Lessons from teaching
To all those who want to understand what teaching is all about, and why it is an art and not a science, please read this and re-read the recent column in the BDN by Todd R. Nelson. A teacher’s greatest achievement is his or her ability to help each child realize their unique potential. Standardized test scores, conforming to rules, and doing what others expect does not in bring about this transformation.
My husband spent 20-plus years teaching in an inner city high school where he believed his most important mission was helping students learn to believe in themselves and their ability to rise above the circumstances into which they were born. He introduced them to classical music, taught them how to respond if they were stopped by the police, and if they were newly arrived in our country, helped them understand the peculiarities of our “culture” such as Groundhog’s Day and Mickey Mouse. I’m sure they learned a little history along the way, but what he helped them acquire was the desire to know more and the unwillingness to sell themselves short.
Both Mr. Nelson and my husband learned early on what every good teacher knows, that what they have learned from their students far outweighs what they were able to “teach.”
Shirley Jarvella
Belfast
We need action on guns
At the school outside of El Paso that shooting victim Javier Rodriguez attended, the superintendent gave a tearful elegy after the tragedy. His prayer imploring that such a horrific event never be repeated raises the question whether Congress will ban semi-automatic assault weapons and institute universal background checks.
Concerted efforts are needed — for example, President Trump should restate at his rallies endorsement of “ meaningful background checks,” while Senator McConnell should act urgently rather than delaying discussion of legislation.
But what do we receive instead? Trump’s predictable vacillation and contradictory statements while obsessing over the mentally ill, though some assailants are angry white supremacists potentially incited by his rhetoric.
So, Mr. Second Thoughts has an obvious strategy: Like many politicians, keep your head down, offer thoughts and prayers for the bereaved, and let time’s passage soothe the suffering. When the goal is the self-gratification of re-election, appealing to the base is paramount.
But one development could make a difference. I implore gun owners to assert their patriotism by supporting an end to background-check loopholes and military-style weapons on America’s streets — and on the practice range. Otherwise, vote out all officeholders in 2020 for public safety’s sake.
Dave Witham
Bangor
Changing the climate headlines
The climate headlines are getting weirder: July was the hottest month ever observed, Greenland lost 11 billion tons of ice on one day in August, and Iceland just held a funeral for a glacier.
But I’ve seen what hope looks like. It’s 13,900 words long and peppered with bullet points, percentages, and dollar signs: Bernie Sanders’ just-released Green New Deal.
With input from scientists, engineers, and economists, Bernie has grown February’s outline into a blueprint for making our electricity all-renewable by 2030 and our economy carbon-free by 2050. The plan will electrify transport, repair the roads, and much more. It will invest $16.3 trillion and earn it all back, plus some, while cranking out jobs, justice, and security every step of the way. No other plan out there comes close to being so ambitious and real — as big as the threat, and as brave as our best self.
Some talking heads squawk that it’s crazy, that it’s impossible. They say we can’t accomplish anything marvelous anymore. They’re wrong. Elect Sanders to beat Trump and see what this country can do when we finally put our skill, technology, and people to work.
Change those headlines to hope.
Larry Gilman
Southwest Harbor