MORE LETTERS
Schools' Standards Obscured By
Intellectual Mish-Mash'
To the editor:
Well, as I have noted on these pages, big, hands-on
government has begun the task of solving our public ed
ucation problems; the budget hassle in Brunswick
County will shortly be resolved and Superintendent
Ralph Johnston can continue the shift of learning focus
from teacher to computer and all will live happily ever
after!
Whoa. Back up a few notches and examine the ab
stract language of the eggheads who are pursuing all this
change...
The Governor's Commission on Educational Stan
dards and Accountability says its mission "is to develop
essential, real-world educational standards which will
produce valuable citizens, leaders and competitive
workers through mastery of core knowledge and skills
that will be measured by meaningful, life-based assess
ments....
"The State's role is to determine what students need
to know and be able to do...."
But after the state does, "Local districts are responsi
ble for determining how students will achieve these
standards."
WHEW!
The commission in its draft report has identified 10
essential skills students need to apply knowledge to real
world situations and to synthesize information from all
disciplines."
(They are) reading, writing, speaking, listening, view
ing, using numbers, critical thinking, creative thinking,
problem-solving and working as a member of a team.
Then, if this sweeping summation doesn't complete
your dizzy spells of academic compression, each "essen
tial skill" is further analyzed by definitions: for instance,
under "Listening," the report says, "The graduate will be
able to receive, attend to, interpret, evaluate, and re
spond to verbal messages in ways that are appropriate to
purpose" (it doesn't say to whose purpose) and then lists
18 (!) aspects of this listening skill.
One can only wonder how Superintendent Johnston
can take intellectual mish-mash from the state and con
vert it into achievement, especially when the eggheads
who put this report together couldn't come up with the
most simple but essential skill at "listening" that appar
ently went out of styie when one-room schools disap
peared: the need to receive verbal or written messages
with the meaning the speaker or writer intends.
It is an elementary observation of common sense that
communication is defective if the message received is
different from the message intended.
And a matter of almost universal public insanity when
the "listeners" determine purpose, motive and analysis
of meaning of messages even before the speaker has
completed the message!
And a psychological disease prevalent among so
many people who need to twist the meaning of a com
munication around to suit their emotional or political
posture.
Now we parents would be very happy if our local
schools succeeded in teaching our kids how to listen in
terms of receiving the intended message without all the
other qualifying mental gymnastics our state eggheads
wish upon them. I suggest that Superintendent Johnston
begin the program of how local districts will determine
"how students achieve" the state standards by putting to
gether a county wide teachers' convocation some
Saturday whose sole topic of discussion to and from the
teachers will be "How Can We Teach Students To Listen
In Terms Of Receiving The Message Intended Before
Engaging In Any Other Kind Of Mental Analysis Or
Evaluation?"
If we want improvement in our public education, we
must recapture the common-sense eggheads have
smothered with abstract language and exaggeration of
the value of their administration.
Karl E. Brandt
Shallotte
School Funds Are Needed
To the editor:
I'm writing in response to James Moore's letter enti
tled "Appeal Verdict" in the Aug. 4 edition.
Apparently Mr. Moore does not have children in
school. This will be my child's third year in a Brunswick
County school. Each year I've had to not only purchase
basic school supplies, but also contribute extra money
monthly for class projects that are necessary as visual
teaching aids in today's ever-expanding technological
world. Also, during each of these three years my child's
teachers have spent personal money for items for school.
As far as teachers' pay raises, they are long overdue.
I feel that the additional funds are necessary. If we do
not educate our young now, we have no future.
Marie A Hewett
Shallotte
Board Unfair To Children
To the editor:
How important is it for our children to get a proper
education? Brunswick County has grown extensively
since 1 graduated in the '70s. I am proud of my educa
tion, but I don't believe today's children are being treat
ed fairly. As there are now so many more people living
in the county, one would think the additional taxes could
support a decent school system.
Our children need a solid education so that one day
they can support themselves and their families. They
will need this education to ensure that this county does
not continue to fail our future generations.
As the number of students grows with the county's
population, do the commissioners really think our
schools can operate on less money each year. Can the
county complex operate on the same funds required
years ago? I think not.
Walk around your county offices in Bolivia on any
given day and count how many employees are "making
time." Were they hired because work needs to be done,
or just to fill a title?
A private contractor was hired to pump sewage from
Supply Elementary School, and the process has cost
$18,000 so far. A new school was built and the money
paid to an architect for a proper system. The sewage
problem surfaced in mid-March but is yet to be correct
ed. The county continues to pay for the pumping.
