PUBLIC FORUM : YOU DID RIGHT, TYLER.Regarding Tyler Hagen, who turned over the bag of marijuana to his parents after it was given to him by a friend, I am totally baffled by the knee-jerk reaction of the officials at William S. Hart Union High School District who suspended him. I am an intake coordinator at a San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. alcohol and drug rehab, and I witness the destruction of human lives on a daily basis. I am also a person in recovery, and I know firsthand how alcohol and drugs destroy the human spirit. Congratulations, Tyler, on doing the right thing and in the process discovering that there are things that happen in life that are not fair or just. Hang in there and just keep a well-balanced sense of values that your parents obviously have instilled in you. It will all work out in the end. - Michael Manning Sun Valley No good act unpunished unpunished Adjective without suffering or resulting in a penalty: the guilty must not go unpunished, such crimes should not remain unpunished Adj. 1. The case of Tyler Hagen, the Saugus Junior High School student, is really not about drugs. The boy was punished for trusting his parents more than he trusted the principal. The parents acted correctly in contacting the sheriff's department. The principal showed herself to be petty and vindictive. Sheriff Sgt. Lee White showed himself to be courageous for criticizing the school district, even though it will have bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu consequences for him. Tyler Hagen was the most astute person in the whole drama. His judgment as to relative maturity of his classmate, his parents and his principal was right on target. - William S. Pirone Sherman Oaks Course in common sense I could not believe the story of Tyler Hagen, the 13-year-old student who should be admired by all of us for taking the marijuana from school to his parents and turning it over to them! I am the parent of two kids, ages 10 and 15. We have always taught both of our children that no matter how bad something you have done is, please tell your parents because there is nothing we can't work out. Tyler's parents worked it out for Tyler by contacting the authorities and turning the thimbleful of marijuana over to them. Then the ``educated'' sector of the community took over and the ``power gods'' at Arroyo Seco Arroyo Seco (Spanish: "dry creek") may refer to:
It's too bad the principal of that school, Jackie Snyder, and the assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. of those schools, Michael Almandinger, weren't given courses in common sense while earning their teaching certificates. The Hagens should fight this all the way and then sue the pants off them! - John Widener Toluca lake Teach your children well My heart wrenched when I saw the picture of the 15 crosses above Columbine columbine, in botany columbine (kŏl`əmbīn), any plant of the genus Aquilegia, temperate-zone perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), popular both as wildflowers and as garden flowers. . My first reaction was that there were two too many. But after reflection, I realized that it was wrong to separate the crosses of the shooting victims from the shooters. They were all victims. A society that continues to separate people by race, religion, athletic ability or just plain social snobbery and bigotry is asking for a continuation of the alienation that spawned those shooters. In Colorado, athletes get away with burglary. In California, they get away with murder. What messages are we sending to our children? If we do not start embracing the family of man, to which we all belong, and teach our children tolerance and respect for life, I see little chance that Columbine will be the last tragedy. - Sharyn Robinette Woodland Hills Bad comparison As I reread Verb 1. reread - read anew; read again; "He re-read her letters to him" read - interpret something that is written or printed; "read the advertisement"; "Have you read Salman Rushdie?" the article ``Star power: Ties to Hollywood help benefit school'' (Daily News, April 29), I find it hard to fathom a parallel to a school in Sherman Oaks that raises over $100,000 in a weekend fund-raiser with a Sun Valley school, where parents, ``using borrowed tools,'' are doing a campus cleanup at their school for the betterment bet·ter·ment n. 1. An improvement over what has been the case: financial betterment. 2. Law An improvement beyond normal upkeep and repair that adds to the value of real property. of those who attend their campus. This comparison only shows me that the lines across our Valley which separate it are deeper than the 9-mile physical difference between the two schools. I feel that this article brings to light the differences in the haves and have-nots. I found the article offensive for drawing this parallel and comparison between the two Valley schools - one with ``have cake'' and the other ``in need of bread.'' Perhaps those that have would be willing to share with those neighbors just a short 9 miles away that are in need. Just a thought. - F.F. Beere North Hollywood Tougher standards Re ``Students protest get-tough policy'' (Daily News, May 6). I cannot believe that students that are trying to achieve higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. would protest that their school keep standards at a lower level for their convenience. As one student indicated, ``I worked so hard to get here.'' She should work equally as hard to stay there, however, it is easier to complain that the standards are too difficult. The true irony is