Emphasize early math

Regarding “New math pays dividends in S.F. schools” (Open Forum, Oct. 29): It was refreshing to read the article. However, I was disappointed that the focus was simply on middle school math. If children are to have a solid basis in mathematics, it should begin in first grade with emphasis on internalizing number facts such as addition and subtraction up to 20. As a former first-grade teacher, I was frustrated by the shallow curriculum I had to follow. I had to introduce a new concept each week, without the children having grasped the previous week’s math. Why a 6-year-old needs to be exposed to fractions and decimals when they don’t have the automaticity of knowing 10 + 2 is beyond my understanding. Thank you Alan Schoenfeld and Jo Boaler for encouraging the need to go “deeper” in mathematical concepts before continuing on to higher math. But I would suggest the foundational background of mathematics begin in first grade and continue onward. Perhaps then, students will be more prepared for higher math when they reach middle school.

Juanita Usher, Santa Cruz

Learning to solve problems

Thank you for publishing “New math pays dividends in S.F. schools” (Open Forum, Oct. 29). But the general public might ask, why should they care about reform in mathematics education?

One needn’t look hard to find the number of large problems that need solving in our world: political, environmental, technological and social, many of which are critical to our existence. Mathematics is not a body of knowledge to be memorized or a set of rote skills to be mastered. True mathematics learning is a way of thinking and at its heart is problem solving. We must educate the next generation to be good problem solvers, not memorizers or human calculators. That is what improving mathematics education is all about and why everyone should care. Paul Giganti, Albany

Build a foundation in math

I have seen the improvement in understanding in middle school children. As a volunteer, I tutor middle school students in math and other subjects every week and have been doing this for the last 10 years. My experience suggests that a number of middle school students are not getting the training in primary school to enable them to handle middle school curriculum.

They cannot do the basics — addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. So, you need to develop a program that gives them the foundation. Townsend Walker, San Francisco

Need for civilized rhetoric

Regarding “Blame game” (Letters, Oct. 29): The writer is correct. There have always been people who are mentally deranged, easily influenced or just inherently evil that then carry out vile acts. President Trump is not to be blamed for this. However, it is exactly because this is true that responsible politicians and pundits restrain their rhetoric so as to avoid any inadvertent incitement of violent acts. Such selfimposed strictures on behavior is the very definition of being civilized.

Stephen Upjohn, San Francisco

A lack of moral restraint

It was a dark week of violence and hate in America. First, a suspected “MAGA-bomber” attempted to terrorize President Trump’s critics, then a racist murdered two African Americans at a Kroger supermarket in Kentucky, and then a far-right extremist killed 11 people at a synagogue because the Jewish community was helping refugees. We must ask: How did we get here? Unfortunately, our country is reaping what the Republican Party sowed when it adopted the Southern strategy.

To appeal to white voters in the South, regional demagogues exploited racial prejudice. With President Trump, we now have a demagogue promoting racial and religious hatred on a national level. He is pouring gasoline on a fire that was lit with the birth of this country. It didn’t start with Trump, but under his influence the Republican Party is becoming more corrupt and licentious. It is now a party lacking in moral restraints. They are the party of the Koch brothers, right-wing billionaires and large corporate donors. To stay in power, Republicans make use of hate, steal votes and lie to the American electorate. They are involved in gerrymandering and voter suppression and flood America with “dark money”-fueled propaganda designed to create fear of immigrants.

Nazario Martinez, Prunedale

Diligent reporting on Prop. C

Regarding “Odd logic in battling tax to aid homeless” (Oct. 28): Congratulations to Heather Knight for her early support of Proposition C and her years-long diligence in pursuing the complexities of our homeless crisis. Knight’s recent column on the odd/puzzling logic in battling a tax to aid the homeless is insightful, revealing and cogent. It suggests the hypocrisy of our city leaders who oppose it. The elected officials and the CEOs (with the rare and extremely admirable exception of Saleforce’s Marc Benioff) whose companies would pay Prop. C’s tax are not puzzled, they are conflicted.

When voters are confused by otherwise logical people making illogical arguments, always follow the money. The special interests and their beneficiaries who don’t want to part with their gold rush bonanzas will often use strange and contorted reasoning rather than acknowledge the truth. Their logic is not odd or puzzling. It is simply dishonest.

Mark Leno, former state senator, San Francisco

Right to pull Kelly’s show

The author of “NBC erred in canceling TV show” (Open Forum, Oct. 30) claims that talk show host Megyn Kelly “learned” from her comment that it’s appropriate for people to wear blackface as part of a Halloween costume and should not have been dismissed by NBC after apologizing for it. I would counter that NBC, which hired Kelly for an expensive three-year $69 million contract, had every right to pull her show off the air. The “Today” show is a longstanding and still-lucrative programming bloc for NBC and could be jeopardized by a host who makes a racist remark. The network’s decision was business-based, despite Kelly’s nextday apology. Arthur Leibowitz, San Francisco