LETTERS: Ticker-tape parades, the arts, math teachers ...
Veterans are
the real heroes
Most of them are gone now. They fought in hellholes like Normandy, Dunkirk and Guadalcanal. Some never came back. Some who did were missing limbs and eyes. All who came back would never be the same.
They came back to a grateful nation and were justifiably rewarded with a march down the Canyon of Heroes.
Then there are the Yankees - no doubt heroes to millions of their adoring fans. They are grown men playing a child's game. Most of them make more money in a day than their fans earn in a year. Their insane salaries push the price of tickets beyond the means of most of their fans.
And yet, on Friday they too went down the Canyon of Heroes. By rewarding the Yankees exactly the same as our returning war heroes, we give the mistaken impression that somehow their deeds are of equal value. This is outrageous. The Canyon of Heroes must be exclusively for soldiers returning from overseas combat. Our returning veterans once were hailed there. It is sacred ground.
Bruce Topol
The Canyon of Heroes should be for just that. Overpaid baseball players are anything but. The truly sad thing is just how many of these same people will come out on Wednesday, Veterans Day, to honor our true heroes. Sadly, not a one.
Bob Horsham
"Ticker-tape parades" [News, Nov. 6] listed some of the parades held in New York City over the years since 1886. One that you forgot was the Vietnam Veterans "Welcome Home" Parade on May 7, 1985. I proudly marched in that parade and to me, that will always be the mother of all ticker-tape parades.
Charlie Kaczorowski
If the City of New York can give the Yankees a ticker-tape parade up the Canyon of Heroes, why can't it give real heroes, like the ones who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, one also?
Robert J. Karl
ElmontChange vs. anger
As a registered Democrat, I am always pleased to read that when Democrats win elections the voters wanted "change," but when Republicans win elections the voters were "angry."
Raymond Boivie
Kings ParkThe arts need
to be supported
Late last week Michael Rothbard - the founder and Executive Director of InterMedia Arts Center (IMAC) in Huntington - passed away at the young age of 63 due to a sudden illness. Rothbard's contributions to the arts on Long Island have been well documented. The sudden closing of IMAC in Huntington in June drew greater attention to the tireless efforts he put into IMAC as he established it as an icon on Long Island and the metropolitan area. His efforts touched hundreds of thousands of music lovers over the years and his efforts should not be forgotten.
I did not know Rothbard, having only met him once, but I did admire him as a peer and watched his work as I shaped the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts. His passing and the demise of IMAC should give notice to all supporters of the arts on Long Island. The arts - whether music, theater, dance or the visual arts - while inspired by the individual, can only be sustained by the masses.
Broadway, Hollywood, television, sold-out concerts and Madison Avenue galleries all provide the perception that the arts are highly profitable and self-sustaining. When it comes to the community-based organizations, nothing can be further from the truth.
The arts are a vital engine in our local economy and a significant element to our quality of life. Local leaders need to recognize that until we embrace our community-based arts organizations as vital and work to establish them as institutions, they will always be on life support. Citizens need to recognize the value of a museum or a theater or a gallery or a music café in their community and become regular patrons and avid supporters.
Ken Washington
SmithtownEditor's note: The writer is founder, managing and artistic director of the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts.
Doing the math when it comes to teachers
Alfred Posamentier's essay on the lack of highly qualified mathematics teachers in New York State both irritated and offended me ["A formula for higher scores," Opinion, Nov. 1]. I am a recent graduate of TIME 2000, a rigorous four-year program at Queens College designed to increase the number of secondary mathematics teachers who have the knowledge, creativity and determination to motivate students and raise standards. I am also employed as a temporary maternity-leave replacement at a Queens high school.
What Posamentier neglected to mention is the hiring freeze preventing qualified teachers from becoming employed by the New York City Department of Education. Long Island districts, as well, are often not hiring new teachers and instead increasing class sizes and tacking additional classes on to current teachers' already busy schedules.
I agree that mathematics is essential for our children and their future outside of school. The state needs to start employing qualified teachers from specialized four-year programs, rather than the "summer crash courses" referred to in Posamentier's article. Those highly trained and well-qualified mathematics teachers are out there - we are just not being given the opportunity to make a difference in the education of our local teens.
Katherine Tulley
MalverneReal-world problems
Alfred Posamentier says that using relevant math problems will help us "take a more positive view toward its teaching and learning" ["A more inspired approach to problem-solving," Opinion, Nov. 1].
Here's one: A car is traveling along a highway at a constant speed of 55 mph. The driver of the first car does not notice a second car exactly a half-mile behind, because the driver is distracted by his cell phone. The second car passes the distracted driver at 85 mph. The distracted driver, now angered at the disruption from the speeding motorist, wonders what percentage of the state's budget money should be given to Suffolk County to ensure the highway patrols are properly funded to stop aggressive driving.
Not only is math "essential for preparing today's youth," but math specialists also are needed to help educate our government leaders about budgeting to ensure fiscal competence.
Nevertheless, everyday concepts of math faced by the young and old will promote problem-solving strategies. Boring irrelevant textbook problem-solving examples do not instill interest in math. But with real world examples, math can become more relevant for those who dislike it.
Peter Scott
Kings Park