the comparison by Monica Turner to that of slavery. She refers to the students being scrutinized at CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge as victims. Perhaps these students should find a school with much lower standards to accommodate their needs. - Elisabeth Chatfelter Lake Hughes No on car control Steven Abrams killed two Costa Mesa Costa Mesa (kŏs`tə mā`sə), city (1990 pop. 96,357), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific south of Santa Ana; inc. 1953. It is a transportation, residential, and light industrial center. children and injured several others when he smashed his Cadillac into the schoolyard where the children were playing (Daily News, May 4). A sarcastic response would be to call for a ban on automobiles; after all, registering automobiles, licensing drivers, increasing the driving age, and mandating automobile safety “Passive safety” redirects here. For nuclear safety, see Passive nuclear safety. Automobile safety is the avoidance of automobile accidents or the minimization of harmful effects of accidents, in particular as pertaining to human life and health. features did not (and never will) prevent such misuse of an automobile from occurring. Anyway, driving is a privilege, not a right. However, nobody would seriously make such a demand because sensible people understand that banning automobiles would unfairly penalize pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. hundreds of thousands of responsible drivers, and it would unfairly penalize the manufacturer of a product that has legitimate uses and which is harmless when used responsibly. Yet if Abrams had used a firearm instead of a car, it would be a certainty that common sense would go out the window and we would be inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. with ``serious'' demands for more gun control. - Dave Culver Pasadena Mother's Day thought Today is Mother's Day, when we honor our mothers and the maternal bond The maternal bond is typically the relationship between a mother and her child. While it typically occurs due to pregnancy and childbirth, it may also occur between a woman and an unrelated child, such as in adoption. . The dairy cow is a symbol of motherhood throughout the world. In the U.S., however, her offspring is torn from her at birth and denied her nurture. Dairy cows are impregnated im·preg·nate tr.v. im·preg·nat·ed, im·preg·nat·ing, im·preg·nates 1. To make pregnant; inseminate. 2. To fertilize (an ovum, for example). 3. each year to boost milk production. Their offspring are torn from them at birth and chained by the neck in tiny wood crates, on hard wood slats covered with excrement excrement /ex·cre·ment/ (eks´kri-mint) 1. feces. 2. excretion (2). ex·cre·ment n. Waste matter or any excretion cast out of the body, especially feces. . They are force-fed a nutritionally deficient liquid formula to render their flesh pale and anemic. They are denied natural food, water, bedding, movement, fresh air, sunshine, and mother's milk Noun 1. mother's milk - milk secreted by a woman who has recently given birth milk - produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young and love. Fortunately, the end is in sight. The 70 percent drop in U.S. veal consumption shows the consumers' revulsion re·vul·sion n. 1. A sudden, strong change or reaction in feeling, especially a feeling of violent disgust or loathing. 2. Counterirritation used to reduce inflammation or increase the blood supply to an affected area. at these abuses. Many institutions have stopped serving veal. Bills banning the veal crate have been introduced in Congress. We should honor our mothers by boycotting ``milk fed'' veal and ending the suffering. - Lanny L. Davies Woodland Hills School accountability There is no quick fix for our schools. Schools are not a business. Students can't be fired if they don't perform. Schools - unlike factories - can't be shut down for failing to turn a profit. But that's not to say fundamental change in our struggling schools cannot occur. The superintendent should be asking what we need to get the job done. Instead, he is talking about getting rid of people at struggling schools, and not bad practices. He's talking about putting in new people and keeping the same old programs and practices that didn't work to begin with. This strategy, often called reconstitution, offers a simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple response to a complicated problem. School districts in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Chicago, Cleveland and Denver tried reconstitution. Not one of these districts is reconstituting a single school this year, and not because they don't have struggling schools. Why doesn't reconstitution work? Because no one group is to blame for failing schools and no one group can achieve the necessary change. Boards of education, superintendents, the leaders of local teachers unions and school staff have to work together on solutions. Let's build a school leadership model based on collaboration, one where each student, parent, community member, school worker and school board member joins the superintendent in cultivating each other's strengths and abilities, with one common, all-important goal: preparing all our children for the 21st century. - Day Higuchi President United Teachers of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Tyler Hagen, shown above with his mother, Linda, was suspended from school after turning over a friend's marijuana to his parents. Hans Gutnecht/Daily News |
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