PUBLIC FORUM.

Time to resign?

Re "Mahony takes hit for church" (Viewpoint, Dec. 9):

Doug McIntyre raises an interesting point shared by many people. As a retired clinical psychologist, I propose another. Being a leader of any top organization (whether corporate, political, religious, educational or military) is very difficult with many tough decisions. Many good people and well-intentioned leaders simply are not equipped to handle the pressure and crack under the strain.

Perhaps it is time to compassionately realize when a leader of any group can no longer do the job and have some exit strategy built into the organization that would not lead to international disgrace. It should be socially acceptable, without condemnation, to resign a top job in the middle of a term of office.

-- Mary Anne Rust

Woodland Hills

Good on paper

Re "LAUSD: Failing up" (Viewpoint, Dec. 9):

Teacher Paul Kujawsky's argument in favor of stricter enforcement of retention guidelines may sound good on paper, but the reality is that repeated retentions will not result in students working harder or reaching proficiency any quicker. Rather it will just increase the already too-high dropout rate dramatically.

Few teenagers will be willing to remain in elementary or middle schools to age 18, and making remedial classes available at all grade levels in all high schools would be prohibitively expensive and take up too much space. Perhaps the "one size fits all" and "teaching to the test" mentality of the No Child Left Behind Act needs to be fine-tuned; or better yet, eliminated completely.

-- Paul A. Klinger

Granada Hills

Retention dispute

Re "LAUSD: Failing up" (Viewpoint, Dec. 9):

As a teacher with over 10 years' elementary school experience in LAUSD, I would dispute two of Mr. Kujawsky's points. First, more than causing feelings of shame, research has shown that for the most part (unless the child is barely age appropriate and would benefit by the extra year of maturity), retention does not result in meeting the standards. Often there is a behavior component that must be dealt with aside from the standards. Far more effective is intervention.

Second, to say that "many will choose the path of least resistance" assumes far more willfulness in 8- and 9-year-olds than I have witnessed. Mr. Kujawsky implies that these children will work harder/do better if threatened with retention, and this has not been my experience.

-- Isaac Weingart

Northridge

A key question

Re "Waterway going from eyesore to city jewel" (Dec. 8):

Why is it that nowhere in this long story on the revitalizing of the Los Angeles River is mention given to the measures being taken to prevent massive flooding in Los Angeles once "tearing up the concrete and restoring the river to a functional natural state" is accomplished?

Before the river was lined with concrete by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s, Los Angeles experienced disastrous floods. Where the concrete lining is ripped out, as envisioned by the current powers that be, what will be put in place to ensure the floodwaters drain out as well as they do now?

-- Gene Pomerantz

Tarzana

Fiduciary duty 

Now that the Fed is expected to lower interest rates, the focus should be on the banks. The banks have not lowered the mortgage rates commensurate with the discount rates. Had the banks done so, a 30-year mortgage would be at 5.5 percent or lower.

The lack of movement in mortgage rates shows the banks continue to be the culprits here, either by failing to disclose the effects of "neg am" loans, or their involvement in manipulating rates in the indices which they used as a basis for adjusting rates upward. The so-called loan consultants betrayed their fiduciary duties to borrowers as well by failing to disclose bank marketing practices using teaser rates.

-- Leigh Datzker

Woodland Hills

A blaze, all right

After the Omaha mall shooting and school shootings in Colorado and other places, it's obvious that sick people in our society get the idea that this is some kind of easy out. They want to go out in a blaze of glory. If they could only think ahead, they would realize the only blaze they are headed for is the one in Hell.

-- Ron Sellz

Chatsworth