I’m a retired psychotherapist adding my two cents to the Daily State News.
- Cannabis sales (“Milford site gears up, as cannabis sales loom”): Americans have used a lot of tax dollars on a very successful public service campaign to reduce smoking, no doubt saving numerous lives. My mother and two Southern-bred aunts died directly or indirectly of smoking-related diseases. Whatever people want to do with cannabis should not include smoking it. It would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, would impact health and would lead to deaths.
- It’s amazing to me that we’re just now getting around to teaching a necessary skill, financial literacy, to teens (“Financial literacy legislation shapes future”). Juniors and seniors are the ones who would pay the most attention as they approach adulthood. Better late than never for a brilliant idea!
- Education: I’m not sure what is going on with consultants and education, as it wasn’t clear in the article (“Delaware’s education policies going in wrong direction”). What is clear is that teachers shouldn’t be evaluated on their students’ abilities. A class of superior students would score much higher than a group of struggling students in the same grade or age group. Is that the fault of the teacher or the size of the class or the cultural deprivation or the number of student assistants or a lack of local funding? There are too many variables to consider. A federal, well-researched set of suggested guidelines seems appropriate, but that’s now dead on arrival. I admire any and all teachers trying to make progress at this time, with limited funding and a plethora of obstacles.
Brenda Kriegel
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
