Contra Costa Times July 14 letters

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 14, 2008 | by Letters

The Congress willingly "... unwittingly, at best "... legislated away many of the protections of our Constitution.

The current administration has trampled further on elements of the Bill of Rights, lied to the Congress and otherwise committed high crimes and treason while that very same Congress has stood idly by doing nothing.

All of the people involved in this continuing fiasco took oaths to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Seems to me that the U.S. Supreme Court is the only branch living up to that oath.

Mr. Laurence, be careful what you pray for. You just might get it.

Albert F. Limberg

Concord

Not the cause

In her July 9 letter, Lisa Allen makes a dangerous overgeneralization: She equates "special ed" students with "learning problems."

This is unfair, because it pretends that all special-education students are close to the norm and in need of only a little support or accommodation. This pretense supports her claim that these students are getting too much help.

Allen's argument ignores students with challenges such as cerebral palsy, paralysis, Down syndrome, autism, or retardation, dismissing them as insignificant or nonexistent.

My daughter is mentally retarded. She will probably not go to college, and she knows it; nobody is giving her "a false idea of her abilities." Because I manage the local soccer league for children with special needs, I know many special-ed students, most with serious challenges. Nobody has "lowered the standards" (as Allen claims) on their behalf; nobody is giving them "easier versions" of tests.

If Allen wants to tell children to lower their expectations and plan on not having their needs met, that's her personal business but poor public policy. Schools are suffering, yes, but special education students and programs are not the reason; they are victims of this decline, not the cause.

Pete Gaughan

Concord