Is anyone capable of making better decisions as to
where our money goes and what is most important to
Brunswick County? The starting date of classes should
never have been in question, since the powers that be
were aware of the problems when the last school year
ended. If they were not, then they should not be trusted
with handling our money in the first place.
Why wait to solve problems? Would they prefer to
wait until after the next election to start school? We have
problems, and if they aren't soon resolved, we'll be bet
ter off teaching our children at home. This would at least
provide an acceptable student/teacher ratio. It would al
so delight our county leaders, since they would have a
lot more money to throw at less important matters.
The county's decision-making is deceitful, ignorant
and very disappointing.
Nancy Nixon
Supply
Don't Ban Dogs All The Time
To the editor:
We just received the latest issue of the paper and read
with interest the letter from Ms Brown of Michigan. We
certainly share her feeling and her love for Sunset
Beach. In fact, we may love it a little bit more; we
bought a house there 13 years ago. We have also seen
many changes in the landscape and the wildlife, but it is
not the dogs on the beach that are wreaking havoc with
nature.
We read with dismay that Ms Brown wants to ban
taxpayers' dogs from the beach at all times. We who
own our homes in Sunset Beach should not be deprived
from the limited use our dogs now have for the week or
two that a tourist may be there. As one of the joys of her
life, our small Sheltie has a run on the beach with us
during the allotted times, and we are probably off the
beach after our 6 a.m. outing well before Ms Brown and
her numerous clan gather on the strand.
Our dog uses our yard for her business, and should
she leave something on the beach, we are prepared for
clean-up. We also clean up much litter left on the strand
by partying tourist groups who are too lazy to use the
bins provided.
Probably there are a few owners (renters are not al
lowed pets) who do not clean up after their animals, but
you will find that most of us who own a home or second
home at Sunset are proud and protective of our commu
nity.
Mark and Monique Hanna
Munroe Falls. Ohio
Are 6 Stations Adequate?
To the editor:
By now most everyone knows which six new chan
nels have been selected by Atlantic Telephone Cable to
commence about Oct. 1. I was told the selections were
made by the board of directors based on the tabulated re
sults of the returned questionnaires.
Two of the six new channels are identified as sports
type channels. These, added to wo now have avail
able, provide us with more than adequate sports cover
age. It is entertaining to watch a variety of sports pro
gramming. but bow many games can one watch with
one television set?
I believe the board of directors for the cooperative
had the added responsibility of reviewing the program
channels offered by other competitive cable companies
and to provide its constituency with similar types of di
versified selections. Specifically, there is no religious
channel and no financial news channel (CNBC).
Wouldn't it be great to have a sccond PBS station, and
how about CSPAN 2? Then we could be up to date on
all the latest happenings in Washington.
There are a number of technical advances on the hori
zon involving the transmission of television channels. It
seems to me that the addition of six new channels by
Atlantic Telephone Cable is only a minimum improve
ment.
Fen Loomer
Sunset Beach
He's A Good Samaritan
To the editor:
Our daughter Jennifer recently had a car accident on
N.C. 179 near Sunset Beach. In the process, her change
purse was lost with several dollars, driver's license and
credit cards.
Later the next morning Mr. Farion Black found and
went to great effort to return everything intact. It is nice
to know there are still honest people that will go out of
their way to be of help.
Bob and Barbara Chapman
Calabash
Unfair To Local Surfers
To the editor:
On July 27 myself and fellow surfers received tickets
for surfing too close to the pier at Ocean Isle Beach.
Everyone that received a ticket was a "local." The way
the ordinance is written, everyone out in the water with
a raft or boogie board, etc., should have received a tick
et:
"Sec. 6-5-7 Surfboards. No person shall use, play or
ride a surfboard or similar object, except in areas
specifically designated for their use by the Town
Council Defined as that area East of Monroe Street and
West of Oxford Street ( 5-14-84 ) "
I feel that the officer that gave the tickets gave them
in a prejudicial manner toward locals. The tourists break
the law every day and nothing is done about it I feel
that if you are going to enforce a law, you should en
force it fairly.
The problem occurs when the fishermen on the pier
complain because the surfers get in their way. Surfers
are restricted to areas, but there aren't any restrictions on
fishing off the beach.
I feel there shouldn't be any restrictions on surfing.
The ocean should be free to play in. I think a compro
mise could be made ? surfing on the left side of the pier
and fishing on the right.
Jamie Gill is
Op^n Isle Beach
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