Draining joy from kindergarten

Draining joy from kindergarten

Recently, Kelly McMahon wrote a column that I must make comment about. I am an educator who has spent the past 35 years as a kindergarten teacher, reading teacher and principal, and I can only reinforce what she has said.

I am not concerned about teaching no longer being exciting for me; I am concerned about the fact that education is no longer exciting for students, beginning with kindergarten.

Those of us who went to school years ago, look back on kindergarten experiences as being a great prelude to what was to come. It was a time when we learned how to make friends, we developed our fine motor skills, we developed eye-hand coordination, found out that school had rules that we must follow for everyone’s well-being. These rules included listening, sharing and doing as we were directed by the teacher. Of course we learned to recognize and maybe memorize the letters, number and some small words as each of us was ready to do that. It was a nurturing environment that prepared students for their school years and for life. All of this was based on the physiological development of a 5-year-old.

I wonder how we ever got so many well educated people in the past. Many of them never even attended kindergarten and yet we have sent people to the moon and have made most of the major technological advances in the world.

What we ask of our children now borders on child abuse because we have pushed them into tasks their little bodies are not ready for. Preschools are having children learn to write, read and do simple math. How sad. Certainly their memories of kindergarten will not be pleasant ones.

Alas, in our attempt to be sure that no child is left behind — we have left childhood behind.

Carmella Smallhoover, Principal Poland Union Elementary School

Raiding cat shelter was wrong

I am sickened by the actions of Animal Charity. These innocent animals have been taken in by loving, caring people, but that isn’t good enough. Once again, human beings think they have the right to destroy animals who are not perfect enough for this world.

These poor cats were so scared in the carriers. They didn’t understand why they were taken from the love they knew. The Cat Ladies Society and any other no kill shelters in this area are a blessing to the many unwanted or abandoned animals that ignorant people just throw away. Animal Charity needs to respond to dog fighting, animal abuse, and the likes of cruelty.

I am a person who found a small, sick kitten five years ago. She tested positive for feline leukemia. I am lucky enough to have a veterinarian who explained medications etc., so that I chose not to destroy her. She was a happy little cat who brought joy to our family for five years before succumbing to her disease. She never hurt for anything, nor did she suffer from her disease due to daily medication.

We humans must stop destroying innocent animals just because. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Emily Jones, Austintown

President’s absence no surprise

The Vindicator’s chief polit- ical pundit headlined a recent column, “Why didn’t prez join in the rollout?” The answer to that question should have been obvious: Local incumbent Democrat office holders seeking re-election didn’t want to have to explain their absence. Therefore, the welcome mat remained unused.

President Obama’s campaigning for incumbents in politically close races is risky at best, and has even backfired in at least two recent important elections.

If the president did appear at the GM Lordstown Assembly Plant for the official start of production of the Cruze, I suspect the fawning, pandering press would have far outnumbered Democratic candidates for elective offices in November.

Atty. Carl Rafoth, Youngstown

Deputies go beyond call of duty

Recently our elderly neigh- bor called upon the Sheriff’s Department to assist her while we were out of town. Two deputies, Todd Mariani and Joe Noday, checked on her, but upon finding that her refrigerator had failed, went above and beyond the call of duty.

They not only cleaned out her spoiled food, but gave her a cooler of ice and filled her refrigerator with fresh groceries. They even called a repairman for her. When she tried to pay them, they refused and said to consider the items an early birthday gift.

We are grateful and gladdened to hear of these two young officers going out of their way to help. We congratulate them.

David and Karen Leetch, Canfield