Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
Answers to kindergarten question found in Carson City
I know Gov. Gibbons is new to Carson City, but he really didn't have to travel all the way to Edmonton, Canada, to find out what public education needs to succeed. He could have just gone down the street. If he wanted to know how valuable full-day kindergarten is and get data to back it up, all he had to do was visit Empire Elementary School, Principal Pat Carpenter and her outstanding staff. Any of the administrators and staff at our three Title I schools - Empire, Mark Twain or Bordewich Bray, could have informed the governor what it takes to succeed with at-risk populations. They're doing it every day! And of course, the district superintendent, Dr. Mary Pierczynski, and the state superintendent of public education, Dr. Keith Rheault, are excellent resources, if the governor wanted to find out what the school populations look like and what is working here in Nevada.
I've been to Edmonton and I agree it's a nice place to visit and maybe it has nice dress shops, but, since the governor is so determined to get Nevada specific data to determine the fate of full-day kindergarten, maybe he'd want to hear from Nevada's own outstanding educators before presenting his education budget. Watch out Reno Rodeo, Calgary will be the governor's next stop.
James Hukari
Carson City
Young children should be kept out of government schools
In his recent letter to you (Kindergarten opponents ignoring the evidence) Eugene Paslov got it exactly backwards. There is plenty of evidence in favor of children spending as few of their years in government schools as possible. I'll cite just a few.
In 1994 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued its "Economic Survey of the United States." On page 86 they stated "Third, the combination of a good higher education system and sub-standard primary and secondary education is a source of widening income disparity in the United States." On page 113 they were even more explicit, "While it is true that American schools do a particularly poor job of educating blacks and Hispanics, one should not conclude that white students in middle-class suburbs are uniformly well served. In mathematics and science, the nation's top high school students rank far behind much less elite samples of students in other countries."
In 1998 the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement issued a pamphlet entitled "Pursuing Excellence." At the front of Chapter 3 it states "Performance of U.S. physics and advanced mathematics students was among the lowest of the 16 countries that administered the physics and advanced mathematics assessments."
Mr. Paslov might want to read "A Nation At Risk" to get a better understanding of why parents should keep young children out of government schools. On page 11 he will find the following: "Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents."
Kindergarten-age children are well served by spending the maximum time possible with their mothers and fathers. Soon enough they will be forced into the government schools. The more time they can spend at home, allowing their parents to develop their mental abilities, the better.
Please note, the above citations are comments on ALL American government schools, not just Nevada's.
David K. Schumann
Minden
Many questions remain on rec center feasibility
In regards to the Opinion article by Mr. Livermore, Carson City supervisor, printed in your paper: After reading his article, I asked myself where is the missing information again? The nature of our brokered deal with Western Nevada Community College is barely mentioned. Eight million dollars is not chump change and to spend it on a pig in the poke would be a waste of good money for which I voted for, on the ballot initiative, Question 18.
Mr. Livermore, in what was a rather large article, did mention with glowing words that the "multi-use" gym would be of great value to our community. I agree, in part. What he did not say was how much use would the community get from a "multi-use" gym shared with a growing community college.
Where will WNCC play and practice with its collegiate teams and physical education programs? Will the wonderful gym, filled with laughing children, have to be shared with a ever growing college sports program? Will the recreation programs be pushed aside by "weight training days" for the baseball team? Will the gym be available to a company sponsored volleyball team on the day that WNCC women's basketball tournament is playing? Do not get me wrong, I think that a WNCC sports program is a important aspect of the community college. I just think that WNCC should pay for it.
Why must this "recreation center/gym" be built in such a difficult place to get to? Why do we need another grand pool, when we have one of the finest underused swimming facilities in the West? We need to spend our recreation dollars primarily on the children of Carson City not a college sports program. Children and especially young adults need a place to blow off steam.
Families need to easily get to those facilities their children are using.
There are a great many more questions to be answered before the citizens of Carson City allow $8 million to be spent on a "recreation center" located on a "community college" land space.
Wayne Lenhares
Carson City
City should go it alone on rec center
One child says, If you guys don't play my way, I'm going to take my ball and go home. "I QUIT." But the other little ones say, OK we will play your way, please don't go.
