Naked Truth...
I found it ironic that Jesse Fox Mayshark's article on testing in schools [Aug. 16], appeared only pages after he had criticized the News-Sentinel as a cheerleader for the establishment.
There are many people, teachers foremost among them, who believe that the testing system as it exists now is damaging education. While the article mentions fairtest.org, it does not reflect how many local teachers and parents have grave concerns about testing.
Sarah Simpson's quote, "You test what you teach," is absurd. The test is created by a company outside Tennessee and marketed to many states, and some sections are only loosely aligned with local curricula and materials. You test what they give you to test, regardless of what your school board or citizenry wants their students to learn.
Some educators and parents alike are beginning to believe that the test is a more important measure than grades. Yet the tests cannot reflect punctuality, perseverance, work ethic, or any of the "soft skills" many employers are now seeking. Many schools now devote time and money solely to improving test-taking skills, and more and more decisions are based on what will improve test scores rather than what will improve education. They are not always the same, despite what champions of testing would have us believe.
The irony of testing is that the accountability system is unaccountable. The test's manufacturers have never been called on to prove that students who score well on their tests do better in college or get better jobs than peers who do average or poorly. What is this test measuring? And where is the proof?
TCAP testing is like the emperor's new clothes. Some teachers fear that speaking out against it will mark them as whiners who fear accountability. As a teacher and a parent, I want an accountability system that does more good than harm.
The emperor is naked.
David L. Williams, teacher
Knoxville
Capital Offense
Here is a list of things one could do and face less jail time and fines than an Oak Ridge couple now face for growing 102 marijuana plants in their home:
One could rob a bank, rape someone, assault someone, attempt to murder someone, commit arson, molest a child, or bungee jump from the Statue of Liberty.
How can any rational person not agree that this is completely ludicrous? Since our elected officials seem to lack the backbone to stand up and rectify this atrocity, maybe the law enforcement agencies should concentrate more of their energy toward capturing serious criminals and just ignore marijuana offenders; kind of like they do those illegal gambling machines in business establishments throughout East Tennessee.
Kelsi Lynne
Knoxville
Hug Your Pet
I would like to compliment Katie Granju on her article on the animal shelter situation in Knoxville [Sept. 6]. The even-handed description of the differing approaches to caring for stray and unwanted pets is particularly valuable because it brought up the issue of "no kill" shelters. Unfortunately, the general public is often unaware of what this label actually means and the controversy surrounding it. "Gimme Shelter" addressed both the laudable goals of "no kill" and the associated fallacies.
It is easy for certain organizations to piously claim that they do not kill healthy animals when they have the luxury of not taking excess animals or ones deemed "difficult." Of course, such "unadoptable" pets then end up at the local city or county shelter, where they are euthanized because there is no alternative.
In addition, it should be noted that what is "healthy and adoptable" is a matter of opinion. Shelters can define these characteristics any way they want to. Dogs with a mild cough or of a certain breed may be classified as "unadoptable" and refused by a "no kill" facility. Again, these animals then end up at what Randy Keplinger rightly describes as the "very last alternative," the city-county shelter.
Shelter workers are dedicated and hard-working people who care deeply about the animals they are responsible for and do a very tough job. People who criticize and threaten them are misinformed and are "part of the problem."
The fact is that our self-absorbed, "throw-away" society is responsible for the suffering and deaths of all these dogs, cats, and other animals.
I had to say "Right on!" to the first part of "Gimme Shelter," where it describes some of the lame and thoughtless reasons that animals are surrendered by their owners. One is tempted to tell the "harried West Knoxville" mom with the "adolescent golden retriever" to get her children off their fat butts and away from the TV and video games to play with their dog. Attention and exercise would not only solve the puppy's "hyper" problem, but it would teach her kids a lot about love and commitment.
I think I'll go hug one of my "unadoptable" dogs, all of which where originally strays in East Tennessee.
Eric Davis, DVM
Corryton
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