Letters

NEA Today, Feb 1999

The main purpose of your recent article "Keeping the Family Home" is to talk readers into buying an NEA life insurance policy to insure their mortgage.

I have no problem with NEA Member Benefits offering products. In fact, I own an NEA term life policy because it's a good deal. But I'm insulted by articles that clearly have ulterior motives. Your readers are smart enough to know when we are being manipulated. So keep printing ads, and keep printing articles, but, please. no more "adicles."

David Borst

Altoona, Pennsylvania

Animal Abuse

I was chagrined to see your article about a Nebraska teacher who wrestles steers (People, November). By publishing it, NEA appears to be promoting animal abuse, which is inherent in rodeo events. Steer wrestling involves a mounted "cowboy" pursuing a steer out of a chute, falling on the animal, and twisting its neck viciously until the steer is finally thrown to the ground.

How about running an article on support for the well-being of animals, rather than on how to dominate them by brute force?

Debra LaBruzzo

Springfield, Massachusetts

Hardship, Not Shame

As a teacher at a teen parent diploma program, I read "Keep Kids From Making Babies" (Health, November) with interest. But I'm concerned about your expert's final remark, encouraging NEA members to "send a clear message that teen pregnancy is not okay."

Without careful consideration, the message teens might receive is that teens who become pregnant are not okay. I'd prefer that we send the message that, with a child, life will be more difficult, reaching personal goals will be more difficult, and having time and space to mature will be more difficult.

It's my hope that the burden and hardship be emphasized in the message, not disapproval, judgment, and shame.

Kathleen Benedetti

Liberty, Maine

Fighting Vouchers

The way to fight the voucher issue is not by railing against public money going to private and parochial schools (Letters, November). The way to fight vouchers is for public schools to clean up their act.

We must end the violence and drug dealing on school grounds and make our classrooms places of learning. And we must protect the rights of the students who want to be in school.

All students have the right to attend school, but they should lose that right if they can't follow the rules.

Robert Conder

Jackson, Tennessee

High Praise

I've been an educator and life member of EA for more than 40 years, and, without a doubt, NEA Today is the best education information format I've ever seen. Each of the "segments" is tailored to meeting educators' needs, as well as those of school children. It's truly impressive. I use many of the ideas presented in your columns in my classes and pass copies on to my students and two of my daughters who are teachers.

John Cumming

Professor emeritus, teacher education

University of Wisconsin-Superior

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