Change Priorities
I read in The Sun Oct. 26 that Baltimore County school board member Dunbar Brooks, when commenting on the recent student suspension statistics, was quoted as saying, "There's something wrong. There is an attitude problem. There is a prejudice."
Although I am an African-American, I must beg to differ with Mr. Brooks.
I am a 55-year-old grandfather, and I take my two grandchildren to county schools daily. I also visit the schools occasionally and participate in volunteer activities at the schools.
I recently read a quotation from a speech given sometime ago by New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and I will only quote a brief excerpt here:
"A community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, asks for and gets chaos."
He went on to say that crime, violence, unrest and disorder are not only to be expected but "it is very near inevitable."
Given the fact that we (African-Americans) have a disproportionately high rate of unwed mothers and/or fatherless homes, along with the fact that we also have a disproportionately high rate of crimes of violence, it certainly seems that Senator Moynihan's prognosis is right on the mark.
I am extremely disappointed that our leaders, especially African-Americans, continue to look for excuses and have a kill-the-messenger attitude.
All of us should be setting the problem of unwed mothers and broken homes as our top priority to start a reversal of that horrible statistic.
Yes, there is prejudice, not only in our schools but everywhere in America. Yes, there are economic problems, problems with drugs, child abuse, etc.
The list goes on, and certainly we want to address those issues. But let's prioritize our concerns.
Let's start to be accountable and stop looking for excuses. Let's start to direct our energy and intelligence toward correcting the major source of anti-social behavior, and that is the high rate of unwed mothers with the resulting breakdown of family and the related support system.
Frederick Hines
Randallstown
Real Progress
Education Alternatives, Inc. is committed to providing the best possible educational opportunities for the children of Baltimore.
We are proud of the very real progress that has already been made in EAI-managed schools and confident these schools will continue to provide an exciting environment for learning.
There are many variables that affect student performance. Test scores are one important measure of achievement.
So are higher attendance rates, greater parental involvement, better attitudes toward school and learning and a cleaner and safer school environment. These are real accomplishments that have already made a difference in many Baltimore classrooms.
We have asked eight current and former school administrators to evaluate, student-by-student, the academic performance of the 8,150 pupils in the EAI-run schools. We will report their findings to the people of Baltimore as soon as they are available.
It would be unfortunate to allow an apparent error by the Baltimore City Public Schools in the reporting of standardized test scores to obscure the many accomplishments of the pupils, teachers and parents who have worked hard to improve these schools.
As your Oct. 19 editorial correctly noted, improving test scores is a "long-term effort" that takes years to accomplish.
I should also point out that EAI had nothing to do with the tabulation of the citywide test scores, and there is absolutely no connection between the results as initially reported and the award of the contract to EAI in Hartford.
Parents and students have a right to demand excellence in their schools.
We believe that by focusing on the needs and talents of each student, the Tesseract method can help children realize their full potential.
Our only purpose is to help them achieve that goal.
Philip E. Geiger
Baltimore
The writer is divisional president of EAI.
Help for ADD
I would like to thank Sandy Banisky for the fine article on Attention Deficit Disorder in adults, Oct. 20.
More and more adults are seeking a diagnosis, usually after their child has been diagnosed; and what a wonderful difference it makes in their lives as they begin to understand why they do the things they do.
I was disappointed, however, that no information was given to help people with ADD find help or answers to their questions.
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD), a non-profit support organization for parents of children or for adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, has chapters in every state, 15 in Maryland alone.
Many chapters hold separate meetings for adults with ADD. Information on chapter locations may be obtained by calling the national office at (305) 587-3700.
Alice Welsh
Bel Air
Holocaust Monument Miscast in Current Form
Your Oct. 31 editorial, "Remembrance for All," needs to be addressed on several points.
The Baltimore Holocaust Memorial is a stark monolith, by which the architect and its creator meant to symbolize the somber and horrifying realities of man's inhumanity to man, perpetrated during one of the darkest periods in history.
As a survivor of that tragedy, which is referred to by Father Edward H. Flannery, S.J., as the "most terrifying event in the totality of recorded history," I was present at the cornerstone and inaugural ceremonies at Water and Gay streets.
While many of us survivors attended meetings when the monument was being planned and discussed, we really had no input as to the form the structure would take or the location.
We saw architectural designs and the symbolic meaning was explained in terms to which lay people cannot always relate.
When the monument finally was inaugurated, its shape and structure had to be explained to visitors. The message it was meant to convey was not discernible at first sight.
As far as the location was concerned, there was little choice but to go with what was available, given the fact that the land had been donated by the good offices of the Baltimore City Community College.
It is a sad truth that the structure's hidden nooks and recesses lent themselves to abuse, misuse and vandalism of various kinds. The monument's vulnerability had become a great source of concern, almost from the very outset.
Visitors became upset and were repulsed by the visible infestation. It was a desecration of a place dedicated to serve meditation and solemn commemoration.
Perhaps city planners, in conjunction with Jewish community leaders and all interested citizens of the city, will come up with the right location. And perhaps we as survivors will be given the opportunity to add some of our ideas and thoughts.
I think that together we can come to a viable, meaningful and rewarding solution.
A monument is only as good and effective as the message it is vTC able to convey. If it is not easily accessible, readily visible and well out of harm's way, it cannot attract visitors.
It would then remain a cold, meaningless mass of concrete; a monolith without a soul.
Leo Bretholz
Baltimore
Guns Kill
In his Nov. 5 letter, "Gun Control Won't Solve Violence," Paul Lavin misses the very point he made.
He reports that there was a food fight at Patterson High School that escalated into rock throwing.
He stated, "No guns were involved. In fact, it is unlikely the gun control laws would have any influence in curbing this all too common type of violence that occurs in the schools and communities throughout the nation."
The whole point is that due to the absence of weapons, most especially handguns, no one was shot to death or maimed. No handguns, no deaths, or serious injury as a result of the youthful violence and adult violence as well.
Mr. Lavin made his point very well. He just missed it.
John P. Kimball
Baltimore