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.

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NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

‘Teachers Swamp A Parley on Preschool’

There is indeed nothing new under the sun [National, “Teachers Swamp a Parley on Preschool,” Friday, November 30, 2007].

Exactly one hundred years ago it was the Italian psychiatrist Maria Montessori who set the educational world on fire with her system of teaching. Observers came from all over the world to witness the miracle of deprived three- and four-year-olds reading and writing and teaching themselves to perform practical tasks of all kinds in the renowned Casa dei Bambini. Perhaps what these succeeding innovations share, despite their differences, is what has become known as the Westinghouse Effect. When subjects know that their behavior is being studied, it affects their motivation. When children know their achievements are important to concerned adults, they will do the best they’re capable of, which can be quite a lot.

RITA KRAMER
Author
Maria Montessori: A Biography
New York, N.Y.

‘Their Deepest Difference’

Your recent editorial ably described the conflict between the “right” and “left” in Israel [“Their Deepest Difference,” November 27, 2007].

The “right” does not believe the objectives of its enemies, who have killed nearly 30,000 Israelis (the equivalent of 1.25 million Americans) in the past 60 years, have changed, given the Palestinian Authority’s continuous incitement of its population and unwillingness to accept a two-state solution.

It does not believe that trading tangible land for the words of peace is a fair gamble after six unprovoked wars against Israel. It is not impressed with the quality of peace with Egypt, which supplies Hamas with weapons in Gaza.

The extreme irony is that in a normal country, these “rightists” would be called “centrists,” as Presidents Lincoln or Roosevelt, both war-time leaders, would undoubtedly concur if they could be with us today.

KENNETH ABRAMOWITZ
New York, N.Y.


Please address letters intended for publication to the Editor of The New York Sun. Letters may be sent by e-mail to editor@ nysun.com, by facsimile to 212-608-7348, or post to 105 Chambers Street, New York City 10007. Please include a return address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

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.


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