Now are these the ones our supervisors want to build a rec center with, on their land, that they will own, with our 10 million dollars?
I think it is time we got on with it, and build Carson City's rec center on our land where all our citizens can use it, and if we have to pay a small fee when we use it, to pay for the operation, so be it. At least it will be ours.
Bill Redmond
Carson City
Some proposals ignored in governor's address
I listened to our new governor's speech with interest and here are my questions for him: Where in this speech was his interest in improving the lot of the backbone of Nevada workers and voters - truck drivers, manufacturing workers, etc?
Why not propose scholarships for our medical school with a stipulation that graduates of this program practice in Nevada for five years, instead of giving away scholarships to basketball players (what percentage of them even graduate or give back to our state)? Why give more money to nurses when they already make more than the state average for income? Why give more money to doctors? My biggest problem tonight is whether I pay my mortgage or pay my medical bills. Jim Gibbons' biggest problem is whether he will have prime rib or lobster tails tonight. Republicans and Democrats - are you listening? Do you even care?
David Wrobleski
Dayton
Clinton not fit for the White House
Another Clinton in the White House?
Can we tax payers really afford Hillary in the White House as President of the United States?
Are our memories so short that we have forgotten the impeachment process, because of President Clinton's immoral conduct with a teenage page? The lies both he and Hillary told the public on TV? The damaged computers - when they left the White House (all the "W's" were wiped out).
Then there was the missing tableware from the dining room, and we don't know what else disappeared? Who paid for these?
Also the plans and preparations for destroying the Twin Towers were made underneath the Clinton administration. Why wasn't something done to prevent this disaster?
The news media said that lots of clues and information were passed on to the White House before this happened - before 9/11.
Donna Jensen
Carson City
Governor should leave well enough alone
I think the new governor has a problem.
He should leave things the way they are and stop trying to fix everything that's not broken.
Quit telling people one thing and doing another!
What you need to do is sit back and let things fall in place like they will, and stop trying to improve something that is not broken.
Leave things the way they are.
Glenn Lucky
Carson City
I know Gov. Gibbons is new to Carson City, but he really didn't have to travel all the way to Edmonton, Canada, to find out what public education needs to succeed. He could have just gone down the street. If he wanted to know how valuable full-day kindergarten is and get data to back it up, all he had to do was visit Empire Elementary School, Principal Pat Carpenter and her outstanding staff. Any of the administrators and staff at our three Title I schools - Empire, Mark Twain or Bordewich Bray, could have informed the governor what it takes to succeed with at-risk populations. They're doing it every day! And of course, the district superintendent, Dr. Mary Pierczynski, and the state superintendent of public education, Dr. Keith Rheault, are excellent resources, if the governor wanted to find out what the school populations look like and what is working here in Nevada.
I've been to Edmonton and I agree it's a nice place to visit and maybe it has nice dress shops, but, since the governor is so determined to get Nevada specific data to determine the fate of full-day kindergarten, maybe he'd want to hear from Nevada's own outstanding educators before presenting his education budget. Watch out Reno Rodeo, Calgary will be the governor's next stop.
James Hukari
Carson City
Young children should be kept out of government schools
In his recent letter to you (Kindergarten opponents ignoring the evidence) Eugene Paslov got it exactly backwards. There is plenty of evidence in favor of children spending as few of their years in government schools as possible. I'll cite just a few.
In 1994 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued its "Economic Survey of the United States." On page 86 they stated "Third, the combination of a good higher education system and sub-standard primary and secondary education is a source of widening income disparity in the United States." On page 113 they were even more explicit, "While it is true that American schools do a particularly poor job of educating blacks and Hispanics, one should not conclude that white students in middle-class suburbs are uniformly well served. In mathematics and science, the nation's top high school students rank far behind much less elite samples of students in other countries."
In 1998 the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement issued a pamphlet entitled "Pursuing Excellence." At the front of Chapter 3 it states "Performance of U.S. physics and advanced mathematics students was among the lowest of the 16 countries that administered the physics and advanced mathematics assessments."
