To fix schools, end social promotion

To the editor:

If you can't read, you can't learn -- period.

In his Sunday Viewpoints commentary, "In dire need of both quality and quantity," Matthew Ladner reports that 43 percent of Nevada's fourth-graders scored "below basic" in reading. Question: What are they doing in the fourth grade?

What part of the curriculum is designed to ensure these children will catch up and, more importantly, when will this occur? I submit that the probability of this happening is less than the casino odds of being dealt a blackjack, which I'm told are 17-to-1 in favor of the house.

As other letters to the editor have stated, mathematics is sequential, which means if you have not mastered basic skills, you cannot possibly successfully comprehend advanced concepts. In other words, if you can't add one plus one, you're certainly not ready for fractions -- nor are you ready for the second grade.

The Clark County School District should abandon former Superintendent Carlos Garcia's mandatory algebra for eighth-graders. Using a Las Vegas analogy, it's time to cut our losses.

Given the district's dismal high school and middle school math test results, it's logical to conclude that most of these students -- some would call them victims -- don't belong in this class.

While it might have been a lofty goal, Mr. Garcia failed to recognize that the school system had not prepared the majority of these students for algebra.

It now appears that the lack of preparation continues. Question: How many math teachers would we be short if most of the current algebra teachers were reassigned to classes where the students were prepared and capable?

Establish a pre-algebra test to serve as a predictor that the student has the fundamental skills necessary to succeed. This test should have many word problems to concurrently measure reading comprehension skills. If there are tests for advanced placement, why shouldn't there be tests for basic subjects? This same concept should be applied for admittance into geometry, trigonometry, etc.

As far as teachers go, universities must raise the bar for admittance into their colleges of education. Why is a B.A. in elementary education considered the armpit, or other body part, of academe? These are the educators entrusted with teaching our children the basics.

Instead of a K-6 certification, I submit that there should be K-3 and 4-6 certifications. K-3 candidates should have very high skills in teaching fundamentals. Conversely, the 4-6 candidates must be well-versed in higher mathematical skills and concepts.

Question: In the current K-6 certification, is there a requirement to have completed a math course beyond eighth- or ninth-grade algebra?

If you don't understand a subject, how can you teach it?

William M. Mosley

HENDERSON

Term limits

To the editor:

Much has been written recently regarding the subject of term limits for our elected officials. We read all the talking points of those who support such limits. Phrases such as "the voters have spoken," "we need new blood," and the always-popular "throw the bums out" have appeared ad nauseam in op-ed pieces as well as letters to the editor.

As I read these articles and letters, I find one obvious point missing from the discussion. That is the fact that we already have a system of term limits in place. It's called the voting booth.

If so many people who support term limits enough to sign petitions and vote for such limits, also vote for those running for elective office, how come so many incumbents keep getting re-elected? I don't suppose it could because they are doing a good job as legislators. Nah, that can't be. There must be some other sinister reason.

I know I'll hear it's because of the money in politics and the advantage incumbents have in raising that money. But along comes legislation such as the McCain-Feingold bill to reform campaign finance, and the same people who advocate term limits protest that such a bill would be an infringement on free speech. One cannot have it both ways.

We, as citizens, are entrusted with the power to vote and determine our fate as a society and as a nation. Many people have died in defense of our freedoms and what this country stands for, including the right to vote. Yet after elections are over, we often read that only 40 to 50 percent of all registered voters turned out to vote. That is a national disgrace.

We need to address the issue of low voter turnout. The answer lies in getting people more involved in the political process. Will that be easy to do? Of course not. But that is how one changes the system we currently have in place.

Increased voter turnout of an informed electorate will weed out those legislators who are not doing a good job, not some artificial, feel-good solution such as term limits.

Mark Mikowski

NORTH LAS VEGAS