MSPAP examination is preferred method for measuring skills

Mary Maushard's article ("Teacher's union seeks MSPAP changes," Nov. 10) provides insight into teacher perspectives on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) while raising some important concerns.

I agree with those surveyed that "the MSPAP is an important tool in improving student achievement." It measures good teaching practices and encourages active learning to help all children succeed. Not only does the MSPAP help me deliver high-quality instruction, it prepares my students for the real world.

Increasing high technology and the global workplace require a solid grasp of the basics as well as cooperation, problem solving, and application of knowledge. These are the heart of MSPAP.

Therefore, I was discouraged to read survey results reporting that "a majority [of teachers] said that more traditional tests . . . are more useful than MSPAP." Conventional multiple-choice tests require students to recognize and recall facts by selecting the best response. Through performance assessment, we empower students to apply their knowledge and explain the reasoning behind their answers.

Which is more useful? I believe that measuring students' actual performance on complex tasks will better prepare this generation to compete in the real world.

Our children cannot succeed without a definition of success. The MSPAP answers the most basic question for Maryland's students, parents and teachers: What should our children know and be able to do?

Rachael Younkers

Huntingtown

D8 The writer is the 1999 Maryland teacher of the year.

Appreciate best teachers who ensure bright futures

In an article echoing with truth, Maryland Schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick put into words the predicament that the United States has begun to acknowledge and grapple with: We need to demonstrate respect for our teachers ("A teacher shortage strategy," Nov. 12, Opinion Commentary).

The decline in the quality of our education reflects a decline in the incentives our system offers to high-caliber teachers. We should show our appreciation for teachers who give of themselves daily for the benefit of our children.

We can all look back and remember a teacher who "made the difference" for us. Will our children be able to do the same?

Yona Schwab

Baltimore

Elections no referendum on Clinton impeachment

The political pundits on television, radio and in newspapers are claiming that the people of this country, in the last election, decided that President Clinton should not be impeached.

I thought I was voting in a local election, not a national one. Where was that item on the ballot: impeach, not impeach?

Does the loss of five Republican seats means the impeachment process is dead and that President Clinton is going to get away with perjury before a federal grand jury?

Disgusting.

Mary P. Felter

Arnold

Journalists, including those in The Sun, continue to tell me how I voted in the elections earlier this month. You and they are wrong.

My vote was cast for local candidates based on incumbents' voting records and performance in office compared with challengers. The president was not an issue or factor in decisions made.

I feel certain most voters did the same thing, not only in Maryland, but across the country.

The members of the fourth estate, including those at The Sun, owe the citizens an apology for being so presumptuous and insulting our intelligence.

Richard L. Lelonek

Baltimore

Jim Wright was no victim of Newt Gingrich in 1989

Your headline "Wright, victim of Gingrich in 1989, not gloating now" (Nov. 12), proclaiming former House Speaker Jim Wright a victim of Newt Gingrich was a disturbing example of revisionism.

Mr. Wright used a sham book deal to pad his personal income, resigning in disgrace when his actions were publicly disclosed. In doing so, he brought discredit to the legislative body over which he presided and to the constituents he had pledged to faithfully represent.

Mr. Gingrich's political decline does not detract from the seriousness or veracity of Mr. Wright's misdeeds.

Richard J. Cross III

Timonium

Black community's debate over columnist Kane

Harry Levin's letter ("Column insults black voters who voted their interests," Nov. 12) had a premise that intrigued me. He asked whether The Sun could find a columnist more representative of blacks than Gregory Kane.

I am black, and the controversy in our community is whether Mr. Kane is an Uncle Tom, a debate he sometimes writes about in his column.

Orisha Kammefa

Baltimore

Is area starting to realize value of its native talent?

What a wonderful article by Rafael Alvarez on Michael Baker, the home-grown city parks chief ("New park boss feels at home," Nov. 12).

This, combined with Harford County's decision to make Jacquelyn Haas, a longtime school employee, its superintendent, could signal a trend.

Is Maryland finally noticing the wealth of local talents and that with their contacts and knowledge of our customs they may be a better fit than the hired guns from elsewhere?

We can only hope.

Carol Brannan

Timonium

Homicide detective rotation spins out crucial experience

The policy of rotating experienced homicide detectives to other units is the most ridiculous policy imaginable ("Veteran detectives leave homicide squad under Baltimore's police personnel policy," Oct. 30).

It takes years and years of experience for a homicide detective to become a seasoned veteran. Their knowledge cannot be learned from books; it is gained from dealing with the pitiful loss of life of innocent victims.

Society should at least have the most experienced personnel if it is going to have any chance for justice.

Helen Mennerick

Baltimore

Veteran would not serve under U.N. leadership

In doing the will of the banker-controlled United Nations, has Uncle Sam replaced the Russians as the new bully on the block?

I'm a veteran of World War II, but if I were asked to serve in a conflict run by the United Nations today, I would face a firing squad rather than comply.

Euchlich McKenna

Reisterstown

Anachronistic cockfighting should be scrapped forever

In our so-called civilized society, how can cockfighting still be legal ("In Oklahoma, a battle to save cockfighting," Nov. 9)? I hope we will not have to ask this question much longer and that these torturous attempts at entertainment will be outlawed.

The arguments for this "sport" simply do not hold up to even the most cursory examination. John Kozura states, "We do nothing to make these birds fight." That may be true, but they certainly wouldn't be fitted for their little row with claws and razors would ,, they? Do the good people of Oklahoma really consider these to be the weapons of choice of their fowl?

The idea that "others should not be able to strip them of their right to do it if it does not harm anyone else" is paper-thin as well. Does the dying bird get a vote in this debate? I realize that our society does not view our animal friends with much compassion, but this egregious example of cruelty needs to be eradicated.

As for the vaunted traditions of cockfighting, we need to let this anachronistic tie to the past days of dogfights, sweatshops and slavery vanish forever from the American landscape.

Brian Daughterty

Baltimore

Pub Date: 11/19/98