Letters to the Editor
nancyh
Published Letters: 138 Editor's Choice: 4
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Not all Christians are morons
[Read the article: Inside the Creation Museum]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Just so you know, some of us are science-literate and mortified that Christianity has become sononymous with this sort of willful stupidity.
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kinder kindergartens
[Read the article: Kindergarten unreadiness]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My memories of kindergarten (in the early ‘70s) included intensive studies of important subjects like using scissors, coloring inside the lines, sitting still during story time, negotiating for a turn on the swings, and taking naps on a funny plastic mat. I managed to muddle through primary school and now hold a Ph.D. Most of my classmates who attended our 20-year class reunion also hold good jobs and for the most part can read and write.
Kindergarten today is a whole different ballgame. Schools start cramming academics down kids throats at an increasingly early age and as far as I can see, without any evidence that this will produce a better educated high school graduate. My nephew attended an all-day academically intensive “magnet” school kindergarten. The kids got one 45-minute break during the day for lunch/recess. What 10 kinds of nuts is that?
It is no wonder that parents are “red shirting” kindergarteners today. Kindergarten today is like 1st grade when I was a kid. Some kids are developmentally ready for that and some are not.
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the power of "NO"
[Read the article: Sexing up grade school]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have a 4-year old, very girly girl. That is just the way she is. Also, she is fascinated by bugs, can correctly identify all the birds that come to our birdfeeder ("that is a girl housefinch," and is getting pretty good at hitting a nerf-softball.
She LOVES the girly pet-shop toys, which quite strategically are stocked across the aisle from the Bratz monstrosities. Here is a typical exchange. . .
Kiddo: Mommy can I have one of those.
Me: No.
Kiddo: They are pretty cute.
Me: You think so, I think they look kind of funny, their heads are too big for their bodies.
Kiddo: Mommy those are pretty cute (something else). Can we get one.
Mom: No.
Wash-rinse-repeat.
Moms we have the power and should not be afraid to use it. They can market all the crap they want, but if we don't buy it, it will go away. I am sure that one day she will get one of these monstrosities (Bratz, or whatever) for a birthday present. It is too bad it will get "lost."
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condoms make you cool
[Read the article: So, a pig walks into a bar ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Saw the add. Thought it was hiLlarious. But, to be serious for a moment-the meta-message of this advert is that condoms make you cool/more attractive/more likely to score.
This core message has been used with astounding success to sell beer/soda/cologne etc. The only difference here is that the product being sold has some actual relevance to sex. Frankly if Trojan is as successful at selling this message about condoms as are domestic beer companies at selling tasteless hop-flavored pisswater, than I say GOD BLESS.
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unplanned pregnancy prevention
[Read the article: So, a pig walks into a bar ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I just looked at the European condom ads (link was posted in a previous letter-Thanks!-here is the link again http://yuxt.com/kisa/Best_condom_ads)
Theories anyone about why the US has higer unplanned pregnancy and abortion rates than Western Europe?
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re: IndigoSwash
[Read the article: So, a pig walks into a bar ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here is what is really sad. Pro-choice people like you and me and Pro-life people have some common ground. We would all like to prevent abortion. If we could just aggree to use the best possible methods to do this (i.e., real and meaningful sex-ed, easy access to health care including contraception), we could dramatically reduce the need for abortion.
It will never happen, but it is a nice fantasy.
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Schmatte is a PsyD NOT a Ph.D
[Read the article: The CIA's torture teachers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As a PhD psychologist, I just want to set the record straight.
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Commute!
[Read the article: I'm an analytical chemist with a two-body problem]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I got together with my boyfriend about 6 months before starting grad school in another state. We did the long distance thing for 5 years and are now married, work at the same university, and have a child.
Long-distance relationships can work as long as both people are committed to it. Both of these people are currently in "temporary" positions-she in grad school and he on a post-doc. Why not work towards building the kind of vitae that will give them the choice of jobs. Many universities now understand that an agressive spousal hire program will allow them to recruite the best and brightest young faculty.
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therapy
[Read the article: My mom's a hoarder]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Cary's answer in the previous article is a good first step, a way to get the letter writier's mother ready for change/therapy. However, the type of therapy needed to change this pattern of behavior is called "exposure and response prevention."
This is a difficult form of therapy, but ultimately has the best track record for helping people-better in the long run than drugs.
Here is a link that provides information
http://www.ocfoundation.org/behavior-therapy.html
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it may not be the school's fault
[Read the article: Junk food education]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Several studies indicate that kids' weight essentially remains stable throughout the school year and increased over the summer. These data suggest that school, with the fast-food lunches, limited PE, and recess is not the problem.
Health behavior experts use schools as intervention sites, largely because it is convenient (the one place where kids congregate) and impliment interventions at school because it is easier to get a school to cooperate than lots of individual parents. But these data suggest that we have been "looking for our keys underneath the lamp-post." Apparently, we need to find out what kids are doing or not doing over summer vacation and fix it there.