Saturday, March 24, 2001
"He's playing like Russian roulette. Shots were fired last time (and) again this time." Clayton Frank,
Oahu Community Correctional Center warden on two recent escape attempts by Kerbert Silva. He was being held in a holding unit, supposedly the most secure part of the facility, awaiting trial for auto theft, escape and theft.
"He had a bad experience." Richard Kellitz,
A Honolulu police detective understating the capture of escaped drug offender Dwayne Medeiros after he crashed a car into the front steps of police headquarters
Don't judge school system by one letter
Star-Bulletin editorial director Richard Halloran has three principle objections to the letter from an unnamed student: It is misspelled, contains poor grammar and makes unsupported arguments (Editor's Scratchpad, March 16).He is right about the grammar and spelling, but his claims are false. Halloran takes one letter and purports to have it represent the sum total of Hawaii's educational system. This is manifestly false; he has generalized from a single example.
Nate Gibbs
Proud public school teacher
Shame on you for attacking a student who was bold and brave enough to communicate a message that needed to be heard in his/her "voice."
By focusing on the negative, impugning the work of teachers who deal with a diverse group of students from countless cultures, age groups and skills, and many second language users as well, you have dealt a serious blow to teaching civic responsibility to our kids.
We teach kids to write to express themselves and then work for eventual perfection and correctness. Spend some time with teachers trying to get kids to communicate, either vocally or in writing, and then see how critical you can be.
Vinnie Linares
By publishing a poorly written letter, ostensibly from a high school student, you've exposed this student's teachers for what they really are --greedy, lazy incompetents.
The kid didn't supply any supporting facts? Since when has making sure you're factual been a requirement of letters to the editor? I read them every day and have noticed many writers who didn't let facts get in the way of their opinion, so why does this writer suddenly have to have supporting data?
Thanks for explaining to all of us nincompoops what was wrong with that kid's letter just in case we wouldn't be able to figure it out on own. Especially not any of us educated in Hawaii.
Linda Semones
As a retired teacher of high school students I am appalled at the assumptions about the "Dear Governer" letter. Perhaps this letter is from a student who has struggled with teachers to reach this level of competency and will improve with additional instruction and practice or perhaps it is from one who has never attempted to make his feelings known in a public forum.
Any good teacher in this state, and there are too many to count, would have applauded this student for the attempt.
Inez Butterfield
Teachers do not raise their students. They do not have the opportunity to spend the necessary hours reading to them when they are young, by example to encourage them to read, to correct their language use when needed, to do all the things that must be done in the earliest years to prepare them for success in school. They must take them as they are.
John M. Flanigan
Assistant Professor Mathematics
Kapiolani Community College
Yes, English skills here in Hawaii are lacking. Are the teachers to blame or are the parents and the students themselves? Society here has forced the educational system into the role of surrogate parent. Where are the parents? Most likely they are working at several jobs to make ends meet. Education should begin in the home prior to starting school and continue in the home even after formal schooling has started. It is up to the parents and the students themselves to continue the educational process outside the school.
If blame is to be handed out, why not spread it around? Blame underspending on education (books, facilities, salaries), the parents for not being there to assist in the educational process, and the students for not doing what they are in school for -- learning.
John Wert
The student's letter was a good one -- not perfect, but the author's intent was clear and kindly stated. In contrast, the editorial remarks were harsh and unfair to the student and Hawaii's teachers. This is a high-school student after all, not a professional writer or copyeditor.
Richard and Phyllis Young
Kailua
You failed to read the letter and appreciate what it really meant. This student took a chance. He or she stood up and sent a message to our highest elected official about what he or she believes. This student exercised one of the most important rights that we have, and, frankly, made a reasonable argument.
I have worked with highly educated individuals who write no better than this student. It is sad to see such deficiencies, but it does not cause me to ignore the message in their writing or chastise them for violating grammatical rules.
Chris Benjamin
Niu Valley
If your intent was to bring issue with the teachers, you should just get to the point and do that. Your criticism of the student's spelling and grammar discourages ANYONE from writing to the editor for fear of being criticized. Making an exception and not identifying the writer served no purpose. The credibility of the editorial is now questionable.
Sonia Ayson
Education system failed letter writer
I found it fascinating to read the many letters criticizing your editor's critique of teachers that resulted from misspellings in an earlier letter to the editor.With one or two exceptions, all of these letters demonstrated the way today's culture has become increasingly slanted to avoid responsibility by anyone for anything. The failings of the original writer result from the failings of our educational system, but instead of addressing that fact the writers of the other letters found one or another reason to excuse these deficiencies.
Unfortunately, whether these writers like it or not, succeeding in this nasty old world is highly dependent on how well we do in a multitude of actions: the way we present ourselves, how we spell in our writing, how we dress. Simply having good intentions won't do it.
It is criminal that our educational system allows young people to graduate without adequate grounding in the basics, and even more criminal that adults will perpetuate a failed system by finding excuses for the result.
R. W. Parkinson
I was flabbergasted to read your critique of the student's letter about pay raises, because we rarely come across someone publicly who is willing to insist on clear, sound writing. The linguistic history of Hawaii has led some to use English imprecisely.
Although I understand why it happens, the answer isn't to excuse fuzzy language. Otherwise, we will never know whether the real problem is unclear thinking instead of unclear writing.
Bruce Benson
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