A loud and clear civics lesson

Many interesting positions on the 16-year-old girl who was physically removed from her classroom recently. Even Thomas Sowell weighed in with an opinion on how charter and private schools may have better educational outcomes due to their willingness to have disruptive students permanently removed. Public schools may not have the same options as those others, and research does indicate that youths who have frequent expulsions have a significantly less probability of graduation.

However, in the case of the South Carolina high school student, I believe that the educational lessons that day were not those from math, science or English. I would say it was a civics lesson that was loud and clear. If I recall, the characteristics often manifested in adolescence are rebelliousness, oppositional behavior and resistance to authority. How we as parents, teachers, coaches and other authority figures handle these normal characteristics of development significantly influences how youths learn, through modeling, to problem solve, manage conflicts and appropriately interact with those in authority. I think that this girl and her entire classroom learned that passive resistance and refusal to follow directions leads to physical aggression and violence. They also learned lessons about justice, fairness and zero tolerance of anything but total compliance.

We can certainly argue about the 15-20 alternative interventions that could have been attempted, but that is really not the point. If the teacher had spent maybe 10-15 minutes finding a better solution, the class may have learned that sometimes patience and gentle persistence are valuable tools in conflict resolution in contrast to manhandling oppositional youths. Yes, the class may have missed 15 minutes of the quadratic equation, but given the many conflicts we face in our society, maybe it is a good trade-off.

Barry Schultz

Cascade

This isn’t an afterthought

In response to increasing burglaries in our neighborhood, the Police Department has assured us calling them upon sighting anything suspicious is the best defense. I consider dialing 911 an option if someone is in danger, as I am sure most others do. The person who reported a gunman walking in her neighborhood obviously feared for the safety of others but was so quickly dismissed. If that isn’t a suspicious circumstance, I don’t know what is.

I don’t think the dispatcher had the capacity to understand the gravity of the situation and should have notified officers to respond. The tragedy that ensued may not have included as many victims. This isn’t an afterthought; it’s common sense. If this episode had occurred outside a school in session, would it have been treated so lightly? When do the police respond, upon a report of a suspicious person but not a suspicious person with a gun?

Joan Simoff

Colorado Springs

Lot of nonsense in a letter

There is an awful lot of misleading nonsense in the letter, “Union arguments old, worn out,” the Colorado Springs Gazette, Nov. 3. Some examples: when the writer starts off belittling as “old cliches ‘worked hard, played by the rules’ ”- are those still “old, worn-out, old cliches” when espoused by conservatives?

Regarding the deliberate, misleading statement, “they make deals to raise the pay and benefits of municipal employees”; in the real world, it’s actually called collective bargaining. Apparently the writer wants employees represented by AFSCME to be 21st-century serfs.

In a large arena, does the idea of not wanting dues to go to “political candidates and causes they disagree with,” also apply, say, to citizens, who might feel as if they don’t want their taxes to go to building missiles, or, since the writer mentions corporations, corporate welfare?

Kenneth Valero

Littleton

An important lesson was learned

Absolutely amazing! Issue 2C passed. Could it be because the new tax is for a specific purpose, narrow in scope, and limited in duration? Could it also be that the funding of road repairs supports a very large segment of Colorado Springs? After all, just about everyone uses the roads. Well, an important lesson was learned this election cycle. I guess it is possible to increase taxes, despite what the anti-TABORites keep telling us. Similar arguments could also be made as to why issues BB and 2D passed as well.

Bob Canfield

Colorado Springs

Weed capital of the country

2C passed and that is good. But what is not good is Colorado Springs is still the weed capital of the country. While the city did a better job of cutting along streets and roads this year, much still needs to be done.

Many homeowners whose property either fronts or backs to a street never cut the grass/weeds. Many businesses never cut around their property. Developers and shopping centers with open lots never cut the weeds.

And last but not least, the city is the biggest offender. With thousand of acres either designated for city parks or water retention basins, the weeds are never cut. The city attorney several years ago gave an opinion that if the city does not maintain their property, no one else has to either.

Sad state of affairs. Beautiful Colorado and ugly city due to lack of weed enforcement.

Let’s hope this problem is fixed along with the roads. Code enforcement needs to be given the people to do its job.

Edmund Wall

Colorado Springs

Such a drastic rate hike

I was very disappointed to hear Manitou Springs suddenly raised the price of parking from $1 per hour to $5 per hour for hikers wishing to enjoy the outdoors on the Manitou Incline and the Barr Trail. The problem with such a drastic rate hike is the impact this will have on people with limited disposable income looking for a low-cost, fun, outdoor activity for their family. I hope this was not done on purpose to chase poor people away from a tourist town that thrives on people with disposable income.

I tended to believe Manitou Springs was a socially responsible community that was more inclusive than exclusive . but now I’m not so sure.

Chris Hale

Colorado Springs