Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘When Teachers Teach Teaching’
In conflating two discreet educational issues, Andrew Ferguson confuses readers at a time when clarity is sorely needed [Op-ed, “When Teachers Teach Teaching,” December 13, 2006.]
The documented shortcomings of most schools of education in this country have nothing to do with the disappointing results of public schools under the No Child Left Behind law. That’s because no educational standard can be simultaneously challenging for, and attainable by, all students as law requires.
There is an average level of performance for any given task. Some students will score above and some below. But NCLB refuses to accept this axiom. Even if all teachers were educated and trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, they could not eliminate this distribution of achievement.
WALT GARDNER
Los Angeles, Calif.
‘The Mendacity of the Liberal Press’
It is up to the reader to critically examine the source article, to which the Drudge Report always links from the outlandish headlines, and use his own judgment to draw conclusions [New York,”The Mendacity of the Liberal Press,” December 15, 2006]. There are many excellent blogs critical of the press, including lucianne.com, michellemalkin.com, and littlegreenfootballs.com, just to name a few. However, it is the Drudge Report that reaches the bigger numbers and exposes rather than promotes feckless cant.
DAVID SHAFER
Phoenix, Ariz.
I agree with your article, with the exception of your take on Drudge. I have a different take on what he does with his Web site [New York, “The Mendacity of the Liberal Press,” December 15, 2006]. I listen to Rush Limbaugh all three hours every day, and I visit lucianne.com at least twice a day. Both talk about things that appear on Drudge and seem to have the same opinion of what his site is about. I believe that he puts these liberal “reporters” on his site for us to see just how far left they really are. The fact that he doesn’t make comments about them on his site is the way reporting should be done. He doesn’t treat his readers as if they have no brain. We can think for ourselves.
KURT JOHNSTON
Topeka, Kan.
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