Road is Paved With Idiots
The February issue of Smithsonian magazine has a great advertisement from Isuzu with the caption, "The road is paved with idiots." How appropriate when considering all the rhetoric about changing the speed limit on certain Maryland highways.
The issue is not always speed but about the selfish, dangerous and often foolish manner in which drivers . . . operate their vehicles.
I write from experience as I drive an average of 3,000 miles per month on our various roads and highways because of business. I think our governor and legislature need to carefully consider the ramifications of raising the limit. . . .
The present speed limits are ignored by the majority of drivers and certainly not very well enforced. For instance, the speed limit on Route 3 is 45, 50 and 55, depending on where you are, but I challenge you to find anyone near these limits and Route 3 is dangerous and not a limited-access highway. . . .
Maryland drivers have a bad habit of driving through red lights, stop signs and scaring the heck out of me. We seem powerless to do anything. I discussed our problems with two of our best state policemen the other day over coffee and they expressed to me that 65 mph will give these idiots access to 75 and 80 mph. These men have a tough job to perform and we will not help them unless we really mean to do something about the speeding insanity on our roads. . . .
Thomas H. Manning
Glen Burnie
Student Service
Del. Janet Greenip has introduced House Bill 195 barring the state Department of Education from requiring community service as a high school graduation requirement. During a Feb. 8 hearing, Delegate Greenip was eloquent in stating her case that the role of the schools is to educate children, not to take over parenting.
The debate is not whether community service is worthwhile. It is about whether this is an appropriate role for the schools. Opponents of the bill were mainly representatives of the Department of Education and special interest groups who would benefit from this program. They also included several young students who were very well coached. . . . One witness said mandated community service must continue because a study showed volunteerism was down in 1993 from 1992 and "forcing children to volunteer in school may very well cause them to continue volunteer work after graduation."
Proponents were mainly parents like me who are tired of intrusive government. Our desire is for the schools to teach our children to read, write and compute well enough to succeed in college and to hold a decent job.
Some students said they love service learning. Who would not rather plant flowers or dig a pond during school hours, as one South River student described her experience, than attempt to solve a problem using the Pythagorean Theorem or write a history term paper? But, what does it teach them?
If you ask parents what they want their children to learn, nearly all will answer reading, writing, arithmetic. However, that's not what the executive director of curriculum for Anne Arundel public schools wants. He said, "When they complete the program, students can look back on a good experience." Is this a worthwhile project for scarce educational dollars or is it the educational elites sticking their noses where they don't belong . . . again? . . .
John A. Beard
Gambrills
School Daze
I took the time recently to visit the school board at one of its regular meetings. What peaked my interest were two items on the agenda: One was the school calendar for next year and the other was redistricting.
What did I find when I got there? Fully 50 percent of the adult members were absent. One was reported off skiing. I asked them to add at least one more day to the student schedule of learning, which has stayed at 180 school days for hundreds of years. All one gets are bland stares in response. The second topic listed, redistricting, was immediately put off the schedule by the statement that "it would not be discussed today."
I also told them the teachers' contract should read an eight-hour day -- not a seven-hour day as is now the mode. Even Willie Don saw the wisdom of his workers doing eight hours. Now that teachers can make more than $50,000 for 180 school days, does that sound so unreasonable?
I again asked that schools stay open on Election Day. I am told state law forbids it. . . . Joan Cadden tells me she checked with the school community and found they did not want it. Wonder whom she spoke to? . . .
John J. Miara
Pasadena
A City's Fragile Balance
I was interested to receive a copy of Liz Atwood's column of Jan. 28, "Chick Was Right: What's the Fuss?," regarding the impact of tourism in historic cities.
Ms. Atwood got it almost right.
The aspect of "whether . . . cities look [my emphasis] better or worse than Annapolis" is only a small part of the whole issue, which is mostly one of quality of life: for the visitors, who come to see these charming historic communities filled with real people living and working; and for the life of these communities and whose investments in properties keep the charm alive.
It's a very delicate balance. Imagine what would happen if the residents closed their houses and left town.
In Savannah, the city did pass an ordinance restricting bus access, which has helped tremendously. But more important, the ordinance established the Tourism Advisory Committee, comprised of residents, preservationists and tourism industry people. This group has worked hard and well together to manage constructively a number of tourism-related issues. The Tourism Commission in Charleston serves the same function.
So, what's all the fuss about? It's about an historic city and a tourism industry each very fragile and each dependent on the other -- and providing them the regulatory tools and forum for good solutions. Annapolis surely deserves such good care.
Stephanie D. Churchill
Savannah, Ga.
The writer is executive director of the Historic Savannah Foundation.