Please thank CERT volunteers
My daughter is the team leader of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in Kekaha, my daughter-in-law a Kekaha team member, while my husband is a member of CERT in Kalaheo. All were called out last week to volunteer their time and energy during the flooding taking place on North Shore Kauai.
Unfortunately my husband put his back out unloading food and other supplies in Koloa and was unable to continue but our daughter is still working today, five days later, in Anahola and Hanalei.
As yet, I’ve seen no mention in the Garden Island of CERT and the work they’re doing to help North Shore residents reclaim their lives and livelihoods.
CERT members undergo vigorous training to meet the stringent qualifications required of them. CERT is proving itself invaluable in this crisis, helping to evacuate residents, distributing food and cleanup gear, and digging out homes. There are active teams throughout Kauai and neighboring islands who are on leave from their jobs to assist our communities in recovery.
If you see a member of CERT please take a moment to thank her/him for their help. And consider becoming a CERT volunteer. Help is always needed.
Susan Campbell, Kalaheo
Technology presents challenges, benefits, in classroom
Gabriela Taylor’s comments on the dangers of cellphone usage are thoughtful and well stated. Clearly she has done her research, and her concerns are not to be taken lightly.
Yet they present a dilemma: the challenge educators face to prepare students for the world they will face as adults, including coping with and enjoying advances of technology without diminishing their need to acquire basic skills and a broad understanding of the wisdom of generations before them so important to a lifetime of learning and service, requirements of our modern age.
Adjusting to modernity is difficult, especially in the context of rapid, overwhelming change. Yet, see advantages of cell phones as tools for learning. Calculations are simplified and content readily accessible in ways that previous generations could not know. Creative teachers have adjusted their methods and subjects to ensure that students learn more and faster than ever before using inventions of our time.
What this means for educators is training. They need to know how to teach students in ways that are consistent with current developments in technology, including their dangers, not an easy accomplishment.
Comparisons with educational systems and curricula today with the past show remarkable and ingenious improvements. This is the result of an awareness of how society is changing (through research) and numerous developments coupled with training for professionals themselves to keep apace with our modern world in which the use of cell phones is ubiquitous.
Robert Springer, Koloa
