What Mandate?
Already in their first days of control of Congress, the conservatives have stamped their reign as having "the mandate of the people." They really seem to believe they have a "mandate," but I fail to see where one exists.
If you walked into a room of 10 people and four came up to you and complained about the state of the nation, would you call that a good survey of the opinions of the total population of the room?
No, certainly not. However, it does represent 40 percent of the room.
Let's say 90 people joined you in the room and you asked for a show of hands of those who agreed with your interpretation of the opinions of the first four people.
If 20 of those 100 people raised their hands in agreement, would that be a "mandate"? No, certainly not. It would only represent 20 percent of the population.
Well, the elections that the conservatives are calling their "mandate of the people" is analogous to the scenario above.
Out of the total population of registered voters, just under 40 percent voted. Of those, just barely a majority (or just over half of them) voted for the conservatives.
You can't have a mandate when you don't even have a majority. There is no mandate when only 20 percent is the majority.
I am hopeful that the real mandate of the people will be more clearly proclaimed in 1996. I don't think it is as right-wing conservative as Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Ralph Reed and Bob Dole wish it was.
On the other hand, what were the other 80 people doing while those 20 were determining our government? Getting doughnuts and coffee?
I hope the effects of the sugar and caffeine last until November 1996 and the next election. Then perhaps we'll see something more akin to a "mandate of the people."
Devon Osborne
Baltimore
Back Pain
In a Dec. 26 letter to the editor, Samuel Esterson wrote in response to articles about lower back pain. In his letter he made several false or misleading statements.
Most physical therapists have not had six years of schooling. Most therapists have four years of education.
Physical therapists do not perform spinal manipulation. Physical therapists who perform spinal manipulation are practicing outside their legal scope of practice and are in violation of Maryland law.
Physical therapists are not the best-trained health care professionals to evaluate musculoskeletal disorders, trauma and back pain.
Physical therapists are not permitted to perform many tests that are often necessary to differentiate back problems that they can and should treat from conditions that they shouldn't treat.
Frequently X-ray examination and laboratory blood tests are needed to diagnose cancer, prostate inflammation or bone fractures that can mimic simple back complaints.
A diagnosis is the first step to proper treatment of health problems. Physical therapists provide many important services; however, diagnoses and spinal manipulation are not among them.
Neil B. Cohen
Towson
The writer is a chiropractor.
Praising BDC
I was disturbed by the recent coverage of the Baltimore Development Corporation and Honora Freeman that appeared in your paper. The articles were very negative with little mention of BDC's successes.
Over the years, Charles Center Inner Harbor Management Corporation merged with the Baltimore Economic Development Corporation and Market Center Development Corporation to become BDC.
While BDC has assumed the responsibilities of all three, the staff has been reduced to less than any one of the predecessor organizations.
In spite of this situation, BDC, under the leadership of Ms. Freeman, has been able to maintain a staff of dedicated professionals that makes a significant difference in Baltimore.
The most recent example is Baltimore's successful bid for the $100 million federal grant. While many who contributed to this success were praised in a recent article in your paper ("Federal Grant Capped Months of Orchestration"), I was surprised to see no mention of BDC, the organization that led the effort to prepare the grant proposal.
Michael Seipp, while executive vice president of BDC, headed the entire effort, assisted by other BDC staff. Mr. Seipp, Michelle Whelley, Larisa Salamacha and others worked countless hours of overtime throughout the summer and fall, orchestrating community involvement, and writing and rewriting the proposal.
The Sun was quick to condemn BDC for its perceived failures, but reluctant to praise its successes.
Edward M. Hord
Baltimore
The writer is a principal in Anshen & Allen, architects and planners.
Special Education Works
The letter from Geoff Smoot Jan. 5 gives no indication where he has gotten his knowledge about special education, particularly the intensities 5 and 6, but he very blithely assumes the students in these placements are ineducable and the "burden" of their attention should be placed to some agency outside the public education system.
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Nationally and in Maryland, well over 50 percent of students eligible for special education service are identified as learning disabled. All learning disabled students are educable.
Some students with learning disabilities do find appropriate placements in the intensities 5 and 6, because of the severity of their disabilities and because only in those settings can they receive the very specialized instruction they need.
To say that education services in the intensity 5 and 6 settings is more custodial than anything else does a great disservice to our public school systems and to the many dedicated teachers and related service providers who work with these children.
They have not gone to the trouble of obtaining teaching certificates to be mere custodians.
Students with learning disabilities who have spent part of their education career in intensity 5 and 6 settings can eventually come back to the regular classroom with appropriate instructional strategies to complete their schooling successfully.
Many have gone on to post-secondary education and hold very responsible jobs in our community.
Perhaps the accountant who does his taxes, the technician who repairs his furnace or the vice president of his bank were all intensity 5 or 6 students at one time.
Irene Spencer
Cockeysville
The writer is president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland
I find it very difficult to comprehend the logic behind Mr. Smoot's letter. Anyone who has spent an extended period with level 5 students will concur that these children are indeed teachable.
Mr. Smoot briefly mentioned that these, along with all other students, "legally and morally deserve" attention, in a school system.
From first-hand experience, these children do not receive just attention, but love, care and education from the most dedicated teachers the state has to offer.
I have volunteered at a level 5 school where students learn the essentials of life.
Apparently Mr. Smoot does not feel that tying one's shoe, or caring for personal hygiene is important. A low level child capable of tending to personal needs is happier and more functional.
I took the letter Mr. Smoot wrote as a personal attack on my family. My mother is a teacher at a level 5 school. Her job is to help each student reach his or her potential. If their peak level is not up to the standards of you or me, so be it.
The way I see it is that a child who works hard and gets the most out of his or her ability is a far better person than one who aspires just to get by.
It may require a tremendous amount of dedication, by both teacher and child, for a student to recognize symbols and signs.
However, it is my belief that a child should understand the ramifications of warning signs on hazardous bottles.
Not all level 5 students max out at this level. My sister is a 19-year-old student at the same school. She passed her potential years ago because of love from my family and dedication from her teachers.
When my sister was diagnosed as being retarded, my family did not say, "Oh well, there is nothing that we can do." We said, "She will be a valuable part of society."
She has proven people wrong time and time again. Through her school, my sister supervises 4-year-old children at the YMCA. This past summer she was a counselor assistant at Milldale.
If Mr. Smoot had his way, my sister would not have become a valuable member of society. She would have stagnated years ago.
Gregory E. Fisher
Stevenson