‘Community’ not defined by ethnicity

To the editor:

After reading Steve Sebelius’ Tuesday column concerning Latin Chamber of Commerce President Otto Merida and Sen. Dean Heller, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Merida is not a Republican. Republicans do not endorse Democratic Senate candidates because the Republican candidate is not perceived as having reached out to “our community.”

Whose community does Mr. Merida refer to, the so-called “Latino” community? Sen. Heller has reached out to my community, but my community is not determined by skin color or ethnicity. My community is made up of Americans of all colors, ethnicities and walks of life.

If the DREAM Act and the issue of immigration are the sole issues that will determine how you cast your vote, you are not a Republican. There is more at stake is this election, especially for Republicans. So, Mr. Merida, change your registration to reflect your actual political party and stop portraying yourself as something you are not.

The continuous effort to divide the American people based upon race or ethnicity is a Democratic Party ploy. Maybe some day those who respond to this strategy will stand up and recognize that we are all in this together. Because, frankly, I’m tired of hearing it.

JOHN STITES

HENDERSON

Blaming teachers

To the editor:

Once again, the Review-Journal and its editorial page have ignored the facts, this time in the Sept. 17 editorial, “Fighting against school reform and putting the president in a pickle.” One must wonder whether the Review-Journal is just a forum for those in power to spread their lies, or if the Review-Journal is really this ignorant.

As a teacher, I will be the first to admit that school reform is needed. I welcome a fair evaluation system for teachers, as I believe all teachers would. In the world of politics, however, teachers make easy targets and the truth is hard to find amongst the lies.

Two of the most recent suggestions for school reform include performance-based pay for teachers whose students succeed, and the Value Added Method (VAM) used to supposedly establish a student’s growth over time. Those who would create a political career on the backs of teachers promote each of these methods, but, like the Review-Journal, they ignore the facts.

New York City public schools enacted performance-based pay for teachers in the 2007-08 school year. An extensive study by the RAND Corp. found that, “Overall, [performance pay] did not improve student achievement in any grade level.” (Marsh, et al. 2011.) These are the exact same findings that a study done by Vanderbilt University found. The findings simply do not support the ideals of those who support performance pay for teachers.

What about the VAM? A study by the Economic Policy Institute states, “Statisticians, psychometricians, and economists who have studied the use of test scores for high-stakes teacher evaluation, including its most sophisticated form, value added modeling, mostly concur that such use should be pursued only with great caution.” (Baker et al., p. 7, 2010).

The solution to education reform is simple. What the politicians love to ignore is the simple fact that the United States has the highest poverty level of any industrialized country, by some estimates around 20 percent. Compare that with one of the countries that usually leads the world in education, Finland, at 6 percent. Stephen Krashen states that when scores from well-funded middle class schools in the United States are used, the United States actually outscores the competition, putting us right back at the top.

The answer to education reform is not to blame the teachers. There is an undeniable link between poverty and education. How can students focus when they don’t know where their next meal will come from? The solution is simple: Fight poverty and end poverty, and education will take care of itself.

MARK E. JIMENEZ

LAS VEGAS

Smith Center

To the editor:

Ada McArthur’s Sept. 21 letter encourages me to add my displeasure with The Smith Center’s terrible acoustics and seating. A friend paid $60 for three seats in the front row of balcony four, left front, also with metal in the way, to see “La Cage.”

I am glad I knew the story and did not need to hear all the words, because the sound was so loud that I wished for cotton to stuff in my ears. (I’m pleased that he did not pay the $80 for center seats.)

The building is lovely, the lounges nice, the parking was easy, in and out (we had handicapped parking, thank goodness). I am sorry that it is not in my future to attend again. I suspect that the critics who review your shows must be down front and will never have to try and report on the horrible views and sound in the balcony.

DON HAYWORTH

LAS VEGAS

Hearing problem?

To the editor:

This is in answer to Ada McArthur’s Sept. 21 letter. I disagree with her on The Smith Center, so much that I had to voice my opinion for the first time since my college days.

First mistake: You sat in the front row of the balcony. You never sit in the front row of any theater. I don’t know if you also have a hearing problem, as I do, because you could not hear the dialogue or singing. Maybe you should have it checked out. I have attended some other theaters in the United States, and I find The Smith Center up there with the best of them, including Broadway.

So sorry you had such a bad experience, but I will still attend and enjoy The Smith Center, and hope the rest of Las Vegas and our visitors will continue to do so.

ERNEE VAN SICKLE

LAS VEGAS