LETTERS

Last week's cover essay on teaching, by Scott Dickensheets, prompted several replies:

You hit the problem about the teaching profession. No Child Left Behind is ridiculous. If you can believe this: I am completing my 48th year in the classroom. I am NOT highly qualified [under the act]. If I had a master's and had taught THREE years, I would be highly qualified. Anybody with one-quarter of a brain knows you learn more about how to interact with students by BEING with them rather than from a college professor who has not been teaching elementary, middle-school or high-school students in at least 10 or more years. Most of the theories taught in college DO NOT work in the classroom, and yet school districts are bound and determined to give more money for more college units. Talk about how to frustrate people.

After having read a superb essay in your superb magazine, I felt compelled to write a HOORAH for you. "5 Demons of the Classroom," by Scott Dickensheets, April 8-14th, stated so much truthfulness and with such directness, it had to be given support. I have been a teacher in the Clark County School District for the past 29 years and woefully know, unlike Dr. Orci or any of the other CCSD Ed Shed educrats, the total truth of what goes on in the classroom. This essay could not have been better written. It is no wonder why I look forward to your weekly periodical. I laugh, sometimes out loud, at the hypocrites who expound on their knowledge and are clueless of what they speak. Here is an author who admits some ignorance and speaks the true classroom teacher's lament. No Child Left Behind IS good in theory but a DISASTER in practice. Any true educator, without any political correctives, knows this fact. A teacher's only hope is that once the current political education buffoons are out of office, some sense will be restored for the classroom teacher, so the damage that is currently being done can be corrected. Kudos, Scott Dickensheets, on an excellent essay.

Listen to the teachers? What a great idea! Thank you for allowing teachers to tell it like it really is. And thank you for having such a remarkable, talented writer write the essay.

Editor's note:
You forgot "unbearably handsome."

Steve Bornfeld's Homeowner's Diary series had some devoted readers:

We have been enjoying your articles in the Weekly about the home-buying experience.

After reading the second of the articles, we realized that we are probably your neighbors. We have purchased a home at (the same development).

We have been so busy moving we haven't picked up the recent Weeklys and would like to know when we would expect to read the next of your series. The last one we caught was the third part. Hopefully we haven't missed any.

Editor's note:
The final Homeowner's Diary, published in the March 11 issue, was a one-act play titled Welcome Putz, which will be performed as part of a series of 10-minute plays called Midnight Oil at Las Vegas Little Theatre, May 14-16 and 21-23.

Last week's Wink column finally gave this fellow a reason to write in:

I too fart in my sleep. I also pick my nose while I drive. You wanna make out? Huh?

There's no telling what set this fella off—something about our belief that gays shouldn't be discriminated against, perhaps, or a lapse in his medication regimen. Maybe Easter just brings out the best in some people. In any case, this was too big a job for our editors, so we're running it largely without fixing it up:

Another throw-away left-wing rag, yours!!! all the same mantra, its mainstream!! lets look at fags!!! they want to get married and do their cute thang behink closed-doors fine, but NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT AIDS!!! THATS PRIVATE BUSINESS, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!!! thats your!! private disease, keep it that way, and get a bunch of gay-guys to start-up a insurance company to take care of you, how about dave geffen, he's worth 4 BILLION!! see your consequences of male-love, keep that behind closed doors. now lets see: those hated priests!! why don't we let them out, so they can get married!!! ceverything would be swell than, and see all that child-stuff, well it was behind closed doors, IT WAS PRIVATE!! do i hear n.a.m.b.l.a anyone?? did you ask barney frank or elton john about the priests???? why not??!!! o.k., we'll allow, all those priests to be retroactive, they will be deemed married'oh 30 years ago, and all those kids, well they adopted them. PROBLEMS SOLVED!!! NOW, I THINK THATS THE WAY TO LOOK AT IT!!

Editor's note:
We've forwarded your name to the people who book makeover subjects for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. See ya on TV, guy!