As school starts, a word for the parents: Stay involved

As school starts, a word forthe parents: Stay involved
EDITOR:
Oprah Winfrey has said many, many times that the most difficult job on the planet is being a parent. Now, as this new school year is ready to start, take a few simple tips from a retired teacher.
1. Be involved. Read your school's handbook from cover to cover. Better yet, read it WITH your child.
2. Don't defend your child when the school notifies you of a problem. Do NOT go on the defensive or make excuses. "If you want your children to have their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders."
3. Go to every open house, parent-teacher conference and scheduled event. Remember: The job is NOT 9 to 5.
4. Push your child to participate in announced competitions or contests. Don't we all look for an easy way out?
5. Get into a routine. Children need and WANT structure in their lives. They need to know exactly where you're coming from and what they can expect. Be consistent.
6. Read to your child. Let them see you reading. Buy them a book instead of an expensive video game.
7. Talk to them about school. Listen to what they have to say about their day. Show them that you think education is important.
8. Check their assignments every day. Use today's technology to find out daily assignments from Web calendars and voice messages from each of their teachers. If these are not working, find out why.
9. Be visible. Your tax dollars are paying the bills. Go to the school as a concerned parent, not an unwelcome visitor.
l0. TURN OFF THAT TV!
These simple suggestions can make the upcoming school year a success!
PATRICIA NEELY
Campbell
Will all the finger pointingover blackout reveal culprit?
EDITOR:
We've had the great blackout of '03, and the finger pointing starts. Where the blame game will probably not go is to the real root cause of the problem. The real blame needs to start with the bureaucrats and legislators who worship at the altar of free-market competition. Capitalism is a great thing, but it has its limits.
We had telephone and electric service from private companies as regulated monopolies. But that wasn't suitable to the boys in Washington, D.C. They promised us better service and cheaper rates if we just got rid of the monopolies and cut the telephone and electric companies loose to compete. And it worked, sort of.
But they forgot that market competition also means cutting costs and maybe corners. It means paying more attention to the bottom line and letting some of the other stuff fall by the wayside. They forgot the history lessons on human nature and of the era of the industry robber barons.
In the early '90s Duquesne Light (a Pittsburgh based utility) proposed a power line running from Shippingport, Pa., to the switch yard at Three Mile Island, where power could be delivered into the eastern grid that feeds the likes of New York City, etc.
The first opposition came from the NIMBYs (not in my back yard) along the proposed route. Then came the announcement that the government was going to deregulate the electric business. Eastern utilities had supported the proposed line as a way to get more power without the cost of building new generating plants.
With the announced deregulation, they now saw the proposed line as a competitor bringing electric into their territory. Their enthusiasm turned to opposition. The NIMBY opposition might have been overcome but nonsupport of other utilities could not and the idea died.
If that line had been built, would the blackout have been the same or have even occurred? Who knows? But the announced switch from a regulated monopoly electric business to a free-market competitive electric business was the death blow. How much of the failure to update other grids can be laid to the same cause? I'm sure that when the dust settles the fingers will point everywhere but at those who thought free-market competition was the only way to go.
RAYMOND L. MOSER
Leetonia
XThe writer is a retiree of Duquesne Light and worked at the Beaver Valley Power Station.
Educational garden grewfrom teachers' strike
EDITOR:
I enjoyed your article about "Gasper's Gardens" on Aug. 10. I thought you might like to hear about another "Gasper's Garden."
Once upon a time, there was a school on the East Side of Youngstown named John White. It was a happy school. There were no discipline problems. Substitutes liked to be assigned there. Teachers in the secondary schools could tell the students from JW because of their manners and attitude. They were learning! The principal was teased when he went to meetings because he came from a "country-club" school. When enrollment grew, an addition doubled the size of the school. Ninety percent of the students were black.
Then there was a teachers' strike, and the schools were closed for a time. They were told school would run into the summer to make up those days. The principal called a meeting to discuss adjustments to the curriculum because school would run into pleasant summer weather. He said maybe they should have some outdoor program -- like a garden. A perky young teacher, Mary Ann Gasper, lit up and said she would like to work on it. The principal had part of the playground plowed up, and Mary Ann took over. She and the children planted a beautiful "Gasper's Garden."
When summer vacation started, the children returned on their own and weeded and took care of the garden. There was no vandalism. The parents were proud. As the crops matured they were harvested, and the job was completed after school started in the fall.
"Gasper's Garden" was an educational success that has following those children through life. Thank you, Mary Ann, aka Mrs. Gasper. You are still doing fine work.
EDWARD BRIENZ
Farmdale
From one East High alumna:Don't change school name
EDITOR:
On Aug. 16, East High School alumni gathered at Roosevelt Park in Campbell for a reunion of East High School graduates and families. It was great to see fellow students who we haven't seen in years. I spoke with students who traveled from as far as California and from classes as far back as 1942. Attendance must have been 2,500-3,000. The band and food were very good also.
A lot of discussion went on regarding changing the name of East High School when the new school is built. Please, retain the name East High School. Once a Golden Bear, always a Golden Bear.
Hats off to the East High School Alumni Reunion Committee for a job well done. Looking forward to next year.
LINDA HENNEMAN SCOTT
Class of 1963
Youngstown
Remember efforts of labor
EDITOR:
Of course everyone cherishes freedom, both capitalist and laborers, yet capitalists seem to only want freedom for "the right people." They seem to thwart every effort of laborers all over the world to better their living conditions. Capitalists try to hire laborers at the lowest possible cost. They seem to forget that laborers are their all important customers.
Many of us well remember when labor was scarce after World War II and laborers could negotiate a good wage. Our economy was never as prosperous as then, for both capital and labor.
JIM HERREN
Canfield