The silly charade of education ‘reform’
To the editor:
One would think the education reporters, newspaper editors and various media producers who have been duped into cheerleading for school “reformers” and the many other apologists for schools would all be completely red-faced and embarrassed by now.
The facts about how miserably schools are failing are ubiquitous and indisputable. It’s an old story.
Yet daily, exciting PR stories, compliments of school administrators around the country, are presented to anxiously applauding audiences with portrayals of future school experiences that are upbeat, optimistic and joyous, despite simultaneous negative reports in those same places that are scandalous.
Positive stories emanating from school personnel generally reflect great enthusiasm on the part of certain leaders, teachers or others, which are typically quickly echoed in media reports. However, the ostensible good news and lovely pictures of imminent success are virtually all based on illusions, fantasies, myths, false hope and outright lies. The reform balloon flies here for a while, then there. Then the helium escapes and the flattened rubber is never seen again.
What will it take for media to stop fawning over the purveyors of the latest and greatest miracle cure for educational malfeasance proposed by the very same people who have participated in the circus that is schooling? What will cause them do their job and start asking why schools have had the same problems for the past century? Are the cheerleaders not just as responsible for the malfeasance if they continue playing along with the fraud that is the reform charade?
Robert B. Elliott
Las Vegas
Reid compromise
To the editor:
Sen. Harry Reid says the reason Washington can’t solve the debt crisis is because the Republicans won’t agree to increase taxes. But then he refuses to even discuss the Social Security deficit, which everybody knows must be part of the solution.
Sen. Reid could get his tax hikes if he would offer a compromise the Republicans could not refuse. All he has to do is agree to fix Social Security to make it solvent in return for eliminating the Bush tax cuts.
Everyone in Washington professes to want compromise, but it can’t happen if nobody wants to give up anything.
Tom Keller
Henderson
Heated distortions
To the editor:
While you noted in your Sunday editorial about the county’s bus contract that First Transit is an English company, it was not noted that Veolia Transportation is a French company. From personal experience, I can note that transportation is excellent in both countries, but I would give the edge to the French.
Also, from personal experience, I would note that transportation in Las Vegas is not only far from excellent, but is abysmal. Transportation generally seems poorly coordinated here when it comes to the airport, taxis, buses, the monorail, etc.
While the rest of the world, China particularly, builds various rail transportation — street cars, light rail, trains, etc. — we deal poorly with congestion and gridlock.
My gut reaction after reading your various articles on the transit wars would be to go with Bruce Woodbury’s recommendation: First Transit.
Some articles on how transportation works here — minutiae, details — may bring light to the very heated distortions passing as rational discussion.
H.E. Roberts
Las Vegas
Harmon mess
To the editor:
It was reported that MGM Resorts International wants to implode the Harmon because of its ghastly construction defects. Perini, the general contractor, is moaning that they could fix it just fine but MGM Resorts wants to destroy the evidence of that.
Looking back on the history of the Harmon, we must remind ourselves of everyone who stood by and contributed to this fiasco. Allowing that the engineering was sound, the first line of defense was the workers who supposedly have the skill and knowledge to read prints and assemble the material.
Second, there were the supervisors of the subcontractors.
Third, there was Perini, the general contractor.
Fourth, there were the county inspectors who provided inspections in accordance with the permits issued.
Fifth, there were the third-party inspectors who oversee all of this.
Then there were the observers of this construction who were brought in to address disastrous events along the way. We had CityCenter workers drinking at lunch for the longest time before they were dealt with. We had six fatalities that, after investigation, did nothing to stem the pace of construction or remove the individuals who set safety rules aside.
On the heels of this and other fatalities, federal OSHA came in and overtook our state agency.
Five lines of defense, OSHA and law enforcement were all there for this.
Perhaps in the end, MGM Resorts and its partners should have had their permits revoked. After all, as we reflect on what was found at the Harmon, what do you think could have been overlooked on the rest of the project?
Jim Cassidy
Henderson
