Patt Morrison’s interview with UTLA chief A.J. Duffy; the Big Idea in education reform; genetic seeds and our food

Taught a lesson

Re “Teachers’ choice,” Opinion, March 13

I am a newly unemployed L.A. Unified teacher. United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy certainly does not speak for me!

Duffy and the leadership of UTLA sold out me and many others by refusing to negotiate furlough days instead of teacher cuts. UTLA refused to show solidarity with its newest teachers. So much for “we are all in this together.”

Duffy and UTLA are all talk. Unemployed teachers and families like mine are suffering because UTLA was unwilling to stand up for its newest teachers. This year, another few thousand teachers will be laid off. I hope they don’t expect UTLA to fight for them.

Mark Satterlee
Glendale

Duffy told Patt Morrison: “We’ve taken the ability for the classroom teacher to be creative out of teaching and learning.”

How true! I loved teaching until testing took over. But teaching “by the book” for the test, and to the test, left no time for creative teaching -- to the detriment of real learning.

It became boring for both teacher and student. So I left what had been a wonderful profession and took early retirement.

How many other creative teachers have we lost? Isn’t it time to wise up?

David B. Housh
Glendora

Answers on education

Re “The Big Idea — it’s bad education policy,” Opinion, March 14

Diane Ravitch is everywhere. She has seen the light. She was wrong about choice and standardized tests being good for schools. Now she believes that they were bad. So erase “True” and pick “False.”

Here’s a better answer: Go back and reread the question and realize that reforming education isn’t a true/false, either/or exam. Choice and standardized tests can become part of the solution -- just not the whole answer.

Patrick Mattimore
Beijing

As a public high school teacher, I wonder: If Ravitch is correct in predicting that test scores directly related to what my students learn in my English courses will “determine salary, tenure, bonuses and sanctions,” why in the world would I ever willingly allow a student to leave the classroom to participate in extracurricular events?

Sports, assemblies, field trips, performing arts, college counseling -- all can be enlightening, meaningful, even life-changing experiences. And now these activities threaten the careers of the very teachers who seek to inspire their participants in the first place.

Daniel D. Victor
Los Angeles

As long as students, teachers, schools and our communities are convinced that achievement is best illustrated as colors and numbers on a chart or graph; as long as standardization is the goal, and testing with one-right-answer-only solutions is emphasized over broad thinking, questioning and exploration; as long as we are satisfied that education without the arts is education enough, we will continue to be left behind -- left behind and left out of a world where thinking outside the bubble is not only a valued and sought-after trait but one necessary to our very survival.

Kim Labinger
West Hollywood
The writer, a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District, was a California Teacher of the Year in 2005.

Don’t blame the teachers

Re “Education overhaul sought,” March 14

President Obama has been promising many things for this country but has not accomplished much.

Overhauling No Child Left Behind might be one of the worst ideas he’s had. Being a student, I understand more than many people that teachers have very little to do with how students succeed. I have had great teachers who made the class fun and interesting -- and there were still the students who didn’t pass. To put all the responsibility on the teachers is a huge mistake.

Changing a student’s mind about doing well in school takes everyone in their lives -- from their friends to their parents.

We should stop trying to blame the teachers for a low pass rate in high school.

Emily Jones
Rancho Santa Margarita

Breaking down the Prius story

Re “Doubt cast on Prius story,” March 15

I’ve doubted the runaway Prius story from the start.

The motorist offered inconsistent excuses as to why he didn’t just put the car into neutral.

Also, he was apparently upset that his Toyota dealer turned him away when he tried to bring his car in for the recall -- giving him an incentive to make them look bad.

Jim Gottlieb
San Diego

Why isn’t the doubt cast on Toyota’s so-called brake override?

The California Highway Patrol officer saw and reported that the brakes were smoking.

Obviously the brake override does not work consistently.

R.G. Bateman
Whittier

Seeds and food safety

Re “Tracing food costs to the source,” March 12

Thank you for your article about seed costs and potential antitrust practices.

Not to sound overly paranoid, but isn’t there another reason to be concerned that one company produces and markets so many of the seeds that produce the food on our shelves?

What are the health risks of these genetically modified seeds?

Nicole Botti
Ojai

While it is certainly not welcome news that food prices are being manipulated, the really disturbing part of this article is the mention of the popularity of Roundup Ready seeds. The Roundup Ready seeds were specifically developed by Monsanto so that they could “tolerate” the use of the Roundup herbicide (also manufactured by Monsanto).

In other words, it appears that the Roundup herbicide will kill any plants that haven’t been specifically engineered to tolerate the herbicide.

It’s nice to know that a big chunk of our food supply is being liberally sprayed with such a toxic substance. If Roundup kills all plants except those from Roundup Ready seeds, what does it do to us?

Jeffrey Stewart
Eagle Rock

We are what we eat

Re “A whale of a furor over sushi,” March 11

I was profoundly disgusted to learn that The Hump restaurant in Santa Monica was selling whale meat. That this could take place anywhere in America, much less in a community known around the world for its environmental and political awareness, is baffling and horrifying.

We owe it to ourselves and the world not to let this issue die, to see the perpetrators and those who supported them prosecuted, and to ensure that this outrage doesn’t go on.

Shame on all of us for letting this happen.

Matt Cartsonis
Santa Monica