Thursday, May 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
LETTERS: Testing for doctor competency a great idea
To the editor:
I do not know that tests prove competency in the medical profession ("Doctors against exams," May 1), but the Board of Medical Examiners is finally on the right course for this town.
Las Vegas' reputation in the physician community is that the town is so transient you can make a great living here when you cannot anywhere else. As a result, there are so many really, really bad doctors in this community that to simply cap damage claims is not going to answer the scariest problem.
The fact that the doctors are not willing to self regulate this problem and instead shout, "Not enough doctors, the people will suffer," really should alarm the public. The people of this city have been seriously suffering for years with little recompense.
Now I am in no way supportive of the lawyer community that has come in from California and preys on greed. But there truly is a medical competency problem here. So instead of playing on the public fears, "Physician heal thyself."
MOLLIE BOWMAN
HENDERSON
Voted out
To the editor:
The more I think about Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to raise taxes by $1 billion, the more I like it. Just think about it: Every politician who votes for higher taxes will surely be defeated in the next election. Then maybe we can get somebody in office who is honest and will cut government waste and spending.
Not a bad idea.
CHARLES SCHNEIDER
LAS VEGAS
Math lesson
To the editor:
Why am I not surprised at the latest proposal by Chris Giunchigliani to have the math part of the proficiency test dropped ("Diploma proposal has new look," May 6)?
As a teacher for the Clark County School District, now retired, I was there when the district jumped on the bandwagon of using manipulatives as the core of its math curriculum. At the time, I fought this move in the only ways I could: by refusing to teach this method in my classroom, and expressing my disapproval at any given opportunity.
Lo and behold, about 12 years later they want to stop holding the students accountable for math because they can't pass a basic proficiency exam.
Our school district has a major problem: The administration, those determining the basic educational curricula, are so removed from the classrooms and the needs of the students that they have no idea what will and will not work.
The manipulatives are a classic example of this. Students can and do learn from manipulatives at different points in the educational process. But to devote nearly the entire classroom time for more than six years to manipulatives does not give the student the basic background needed to convert the information to paper and pencil. Students get the idea that math is game time and not something they need to concern themselves with internalizing.
We are now reaping the benefit of this "wonderful" program. Students not interested in math, incapable of handling the higher levels of math, and fearing higher math because they recognize that they lack the background necessary.
I can see the same thing happening in other areas. We are not preparing our students for their futures. Inadequate programs are only one portion of the problem. Disruptive and inattentive students, the proliferation of "testing" that really doesn't reflect an education, the concentration of energies on political items, and money for the programs also add to the problems.
Let's teach the students what they need for life and forget teaching to tests. I would love to see that happen. Then our students could have an education.
VERUS YOUNG
LAS VEGAS
Red Rock hypocrisy
To the editor:
Some questions I have for those opposed to development on the gypsum mine on Blue Diamond Hill:
One, why is it OK for Red Rock Country Club and Arrowhead to build near Red Rock, but not Jim Rhodes? Is it because Howard Hughes Corp. has deep pockets?
Second, how can people living in Blue Diamond say with a straight face that it is conservation they are concerned about? They were not too concerned about conservation when they built their homes there. Let me get this straight, it is OK for them to live there, but no one else?
Smacks of hypocrisy, if you ask me.
TRACY BRIGIDA
LAS VEGAS
Private land
To the editor:
I am concerned that feel-good politicians and others have lost sight of recent history. When the "Red Rock Conservation Area" -- whatever that is supposed to imply -- came into existence, some changes occurred for those of us who once visited that beautiful area.
We no longer got to drive to the trailhead of our choosing and hike off to our chosen vista. We now had new fees imposed and were unable to drive the loop. We have turned this area into a federal tourist attraction.
The Hardie gypsum mine, which preceded the tourist attraction, has produced the materials from which this valley's houses were constructed. It still does. If Jim Rhodes wants to build houses on the dregs of the mining operation, let him. He owns the land. He has the right to do with the land whatever the current zoning allows.
If he wishes to change the zoning, he may petition the government under the same rights any landowner has. This land is private property -- not the domain of journalists or politicians.
DENNIS FAGAN
BOULDER CITY
No growth
To the editor:
I agree with the May 6 letter from Denis Kennedy regarding limiting growth in Las Vegas. Having lived here for over 23 years, I have seen the quality of life go down, down, down while our taxes go up, up, up to pay for all the new roads and schools, etc.
We should not allow any developers to build homes for at least five years to get caught up a little, and definitely there should be no homes allowed in the Red Rock area. I also propose a new sign coming into town: "Welcome to Las Vegas. Come and play, but please don't stay."
J.L. BLIND
LAS VEGAS
