Letters to the Editor
oxymoron
Published Letters: 320 Editor's Choice: 32
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It ain't just US
[Read the article: Is "American Idol" meaner?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is why I've never watched this show, and why I have no respect for it whatsoever. The whole "reality show" fad is little more than cheap exploitation that expects you to take pleasure from the suffering of others. And then we wonder why the rest of the world hates us.
This (and the vast majority of the other reality show dreck) comes to us straight from the UK. It's called "Pop Idol" there. Just sayin'.
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Hausfrauatu
[Read the article: What am I doing here?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have a Master's degree. I went on to graduate school back in the day because I had a degree in English and didn't really know what to do with it. I was lucky, in that I test well and one of the programs I applied to gave me a free ride with teaching stipend (NOT, however, an extremely prestigious program).
After one semester in the literature program, I realized that I absolutely did NOT want to stay in academia, and switched over to the technical writing program (this was one of the early TW programs, and once again, I got lucky that it was there, and that my stipend etc. were transferrable from the Lit program). I graduated with an MA (a "soft" degree), got a job as a technical editor, and went on from there. I have worked as a technical writer for 16 years now, never unemployed, generally well compensated. And I have been told that the MA is one of the things that makes me look good to an employer.
Now this is a soft degree in a more generally "hard" field, but I think anyone flexible, with a bit of facility with technology and a lack of snobbery about working in the corporate world (that's the worst--I remember quite a bit of shock from the lit and writing grad students when I switched) can do it. And you can finance your "real" work (whatever that means--I'll bet I technically have more, and more widely read, published work than most MFA grads).
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David L.
[Read the article: What am I doing here?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think that writers get an MFA as "something to fall back on" with the idea that they can teach. And you can teach in college, and at private schools with a Master's degree. But my argument would be that if you want to write, want to get a Master's degree, and need to pay the bills in some other way, the smart thing to do would be to get that degree in a writing-related but NOT fine arts area--technical writing, or teaching english as a second language, something like that.
Otherwise, it's just as smart to learn to be an x-ray tech or paralegal--and it might give you more material for your writing.
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If the girls are that easy
[Read the article: Girls gone wild, again!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Then the boys must be pretty easy too...
...and don't start going on about the biological differences between males and females, and male need for variety, blah blah blah. Easy is easy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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T.A.s DO teach
[Read the article: Betrayal Week, Day 2: I was fired for doing my job as a teacher]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I do know this, though: a teaching assistantship is quite a different beast from actually teaching a class and preparing lesson plans. The responsibilities, especially for new master's students, typically include taking attendance, distributing handouts, recording grades (possibly some grading), and other administrative tasks that the professor doesn't have time to do. It does not typically consist of teaching a class, especially on the first day.
Not entirely true. I had an assistantship when I was getting my Master's degree, and taught freshman composition. The T.A.s were the instructors of record for the class. We had a text we had to teach to, but other than that we were given a lot of leeway. Some of us were better, some worse. At the end of the semester, the students took an essay-test final which was graded pass/fail and determined whether they passed the class or not. We did NOT grade our own students' tests (the English department staff made up packages of tests for us and we graded each other's students with no clue about who we were grading).
It worked pretty well. Classes were relatively small, unlike the giant lecture-hall classes that T.A.s in other disciplines usually have to deal with. We were given instruction at the beginning of the year about HOW to teach the classes, but then pretty much left on our own to do so.
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Why no countermeasures?
[Read the article: Another U.S. copter down; are we securing Baghad yet?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Though I realize they may be flying low enough and slow enough that they are being picked off by normal gunfire. I know you CAN put countermeasures on a helicopter.
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Self defense?
[Read the article: "Take Back the Date"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Get a big dog. Actually, ANY dog that will make a lot of noise is good. I've experienced this myself--long story, but I answered my front door at 3:00 AM because I thought my friend who lived across the street was knocking. Instead it was a VERY large man, unknown to me, who asked to use my phone. I pointed him to the Wendy's with a public phone across the street. He could easily have forced his way in, but was warned off by my dog barking upstairs. He couldn't see for sure how large she was (and for a sheltie, she had a deep bark) and instead of pressing the issue decided to leave.
Was he intending to attack me? Knocking on a stranger's door at 3:00 AM in a not-so-great area of a college town? Seems likely.
Dogs won't solve all your problems, but they're great company, and they do have the effect of making you look less vulnerable.
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I agree the issues are complex
[Read the article: Behind the Pillow Angel]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Personally, I don't think I could care for someone like that for the rest of my natural life. But isn't anyone else creeped out by the term "Pillow Angel"?
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Wha?
[Read the article: Why not vaccinate boys for HPV?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why make it "victims" vs. "carriers"? If the vaccination will be effective in boys, then great--they should get it also. But men who "carry" HPV have to get it from SOMEWHERE, meaning most likely a woman. Yes, the men aren't going to get cervical cancer, but they can develop warts, which is certainly not particularly attractive, and IS really obvious.
Point is, they're both "victims" and they're both "carriers".