Robert Dubel's statement that, "It is the compassionate thing to do." But compassion and good intentions aside, the law also requires that schools like Chatsworth be available as part of the continuum of service options available to special-needs students.
Irene Spencer.
Baltimore.
The writer is president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland, Inc.
Gay Issues
Editor: I want to thank The Sun for its excellent article on the gay community, estimated to be ten percent of this city's population, and a figure used for estimating sexual orientation figures for the nation.
Baltimore has made strides toward legal protection by passing City Ordinance 79 to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, and by Mayor Schmoke's establishment of the Task Force on Gay and Lesbian Issues.
The Sun's attention to gay issues will promote understanding. Gay people have the same needs as other citizens.
They also have the heavy baggage and fear of violence, discrimination and personal rejection.
As the proud parent of a gay son, I want to support our gay community and to commend the courageous persons who shared their personal experiences in order to help others learn.
Enna Gorman.
Baltimore.
Shared Lament
Editor: I read with great interest and some sympathy the letter, "Radio: A Listener's Lament," by Lynn C. Goldberg, bemoaning the irresponsiveness and inconsistency of local radio stations.
It is an economic fact that commercial outlets must key to the fickle preferences of their constituent audiences. Their existence relies upon income from advertisers who, with justification, support only the ones reaching the greatest number of potential buyers for their goods and services. It has also been determined that not everyone is tempted by radio advertising -- fine music audiences, for example, are not.
Nothing new.
A long time ago it was proved that only a non-commercial station, one not relying on ratings, could serve such limited interests. On Sept. 15, 1952, WBJC went on the air with classical music.
As if to prove the point, WWIN, Maryland's only part-time classical station at the time, re-aimed its focus. WBAL, WCAO, WITH and WCBM have all come and gone from the "fine" music area. Only has WBJC, for nearly 40 years, been able to remain constant to its small, loyal listening audience.
Thank God.
Richard G. Ballard.
Sparks.
Stop Bashing
Editor: We think the bashing of Governor Schaefer should come to a halt. His good deeds and accomplishments certainly outweigh his mistakes. How about giving this man, our elected ** leader, the respect and cooperation he deserves?
( Charles and Ann Turbett.
Bel Air.
Cheap Shots
Editor: Your April 16 article drawing attention to Adele Wilzak's formal departure date was in very bad taste. The quote attributed to the president of the state Senate was a cheap shot and, therefore, equally disappointing.
Adele was not terminated. An embarrassment occurred in her organization. To preserve the public trust and prevent the erosion of service to the people, she accepted personal responsibility and resigned. Isn't that enough?
Unfortunately, the press and some legislators appear to savor feeding scapegoats to the public. When is The Sun going to comment on her distinguished career of more than 30 years of public service? How do you plan to acknowledge the programs started and the people helped because of Adele's openness to innovation and personal commitment?
A two-month transition period is fully appropriate. It is a small courtesy to extend to a person in crisis who devoted her life to helping people. I'd like to see The Sun follow up with a feature outlining her outstanding record of achievement in service of Marylanders. Meanwhile, Adele deserves thanks for all she's done; many of us remember.
Jacqueline H. Rogers.
Annapolis.
The writer is secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Take Heart
TC
Editor: Mark Freundel and Barbara Scheckells, the couple harassed by junk mail and telephone calls, have my sympathy. I, too, have been subjected to similar harassment -- and more.
Take heart, Ms. Scheckells and Mr. Freundel: Our pitiful harassers acknowledge the tremendous power we have over them by the time and effort they expend on us.
Susan C. Broadbent.
Baltimore.
Prevent Wrecks, Statistically
Editor: Recently, 3,000 visitors to Baltimore for the Association for Quality and Participation conference were greeted by the headline, "Rail accident probe focuses on workers who prepared train."
This is a typically Western approach. Blame the worker. It is easy to do. After an accident, find the people who happened to be standing around; certainly there is a rule, procedure, instruction they have violated. This, then, closes the case in a neat folder. Find a rule, find a worker, document the violation and then add on a couple more rules, punish the worker and then wait for the next accident. At occurrence of next accident, follow same process.
Although this is still a common practice, I am hopeful to report that this type of one-dimensional thinking is going by the wayside, where it belongs. Thanks to the pioneering work of Dr. Walter Shewhart and Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the grandfather and father of modern quality improvement, a new perspective is emerging.
Dr. Deming writes, "Figures on accidents do nothing to reduce the frequency of accidents. The first step in reduction of the frequency of accidents is to determine whether the cause of an accident belongs to the system or to some specific person or set of conditions. Statistical methods provide the only (known) method of analysis to serve as a guide to the understanding of accidents and their reduction.
"People naturally suppose that if something happened here and now, there must be something special at the spot where it happened. The usual reaction of almost everyone, when an accident occurs, is to attribute it to somebody's carelessness or to something unusual about the equipment used. It is wise not to jump to this conclusion: it may lead to the wrong answer, wrong solution, continued trouble, more accidents. The system guarantees an average frequency of accidents to occur at unpredictable places and times."
Luckily for America, thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of managers are studying the application of statistical thinking in business and industry.
A wonderful example of accident prevention was graphically described in The Sun on June 4, 1986. A firefighter fell into the water when a burning pier collapsed. His life was saved because his mask was the more expensive positive-pressure model. The Sun correctly observed that "Earlier masks might have failed him" and credited senior management with overriding the lowest-bidder rule to assure the positive-pressure mask was purchased.
It is the responsibility of senior management to dig into the causes of accidents, to develop systems to prevent accidents and to understand how some systems actually foster accidents.
' David M. Saunders.
Baltimore.
The writer is director, Total Quality Improvement Group, for the Baltimore office of Arbor Corp.