• Rooster story went too far • Rooster respect going too far • Tests not a benefit to children Rooster story went too far Are you kidding? The recent article and then letter to the paper about roosters and chickens
• Rooster story went too far • Rooster respect going too far • Tests not a benefit to children
Rooster story went too far
Are you kidding? The recent article and then letter to the paper about roosters and chickens has forced me to realize I’m surrounded by people who don’t have a clue. You can’t possibly be that far off the mark can you? Have you ever heard of a feline flu? Canine flu? Yet, I bet if you even know what the CDC is, you will find several mutations of bird flu.
They are lice-infested, noisy nuisance, disease-infected rodents. The only thing that makes them different than rats is rats don’t crow. Why don’t I see any groups standing up to defend rats?
Joseph Lavery
Kapaa
Rooster respect going too far
A huge “cock a doodle do” for the grassroots Rooster Respect group and passionate loyalists who will save the birds at all costs. “Every beak, every feather is worth the utmost aloha care” said Mayor Budget. A good way to entice “U.S. government to place the colorful birds on its endangered list” may be to import, on tax dollar backs of course, the Rhode Island Red for a tastier bird. A good mix it would give mainlander Mahalo Card Holders a good reason to support a local cause. “It’s only tax money, and well worth the investment” Budget opines. So why not a taste test at the Tahiti Nui (South Park umpires in attendance) and Rooster Respect moves on.
Sandra J. Abrajano
Chicago
Tests not a benefit to children
Warning! The Hawaii Department of Education will be using our children as guinea pigs for a number of weeks. The Hawaii Department of Education has mandated that the school students, grades 3-8, take the Smarter Balanced Assessment field tests for language arts and math. Our students are being used for free labor so the test company, which makes billions of dollars, can decide which questions can be used for future tests. They will not benefit our students. They will actually harm our students by taking away valuable learning time from them and by adding to the stress and fear that our children already are experiencing these months. It’s a form of exploitation and it has to stop. To make matters worse, parents, if you aren’t aware, March and April are full of tests. And our students know it and hate it! The day after spring break, they started the Hawaii State Assessment in math and reading. Now teachers have to begin the Smarter Balanced Assessments even before our students have finished the Hawaii State Assessment.
Now you know why teachers are protesting against the DOE and fighting to save our students from all this testing madness, as The Garden Island newspaper has wonderfully exposed this week. Please join teachers in protecting our children from this testing madness and call your legislators, Board of Education members, the superintendent and the DOE immediately to protect your children from the harm being caused to them.
Michael Kline
National board certified teacher
Kilauea Elementary School
