Letters Letters (April 30, 2004)

Don't need lingerie ads in Weekly

Editor,

Mr. Dave Neilsen, "a job well done" on your letter to the editor regarding the lingerie ads being too provocative. I was thrilled to see this article written by a man. A man who is trying to teach his boys well.

It was enough of a concern to see the lingerie-dressed mannequins on Main Street as my children and their friends came out of Cold Stone Creamery while celebrating a birthday party. We do not also need this coming into our homes in ads via the Pleasanton Weekly. Lingerie was meant for viewing behind private doors, not on Main Street or in our family newspaper.

Is it truly important for a woman to see another woman in lingerie to motivate her to go buy it? Leave the lingerie in the store; advertise tastefully not to put off the women who would otherwise like to view or purchase these items.

Distasteful advertising can drive away potential customers of the lingerie store and may cause even the most dedicated readers of the Weekly not to open their newspapers.

What ground will be next? Each area that goes unnoticed or unchallenged opens wider doors to the same or more.

Great lettter, Mr. Neilsen! Jodi JarnaginPleasanton Plutonium warning

Editor,

We have been studying environmental pollution in our science class. For my individual research topic, I chose to study potential plutonium pollution at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I found there had been several leaks of plutonium 239 into the community. The last known leak was in 1967. While the level of plutonium in the soil contaminated by the last leak was below levels considered harmful, the soil had been widely distributed throughout the community before any plutonium contamination was detected.

The laboratory's management has been criticized recently for, among other things, inadequate safety plans. As the population continues to increase around the laboratory and in the East Bay, it is imperative that the laboratory has a rigorous monitoring system in place to detect leaks, and that the community has an emergency evacuation protocol. Larissa J. LippertPleasanton resident; Grade 8, Athenian School We must improve education

Editor,

As a parent, grandparent and retired public school teacher, I am dismayed at the state of our schools and the lack of support by Sacramento legislators. I have sent these suggestions to Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of education: 1. Each county has an office of education; let it be the administrator for all its schools. Have only a principal and vice principal at each school site. The special needs of each school could be defined by a School Site Committee of teachers and parents. Reduce expensive and redundant administrative costs; invest that savings in teaching. 2. The student-teacher ratio is too high. Reduce all classes to no more than 20 students. 3. Classroom teachers are not the only teachers available nor necessarily the most important. Have special after-school tutoring for students who are below grade level. Parents are the first and most important teachers, yet I rarely see an article about parents and their important role when reading about "the failure of our teachers and schools." 4. Return vocational training. Give all students the opportunity to take courses in food service, computers, plumbing, wiring and other crafts so they have salable skills. 5. Lastly, we should begin teaching a second language in kindergarten to all students.

When I began teaching in 1979, California was on the cutting edge of education, using effective and innovative methods to teach. Since then our schools have deteriorated and we are now ranked very low. As the fifth wealthiest entity in the world, we should be No. 1 in academic achievement. Cathe NormanPresident, California Retired Teachers Association Compare students to their peers

Editor,

It is encouraging to note that School Superintendent John Casey recognizes the importance of benchmarking Pleasanton schools against other successful schools.

In the recently concluded Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair, San Ramon schools won the most categories. In fact, our Harvest Park Middle School had more winners than the combined score for Foothill High and Amador Valley High. I am perplexed since my experience to date has largely been with the Pleasanton elementary schools and has been quite positive.

STAR 9 or CAT scores are largely a theoretical measure of student performance. We must inquire how our students fare in comparison to their peers not just in the Bay Area, but in other states that are ranked higher in K-12 education quality and then again not just in science fairs, but also in measures such as the percentage admitted to Ivy League schools, Cal or Stanford. Asif KidwaiPleasanton

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