Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_05.02.08 - Index

20A | THEPRESS.NET MAY 2, 2008
“ Imagine asking a lawyer or a dentist to keep
cheerful and composed with 30 to 40 clients in
their office, many of whom are dejected, angry
and not wanting to be there.
Walter Ruehlig”
Winning Newspapers
Award
EDITORIALS, LETTERS & COMMENTARY
OPINION
National
Class struggle reveals true heroes
Editor:
Admittedly, Hallmark can overdo
the recognitions. May 14, though, is
unarguably a timely trumpet call for a
special class of unsung heroes. It is the
National Day of the Teacher.
If we are looking to emulate
movie stars, rock musicians, athletes
and supermodels, we’re simply missing
the point. Those folks are celebrities,
not heroes; too often modeling shallow
materialism and vacuous self-absorption.
By contrast, as an unknown writer
said, “A good teacher is like a candle
– it consumes itself to lighten the way
for others.”
For heroes, consider Dave Smith,
the schoolteacher shot to death shielding
his students during the Columbine
High School rampage.
Wanting a role model? Try Jane
Smith, a Fayetteville, N.C. teacher so
taken by the plight of a dying 14-yearold
boy, she donated a kidney. Hugging
on the “Today” show, even Katie Couric
fought back tears.
How about Doris Dillon, who
fulfi lled a lifetime dream of teaching? A
San Jose colleague remarked about her
gift, “She could teach a rock to read.”
Stricken with irreversible Lou Gehrig’s
Disease, Doris continued teaching by
computer-assisted voice. Later, she ran
two elementary school libraries, saying
she had one last lesson to impart, that
dying is a natural part of living.
Dramatic stories, yes, but the
drama is played out large and small,
day in and day out, in tens of thousands
of classrooms across the nation. Sadly,
City of Oakley
City Manager and City Council
City Hall
3231 Main St.
Oakley, CA 94561
Phone: 625-7000
Diablo Water District
2107 Main St. (Near Raley’s)
Oakley, CA 94561
Gen. Mgr. Mike Yeraka
Phone: 625-3798 Fax: 625-0814
Ironhouse Sanitary District
450 Walnut Meadows Drive
Oakley, CA 94561
Gen. Mgr. Tom Williams
Phone: 625-2279 Fax: 625-0169
County Supervisor Federal Glover
315 E. Leland Ave.
Pittsburg, CA 94565
Phone: 427-8138
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
though our schools are statistically the
safest place in America, with school
violence half that of 1993 and dropping
to levels not seen since the 1970s, we still
blame every societal ill on our teachers.
We expect them to be equal parts
parent, police offi cer, social worker,
psychologist, counselor, motivational
coach, mentor and No Child Left Behind
statistician.
First they’re asked to deal with dysfunctional
families, physical and mental
abuse, rampant sex and drug solicitations
and latchkey supervision. Oh yes,
then we ask them to teach. Imagine asking
a lawyer or a dentist to keep cheerful
and composed with 30 to 40 clients in
their offi ce, many of whom are dejected,
angry and not wanting to be there.
Need a hero, then? Go down
to your nearest school. Granted, no
dunked basketballs, no belted home
runs, no platinum record albums. Yet
at the end of the day, it’s the simple
heroics of passing the torch of productive
citizenship to the next generation.
Henry Brooks Adams captured it well:
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never
tell where his infl uence stops.”
I know this because 45 years ago
I was a confused teenager needing a
compass. Teachers recognized in me a
worth I didn’t see myself. They helped
me navigate blinding adolescent fog. I
am convinced that I am the man I am
today, and my children the individuals
that they are, because of those heroes.
In this maddening world, we need
heroes more than ever. On May 14
– better yet, every chance we get – let’s
thank a teacher. After all, in teaching
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
State Senator Tom Torlakson
Seventh State Senate District
Antioch City Hall
Third and H streets
Antioch, CA 94509
Phone: 754-1461 Fax: 754-1874
Assemblyman Guy Houston
15th District
1635 Chestnut St., Suite A
Livermore, CA 94551-6379
Phone: 606-4990 Fax: 606-4488
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Constituent Affairs
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2864
Fax: (916) 445-4633
U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher
10th Congressional District:
420 W. Third St.
your son, they are also teaching your
son’s son.
Walter Ruehlig
Antioch School Board President
Stimulus bucks should stop here
Editor:
With the fi rst distribution of economic
stimulus tax rebates occurring this
week, I wish to share my thoughts. I am
not an expert at economics, though, and
I don’t intend to tell people how to spend
their tax rebates.
A great portion of the $168 billion
economic stimulus bill of 2008 is,
of course, intended to send Americans
shopping to jump-start the economy.
There is much buzz in the media about
millions of people rushing to buy bigscreen
TVs and merchandise.
Before we rush out and blow the
checks on electronics (most manufactured
overseas), I hope people pause to
acknowledge the source of the funds,
and plan to keep the funds invested in
our country to make the greatest return
on investment.
Our government is funded by the
people of the United States: taxpayers
like you and me. Of course it feels like
our government has some slush fund
and is injecting the money from some
magical place, but the ultimate source
of the money is hardworking American
families.
I was delighted to hear of the rebate
checks, and I doubt anyone would refuse
them, but I was also alarmed to hear
that, within a few weeks of announcing
the $168 billion tax rebate, the president
announced almost $200 billion in cuts to
federal programs. Turns out it wasn’t a
Antioch, CA 94509
Phone: 757-7187
Washington office:
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-1880
U.S. Representative Gerald McNerney
11th Congressional District
2222 Grand Canal Blvd., Suite 7
Stockton, CA 95207
Phone: (209) 476-8552
Fax: (209) 476-8587
Washington office:
312 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-1947
Fax: (202) 225-4060
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 403-0100
magical slush fund that will pay for the
stimulus package.
My family isn’t going to be rushing
to Wal-Mart to buy a lifetime supply of
socks, or fi nance a big-screen TV that
will last a few years and ultimately cost
us a bunch in fi nance charges. Instead
we are investing in ourselves by paying
down credit card debt. If we decide to
go shopping with the check, however, we
plan to purchase goods made only in the
United States.
see Letters page 21A
We want you
In the coming weeks we plan to
launch another way for our readers
to speak out on the issues important
in East County. It’s similar to our
“Have Your Say” feature: it includes
the comments and photos of those we
interview. But instead of approaching
people randomly on the street, we’ll
be cultivating a group of regular
contributors who are up on what’s
going on in their community and
East County and whose opinions are
interesting and well articulated.
Each week we’ll e-mail a question
on various issues to this group
and publish the most noteworthy
comments on the opinion page. This
is your opportunity to become one of
the movers and shapers of opinion in
East County, and we look forward to
your participation. If you’re interested
or want more information, e-mail us at
editor@thepress.net.