Reporter Letters to the Editor: Common Core, Mimi and more
A tragic event
To the Editor:
The fact that 47 percent of the students in the 3rd to 8th grades (or their parents) opted out of the recent Common Core Test (“Islanders join movement against standardized testing,” April 23) should be a source of profound embarrassment to the parents, the school board, the superintendent, the teachers and your newspaper.
To read in your paper that the superintendent thought “a few students might opt out” and that he thought many were influenced by “information on social media” is utterly disingenuous when you compare it to regular condemnations of the test from the same superintendent in recent newspaper articles.
Shelter Island might be a small community with a small school enrollment but, like it or not, it is part of a global economy that cares little whether we pressure our students relentlessly or pamper them with “options.” The world outside of Shelter Island is looking for young men and women prepared for the 21st century economy and it doesn’t care where they were educated or how many tests they’ve taken.
Capitalism is a harsh and sometimes cruel environment for the unprepared, and when parents are more worried about stress or anxiety levels than they are about future employability, they are failing their own children. Colleges are equally cruel it seems, since few read applications from students who opted out of the SATs.
But the real issue is not the children. The real problem with the test is the debate over central vs. local control of curriculum and the use of results in teacher evaluations. Those are adult issues that should be debated by responsible people in the education community, not by using children as pawns in the argument. That is a despicable tactic for which any educator should be ashamed.
Speaking of shame, I wonder if his principal will notify Mr. Brigham, who sits on our Board of Education, that he rates a D or perhaps an F for his quotation in the Reporter? “I’m there to see how good you can do, not how bad you can do,” would be grammatically correct if he had said “… how well you can do, not how badly you can do.” Even for an “opt out” board member, adverbs and adjectives are important.
As for the Reporter, applauding the parents and students who opted out makes you complicit in this tragic event.
KEVIN P. BROOKS
Shelter Island
A thankless task
Julie Lane’s articles on water quality affords some good coverage on a very sound effort by the Hay Beach Association. Public education is a major part of achieving environmental improvements.
One can certainly argue that a part of “infrastructure” is sewage treatment, even if it occurs in your own backyard.
Holding the line on taxes is a national issue and at our local level this Town Board and its predecessors have a long, proud and effective history of doing so in a manner consistent with a cherished home rule philosophy.
Elected officials have a duty to honor the wishes of their constituents and sometimes those wishes can conflict with managing and maintaining infrastructure. Nonetheless, it is my opinion our elected officials have maintained a willingness to look at infrastructure problems — including aquifer quality issues — and balance them against taxpayer costs. It is a difficult and thankless task.
This is not only a local problem. The American Society of Civil Engineers is tasked with monitoring the state of the nation’s infrastructure. Overall, American infrastructure receives a D+. The backbone of things our citizens rely upon is deteriorating at an unacceptable rate — from roads to water to bridges and airports. Supervisor Dougherty recently characterized Shelter Island’s infrastructure as being in reasonably good condition. While that assessment is presently true, we all must be vigilant for changes on the horizon.
I trust our elected officials, appointed town personnel and all town employees remain vigilant to infrastructure problems that will arise, with a willingness to address them as cost effectively as possible.
Such an approach may provoke discussion and perhaps even dissension, but it ensures that the wishes of an educated electorate are considered in the process.
JOHN C. CRONIN JR.
Shelter Island Town Engineer
Tribute to a legend
To the Editor:
This letter, we’re sure, will accompany many others in tribute to Mimi Brennan. After all, she was a Shelter Island legend, contributing to our community in so many, invariably selfless ways.
On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Shelter Island, we, too, salute her. Mimi was among the founders of our chapter in 1999. Her contributions, support and encouragement never wavered during these past 16 years. A look back in our files from those early days reveals her carefully handwritten notes and minutes, all reflecting her sincerity of purpose in getting our fledgling organization off the ground. In every detail they show the dedication Mimi and this group of women had to the League’s mission. They all should be justifiably proud of their initiative.
If Mimi was a legend, she was also a character, in the very best sense. She never took herself or life too seriously, which was probably one of her most admirable traits. Whoever ran into her around town was always left with a quip or an old Irish ditty and came away with a gleeful giggle. She had such a wit and intelligence, you had to like her on the spot. You knew that a Mimi Brennan comes along so rarely in your lifetime and you wanted to savor that friendship.
We would like her two sons and other family members to know how dearly we will miss her, too, and that we will remember her with respect and admiration for years to come.
God bless you, Mimi, and thank you. (Hope we punctuated everything correctly …)
CATHY A. KENNY and LOIS B. MORRIS
Co-presidents, League of Women Voters of Shelter Island
Danger overhead
To the Editor:
It was very heartwarming that caring neighbors pulled a pilot from his mangled aircraft (“A quiet evening turned upside down,” April 16) and that, to him, “flying is his life,” but we must stop to consider the lives of those who lie in a pilot’s flight path. As more and more flock to our beautiful East End in their helicopters and sea planes and, as Mr. Pugh commented, “If you fly long enough, you’re going to make every mistake in the book,” we need to consider the volume of flights and the dangers they pose to those on the ground.
MARGARET PISANI
Laurel
Island treasures
To the Editor:
There are many great and wonderful things about Shelter Island, which is why so many people are so proud to call it their home.
From its governance to its police and volunteer fire departments, from its women’s auxiliary services, from its parks and beaches to its churches and educational facilities to the unbounded generosity to each other in need, we hold these things inestimable about Shelter Island. It is made even more wonderful when a new contribution all of a sudden appears on the scene.
In the past there was great enthusiasm with each opening of the Shelter Island Country Club. Now there is greater enthusiasm; there is expertise, investment, renovation and a new orientation. Without enumerating all the innovations and improvements on the actual golf course planned for now and for the next 10 years, it has a new sense of challenge and aesthetic. It is unfair to say that the kitchen and restaurant have been renovated, rather they have been reinvested and revitalized by its new operating owners who also have a long range plan.
Beyond the acquisition of a premier chef, it is the new attitude that pervades the club. It is one of professionalism and concern that is best exemplified by the board. Their efforts now extend to coordination among the town and the Heights leadership to provide the most creative possibilities for both the course and restaurant.
What all these encomiums are leading up to is a new sense of pride and vision in one of Shelter Island’s oldest landmarks. As perceived by all referenced above, it is to be a family restaurant and golf course to be rightly proud of, which is seen by the community as their place to entertain and to bring their families to eat and recreate. They wish it to be among the other treasures of Shelter Island and another reason to regard the Island as “our home.”
RICHARD O’CONNELL
Shelter Island