Mr. Paslov might want to read "A Nation At Risk" to get a better understanding of why parents should keep young children out of government schools. On page 11 he will find the following: "Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents."
Kindergarten-age children are well served by spending the maximum time possible with their mothers and fathers. Soon enough they will be forced into the government schools. The more time they can spend at home, allowing their parents to develop their mental abilities, the better.
Please note, the above citations are comments on ALL American government schools, not just Nevada's.
David K. Schumann
Minden
Many questions remain on rec center feasibility
In regards to the Opinion article by Mr. Livermore, Carson City supervisor, printed in your paper: After reading his article, I asked myself where is the missing information again? The nature of our brokered deal with Western Nevada Community College is barely mentioned. Eight million dollars is not chump change and to spend it on a pig in the poke would be a waste of good money for which I voted for, on the ballot initiative, Question 18.
Mr. Livermore, in what was a rather large article, did mention with glowing words that the "multi-use" gym would be of great value to our community. I agree, in part. What he did not say was how much use would the community get from a "multi-use" gym shared with a growing community college.
Where will WNCC play and practice with its collegiate teams and physical education programs? Will the wonderful gym, filled with laughing children, have to be shared with a ever growing college sports program? Will the recreation programs be pushed aside by "weight training days" for the baseball team? Will the gym be available to a company sponsored volleyball team on the day that WNCC women's basketball tournament is playing? Do not get me wrong, I think that a WNCC sports program is a important aspect of the community college. I just think that WNCC should pay for it.
Why must this "recreation center/gym" be built in such a difficult place to get to? Why do we need another grand pool, when we have one of the finest underused swimming facilities in the West? We need to spend our recreation dollars primarily on the children of Carson City not a college sports program. Children and especially young adults need a place to blow off steam.
Families need to easily get to those facilities their children are using.
There are a great many more questions to be answered before the citizens of Carson City allow $8 million to be spent on a "recreation center" located on a "community college" land space.
Wayne Lenhares
Carson City
City should go it alone on rec center
One child says, If you guys don't play my way, I'm going to take my ball and go home. "I QUIT." But the other little ones say, OK we will play your way, please don't go.
Now are these the ones our supervisors want to build a rec center with, on their land, that they will own, with our 10 million dollars?
I think it is time we got on with it, and build Carson City's rec center on our land where all our citizens can use it, and if we have to pay a small fee when we use it, to pay for the operation, so be it. At least it will be ours.
Bill Redmond
Carson City
Some proposals ignored in governor's address
I listened to our new governor's speech with interest and here are my questions for him: Where in this speech was his interest in improving the lot of the backbone of Nevada workers and voters - truck drivers, manufacturing workers, etc?
Why not propose scholarships for our medical school with a stipulation that graduates of this program practice in Nevada for five years, instead of giving away scholarships to basketball players (what percentage of them even graduate or give back to our state)? Why give more money to nurses when they already make more than the state average for income? Why give more money to doctors? My biggest problem tonight is whether I pay my mortgage or pay my medical bills. Jim Gibbons' biggest problem is whether he will have prime rib or lobster tails tonight. Republicans and Democrats - are you listening? Do you even care?
David Wrobleski
Dayton
Clinton not fit for the White House
Another Clinton in the White House?
Can we tax payers really afford Hillary in the White House as President of the United States?
Are our memories so short that we have forgotten the impeachment process, because of President Clinton's immoral conduct with a teenage page? The lies both he and Hillary told the public on TV? The damaged computers - when they left the White House (all the "W's" were wiped out).
Then there was the missing tableware from the dining room, and we don't know what else disappeared? Who paid for these?
Also the plans and preparations for destroying the Twin Towers were made underneath the Clinton administration. Why wasn't something done to prevent this disaster?
The news media said that lots of clues and information were passed on to the White House before this happened - before 9/11.
Donna Jensen
Carson City
Governor should leave well enough alone
I think the new governor has a problem.
He should leave things the way they are and stop trying to fix everything that's not broken.
Quit telling people one thing and doing another!
What you need to do is sit back and let things fall in place like they will, and stop trying to improve something that is not broken.
Leave things the way they are.
Glenn Lucky
Carson City
