Letters to the Editor 02/29/2012

To the Editor:

In response to "Parent evaluations are a mistake," I totally agree with Quay Richerson. I am a retired teacher with 30-plus years of educating elementary children in both public and private schools in three states. I hold a master's in educational psychology. I have never had evaluations by the parents such as this. Parents were encouraged to come to me, THEN to the principal with any of their concerns. I was under formal and ongoing informal observation by the principal. I had the privilege to work in schools where there was a partnership with the parents and the communications were open and frequently daily.

Our son had great respect for his water polo coach.

Yes, there were times when we would question his techniques, but we knew that he had the team's best interest at heart. I am saddened to think that this evaluation process should be left to the parents.

It is up to the administrators to evaluate the input or concerns from parents, AFTER the contact has been made with the coach or teacher, first to determine what the future holds for the coach or teacher.

It is NOT up to the parents.

Who is running the show? All it takes is for a few disgruntled parents to form a vigilante group to "hang" a coach.

And, as you might gather, I fear this procedure of parent evaluations will trickle down to teachers.

What happened to the prestige and respect for coaches, and also teachers? Granted, there are situations, based on individual cases where there may be abuse, but that should be dealt with immediately among the administrator, coach or teacher, and parent and child.

I trust that this evaluation procedure will be reconsidered.

Linda Seelhorst

s s s

To the Editor:

To begin with, let me say that my thoughts expressed in this column are not meant to reflect on employees of Sisters schools. Indeed, my years of volunteering in the district have reinforced my view that the students and staff here are (as in Lake Wobegone) above average. The rest of this article reflects a broader view of schools from both a state and federal

perspective.

It's a basic tenet of our society that in an act of incredible trust, we commit our children to the care of our schools, believing that they will be enlightened, encouraged, challenged, socialized, prepared for higher education, and empowered to succeed in today's world. A great majority of teachers, coaches and administrators demonstrate that this trust is well-placed. Unfortunately, others either forget this concept, or do not have the ability to facilitate it. They are not, however, completely to

blame.

Initially, teacher training institutes sometimes drop the ball by not thoroughly weeding-out prospective educators. They may also not be candid enough with some students who are not well-suited for future teaching jobs. Once hired, far too many new teachers are allowed to reach tenure positions without exhibiting the gifts that are inherent in excellent teachers. Finally, tenure laws and ill-advised union interventions combine to reinforce mediocrity in the teaching profession. I acknowledge that tenure laws and unions have allowed teachers to be more free from intimidation, but saving ineffective teachers weakens the profession, frustrates parents and does an injustice to

students.

The all-too-common practice of hiring teachers for their coaching expertise first, and their teaching excellence second, further erodes our cadre of teachers. It is an absurd practice! Finally, coaches are often hired who have no training as teachers. This can easily result in coaches who do not communicate with students and parents effectively, have skewed goals for their sports' programs, and are not superior role models. Coaching, after all, is teaching.

The central issue then is that we must always remember that the heart of each public school is the student - not the staff. We need to be far more focused on rewarding excellent educators, and more diligent in eliminating ineffective teachers, coaches and administrators. Even though this practice may cause pain to the individuals being eliminated from the field of education, it is the most important step toward excellence in our schools. We need to stand behind those educators who are genuinely invested in reaching this goal. Every student must be able to find passion and joy in learning, and it is our obligation to provide a school atmosphere that makes this possible.

Steve Mathews, Ed.D

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To the Editor:

Regarding this week's article about dogs being caught in traps, I could not believe what I was reading. Trappers aren't required to post signs about where their traps are placed? They're allowed to put them anywhere they please, including right next to public hiking trails? And if a dog gets caught in a trap, it's just tough luck for the dog and its

owners?

Clearly the trapping rules were written in the 19th century and are in desperate need of updating. At the very least, the trappers should let the public know where the traps are so we can avoid them. The sidebar tells us to "be aware of where and when trapping activity can occur," and "in areas of trapping activity, keep your dog on a leash," but how can we take these precautions when the trappers aren't required to tell us where they're trapping? This is outrageous.

Here is a link to the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife where consumers can post their comments and complaints. Supposedly there are actual human beings who read these comments: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/comments.asp

Terri Daniel

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To the Editor:

I, like many others, am outraged over the recent incident of a valued family companion caught in Conibear "quick-kill" trap along the Metolius River. One man's sport should not be another man's horror. There is no excuse when simple regulation changes could make the

difference.

Highly visible signs warning of "Traps in use" (prior to entering the area, especially well-traveled pathways along scenic rivers!), and individual flags on each trap should be required.

It is hard to grasp how, in today's world, it is legal to set traps within two feet of a pathway or roadway frequented by other citizens and their pets.

It is hard to grasp that there is no legal recourse for those who suffer the trauma of injury or death to their pet.

Common sense dictates the need for revision of current regulations.

"Leash your pet" will be heard. It is one thing to protect our dogs from known dangers, i.e being hit by a car. It is another to protect against an invisible danger. Had Kieri's owner been aware of the risk, I suspect the dog would have been on a leash.

Comments can be directed to [email protected]

Please take a moment and sign a petition requesting a simple marking of the trap sites at: http://kieri.org/friends-of-kieri-petition/.

Heidi Fernandez, Camp Sherman resident

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To the Editor:

Chief Seattle once said "How can you own the sky, the earth, the animals - the earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth."

How come we grew so arrogant to believe we have a right to inflict suffering on animals for the sheer "sport" of it, or for making a profit of their skin, throwing their bodies away. Eighty-eight countries in the world have banned trapping, and eight states within the U.S. Saying that it is beneficial to "control" wildlife is a coward statement to mask the fact that those in charge take a profit from keeping trapping legal and that those in charge do not have the ethics, morals and sensitivity to realize that animals are sentient beings with feelings and a soul.

Trapping is cruel and unnecessary infliction of pain to innocent animals and must be outlawed if we claim that we are evolving as a human race.

Nicole Loeffler

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To the Editor:

Like so many other dog-owners, I was completely unaware that traps could be legally set as close as 18 inches off a busy trail such as Metolius, where children and pets could easily be injured or even killed - which surely would have happened to poor Kieri were it not for the fast, intelligent actions of her owners, and the complete luck of them finding a knowledgeable ODFW employee nearby.

Surely there must be a way for everyone to do their own thing on public land. Would it be so hard to slightly alter the extremely generous regulations given to trappers and require that they set their traps at least 50 feet off any designated trail? Does anyone know how to go about seeking such a change so we can all stay out of each

other's way?

Melanie Monteiro

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To the Editor:

I went to the Sisters Science Club fair expecting to stay about 15 minutes, then stayed for almost three hours.

The interactive demonstrations made it so much fun, and the displays taught me lots of new information. The kids did a really good job of explaining their projects, sharing knowledge that was fruitful for all of us who were there, along with the local adults whose businesses are technical wonders. (I even learned that I'm a little bit colorblind.) How exciting for our community to have this

exposure.

This was a great success.

Bonnie Malone