OpinionDecember 5, 2006

Stay away; Time to move on; Extra expense; Meaningless test; Right at home; Cell-phone yakking; No investigation; Instill values; Mothers can work; Face-to-face, please

Stay away

I ENJOYED the Christmas Parade of Lights except for the rude individuals who butted their way in at the very last moment and booted out the couple next to us who had been sitting there for over an hour waiting for the parade to start. These people were intoxicated and acted inappropriately for a family-type event. The police had to come and stand behind them to keep them in line. To people like that: Stay at home and do not try to ruin the fun of other families out to enjoy a parade. The parade was lovely.

Time to move on

RODNEY ARNOLD needs to take responsibility for his decisions and move on. Does he think suing the city and Mayor Jay Knudtson is going to create buyers for his subdivision? I don't think so. Personal stress is part of the job.

Extra expense

BEING NEW to Southeast Missouri State University and new to living on your own is a hard hit. Balancing a job with school and finding a job to work around your school schedule is hard. Not all of us can waste money on parking tickets.

Meaningless test

MAP SCORES are a snapshot of student performance? I am the mother of a gifted child who receives gifted-education services in the Cape Girardeau School District. She did not score proficient on the MAP test. The MAP test is a snapshot of how much effort a child chooses to put into the test on any given day. It is not a reflection of the school. The MAP test and No Child Left Behind both need to be terminated. They are a bureaucratic nightmare. President Bush knows no more about how to get out of NCLB than he does Iraq. As soon as he is big enough to admit his mistake, our schools will go forward and children like my daughter will be taught what she needs to know rather than how to take a test that means nothing.

Right at home

IN RESPONSE to the comment "In other words, people are upset that they don't have the money to send their kids to a private school where they would get ridiculed for not having money and would probably never be accepted.": This is not true of all private schools. Some provide scholarships for students who qualify. My children attended a private school and never felt out of place.

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Cell-phone yakking

WHY CAN'T secretaries help people rather than yak on their personal cell phones?

No investigation

HOW CAN the Division of Family Services refuse to take a call about child abuse and neglect? I called to report my neighbor who whipped his son with a belt in the driveway when he came home the other night. The kid was screaming his head off. DFS said that it wouldn't do an investigation.

Instill values

TEACHING YOUR children that it's important to shop on Black Friday is ridiculous. Parents should instill values, not greediness. Those hours would be better spent reading a book together, creating a Christmas ornament, writing a letter to their grandparents or baking cookies for the neighbors.

Mothers can work

WHY SHOULDN'T mothers who get custody of the children in a divorce get a job? Just because they have custody doesn't mean they shouldn't contribute their equal part of the expense.

Face-to-face, please

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI State University professors should be required to have regular office hours and stick with them. I get tired of being told to e-mail my professors. Why can't I talk to them face to face? The semester is almost over, and two of my professors don't even know my name.

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