Letters to the Editor
KayWWW
Published Letters: 186 Editor's Choice: 71
-
How Are Social Skills Measured?
[Read the article: Day scare]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I read about this study, and it surprised me to read that kids who stayed at home had better social skills, because it's the opposite of my experience. I stayed at home until kindergarten, and I had great difficulty with "social skills" when I started school. I was an only child, at a time before "play dates" and "quality time". But I never developed many social skills, since I didn't spend much time around other children - I was home alone with Mom. When I started kindergarten, I was shy and withdrawn, and my lack of "social skills" made it difficult for me to do well in school. But I'm just one example, and I wondered if my experience was atypical.
But after reading more about the study, I began to wonder how "social skills" were measured. The article mentions "aggression" and "non-compliance" and "demanding". It doesn't mention "shy" or "withdrawn" or "plays alone". Both of those things can result from a lack of social skills, and both can lead to problems in school later on. But a quiet and shy child might not be seen as "lacking social skills", and instead just be seen as a good child, "compliant" and "undemanding" - the opposite of the aggressive and non-compliant child who attracts attention.
If the study is only counting the aggressive and non-compliant kids as "lacking social skills", then it's probably not counting accurately - and may be missing part of the picture.
-
BC Alternatives On The Way?
[Read the article: Ortho uh-oh]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Maybe this is the kind of thing that will get the birth control industry off its butt to start developing new nonhormonal forms of contraception
More likely, it's the kind of thing that will make more companies drop their birth control research programs for fear of being sued.
Ortho McNeil should have been more forthcoming with their information about the patch. But no birth control method is 100% without risk (all drugs have risks), and expecting BC to be risk free just means that a method that could be useful to many women will probably be removed from the market, just like Norplant was. And the next company that thinks about investing in research into birth control will probably think twice.
-
I'm Suprised
[Read the article: Honor killings in the liberated Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that so many people are "surprised" by this story. Sadly, I've been reading about these types of honor killings for years. They're quite common in many parts of the Middle East (and in other countries as well, it's even been reported in Europe and the U.S.) But I guess it hasn't been widely publicized, or people aren't paying attention. It's particularly bad in Afghanistan, where we may have stopped the Taliban, but didn't devote enough resources to improve things for women there.
I have to agree with "No Name Given" - this story belongs on the front page of Salon, not in Broadsheet. I happen to like Broadsheet, I'm enjoying the brief "snippets" that I might not get elsewhere. But this deserves more than a snippet. Especially if people really are "surprised" to hear about it - obviously this subject needs more attention that it's received.
-
It's Also Normal Not To Yell
[Read the article: I'm a yeller from a family of yellers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just because someone doesn't like yelling and finds it uncomfortable, doesn't mean that they're dealing with some kind of psychological trauma from their childhood. Maybe they just don't like yelling. I don't like yelling and I came from a perfectly normal (but non-yelling) family. Maybe it's because I'm a quiet person, maybe it's because I'm an introvert, maybe it's just because it's loud and pushy. Who knows?
I know I can't stop some of my friends and family from yelling from time to time - they don't experience it the same way I do, and I understand that. But I think my choice not to be yelled at is just as valid (if not more) than the other person's choice to yell. Maybe some compromise is best, if Ms. Loud really needs to yell, but it seems odd to me that Husband should learn to tolerate yelling, rather than Ms. Loud learning not to yell so much. Do the loud extroverts of the world make the rules?
-
Single... Good and Bad
[Read the article: Living single]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm pleased to see that someone is addressing the good things about single life - as a single, childless woman, it seems like all I get is either dating advice or warnings about how my life must be empty and meaningless. No one seems to consider that I might be happy alone. There are some practical things that frustrate me (so many people and businesses just assume you must have a spouse) but overall, I'm very happy being single.
But I think Trimberger glosses over the financial issues of being single. (At least in this article - I haven't read the book.) It's true that women are less financially dependent than they were in the past, but living on one income in a two-income world can be difficult, especially in the more expensive parts of the country where housing prices are skyrocketing. It's hard for everyone, but I look at my co-workers, and I see the married ones being able to buy houses and become financially secure, while many of the single ones just can't get there, no matter how frugal they are. I think about being single at 40, at 50, at 60, at 70, at 80, and it makes me very nervous.
I wish I'd considered these financial issues from the point of view of "you might be single all your life", especially when I was making decisions about career, etc. It's not that I was expecting a man to come and "save me", but when I was growing up it was just assumed that everyone would get married - and that does make a financial difference in your life. I'm doing it now, but it would have been easier 10-20 years ago.
Karen
-
Another Version
[Read the article: Daily Download: "River," James Taylor]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This version is a little too "pretty" for me. Although I love Joni Mitchell's original, the Robert Downey Jr. version is my favorite. He has a world-weary tone that fits the song perfectly.