HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: I taught high school history and geography for many years before I retired. In my 42 years as a schoolteacher, I’ve seen several changes in our educational programs, but now I wanted to speak out about changes that I feel will have a negative impact on the educations of American students:
1. A fair number of schools have stopped teaching cursive writing. There’s really no reason for this, and cursive writing should be taught in elementary school.
2. We don’t need spring or winter breaks. With American students falling behind the rest of the world on test scores, it’s a luxury we can’t afford.
3. Let’s extend school until the end of June and start back up the first Monday after Labor Day.
4. Schools have neglected subjects such as geography. On the first day of classes, I would ask my students to find Iran, Korea and Peru. In a class of 27 students, not one of my 16to 17-year-old students could point to those countries. Five of them thought the Pacific Ocean touched the east coast of America, and two of them thought Luxembourg might be in South America. One student never even heard of Luxembourg. Three students believed the Holocaust was a lie.
5. Finally, why shouldn’t sex education be taught in every school?
I didn’t teach in the inner-city schools. These were considered middle- to upper-class schools with parents earning six figures. I could go on, but I won’t. I’m appalled at all of the poor public education so many students are getting no matter where they attend school. We need reform in our educational system, and we need it now.
— A Reader, in Colorado DEAR READERS: Need a place to store books that your kids need for school or their notebooks, papers and assorted items they use often? Try one of these handy hints: m Use wicker baskets. The tall ones with a lid can later serve as laundry baskets when they go to college. m Put up a few extra shelves in their bedroom or in the living room. m Plastic egg crates work well as a portable file for paperwork. m Storage that goes under the bed is another option for a number of projects a student might be working on. It’s also great to keep extra blankets.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email