Colorado Student Assessment Program
Think back. When you were in school, weren’t there some kids in your classroom who were below grade level, some about average, and some who were just plain smart? That was reality then, and it’s no different now.
The Colorado Student Assessment Program goals, however, expect all kids to make at least average test scores. Teachers and schools are now being blamed for the children who test below average. Parents love it. Now their kids’ low scores have nothing to do with the fact that years of video games and TV might have taken the place of involved parenting on their part. And politicians who have a knee-jerk reaction to attack public education love it because it gives them a reason to move public funds into their own personal religious institutions.
There is no way to make everyone at least average. Punishing educators only gives them a convenient whipping boy for their own selfish intentions and failures. And kids are not benefiting from being brainwashed into a narrow test- taking culture.
If you want to see the reality of this situation, spend some time in your child’s school. The kids haven’t changed since you were a student. And the teachers are pretty much the same – some great, some not so great. What has changed is the CSAP mind frame. And it is destructive.
Fred Buschhoff, Denver
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Reforming legal immigration to provide labor
Re: “More border antics,” May 6 Linda Chavez column.
Linda Chavez makes some excellent points in support of legally bringing foreign workers into the U.S. Our economy has become dependent on them and it is true that American workers could not fill all the positions they currently occupy.
Still, the devil hangs in the details. If we assume there is some legal way to bring in foreign workers, what would require them to work for extremely low wages? Surely, part of their economic desirability is that they accept impossibly low wages, and no benefits, without demur lest they lose their jobs or be sent back home. Can you imagine illegal aliens striking for better working conditions?
However, if they come legally, they are free to negotiate wages and the perks that American workers are likely to receive. It is the industries eager to employ them that adamantly oppose any freedom to engage in such negotiations; they want workers who have no choice but to work for low wages and no perks.
Everyone seems to prefer the status quo because any change toward legality would disrupt the cozy economic system that has developed around illegal aliens, and lord knows we must not disrupt our standard of living. So, what seems like a simple, straightforward solution turns out to be utopian. Good try, but no brass ring.
Bertram Rothschild, Aurora
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Linda Chavez’s statement, “If we changed our immigration laws to allow needed workers to immigrate legally, we’d largely solve our illegal alien problem … ,” is simply ridiculous. Just making a few million illegals legal would do nothing to stop the others who want to come to the U.S.
Illegal immigration will continue until we close or seal our borders. Too many commentators see all the illegals as hard-working Mexicans, but there are others – such as Iranians, Syrians and probably North Koreans – penetrating our borders with deadly intent. We all should be telling our representatives to fix this problem as recommended by the Sept. 11 commission.
Dave Miller, Sedalia
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Reintroduction of the Canada lynx in Colo.
Much has been written lately about protecting Canada lynx in Colorado. We would like to take this opportunity clear the air by sharing the facts.
Eight years ago, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laid plans to reintroduce lynx to Colorado’s spruce-fir forests. If the cat thrived, it would not need to be listed as threatened or endangered. Vail Resorts supported the initial reintroduction with funds.
So far, lynx reintroduction is a success and a model of federal- state cooperation. More than 200 cats have been released. Many have survived, and 55 kittens have been born. The effort enjoys strong public support, thanks to good communication among interested parties and a common belief that lynx can coexist with other users.
We will continue to monitor forest plans, including the newly revised White River National Forest Plan, and work together to protect lynx and their habitats consistently and effectively. Our fine working relationship is our best asset to sustain a healthy lynx population – as we told the Colorado legislature’s Joint Agriculture Committee on May 4.
We believe the lynx will continue to teach us about what they need to survive in Colorado today. The cats themselves may settle the arguments about how well we have done.
Rick Cables, Rocky Mountain Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service
Russell George, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources
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Meaning of “holocaust”
Re: “Word misuse dilutes horror of Holocaust,” May 5 David Harsanyi column.
“Holocaust” was a word long before it became synonymous with the systematic murder of millions of Jews in Eastern Europe at the hands of the Nazis. It comes from the Greek holocaustum, meaning burnt whole. Unlike “kleenex” or “xerox,” which have taken on generalized meanings, the word “holocaust” was never the proprietary property of any group or company.
David Harsanyi reported that Mountain States Anti-Defamation League director Bruce DeBoskey claims that Nazi imagery and rhetoric are “working their way into the vocabulary,” desensitizing and devaluing “the powerful history of the Holocaust.” As an American Jew who lost much of my family in the Holocaust, I would hate to see this happen. But I would never be so blind as to ignore the pain of others who are capable of suffering, whether human or non-human, because they, or those working to end their suffering, compare their treatment to any other oppressed group, even Holocaust victims.
While the treatment of Jews was condoned because of our religious beliefs, we must be careful now not to devalue the suffering of others because of our semantic beliefs.
Bob Chorush, Seattle
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Lakewood zoning fight
Re: “Planning board backs Sam’s Club rezoning,” May 6 news brief.
I am one of more than 40 citizens representing 12 homeowner associations and more than 500 households who presented a factual, honest case to the Lakewood Planning Commission to stop Lakewood from changing the zoning at Academy Park for another Sam’s Club. Our well-researched, documented presentations showed that the developer’s traffic-impact analysis was ridiculously low and didn’t even begin to show the hideous impact this development would have on that whole section of the metro area. We also showed that the rezoning is unwarranted based upon Lakewood’s own Comprehensive Plan. Still, four of six commissioners approved the proposal.
No matter how desperate the city is for money, this proposal is wrong. There are plenty of other locations for this big box.
Mike Rock, Lakewood’s city manager, admonished the commission to decide the case not on the emotion but on the merits. If that had happened, citizens of Lakewood, Jefferson County and Denver would not now face an ongoing battle to stop this unwarranted and dangerous proposal.
Sandra J. Payne, Lakewood
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