Ignoring global warming is ignorant
Money plays a central role in Matt Gore’s article (Oct. 11, “Climate should take backseat to real issues”), along with his emphasis on the two devastating diseases of malaria and AIDS. As he argues, a warming climate should be placed neatly in the backseat of the American and global mind.
I’d like to reply by pointing out how moral and sensible choices on the part of the American people have actually taken the backseat. Until we realize that the stubborn denial of the “uncertainty of global warming” will only reap the benefits of fast cash and short-lived luxuries, the United States is headed nowhere but down, dragging a protesting world with it.
Malaria and AIDS are two admirable choices to represent. However, they are incomparable to the disease that already infects and destroys more and more of the Earth everyday.
A narrow-minded obsession with money prevents any kind of progress in any direction ““ toward correcting the world’s problems with malaria, AIDS or the environment ““ as long as it is controlled by corrupt war hawks, Republican or Democrat.
It seems that money, in this country, is good only for funding the “War on Terror.”
I recommend that if Gore truly wishes to “help our fellow man to the greatest extent possible,” he should not detract finance from global warming ““ a cause that is already greatly under-financed and vastly under-recognized as a threat.
Instead, he might want to target the number one money-guzzling quandary this nation has yet to confront: the war in Iraq.
The war has, in a sense, solved the timeless problem of removing value from money. Day after day, the United States pumps “valuable” money into the war machine.
Is this the money that Matt Gore wants put back into the hands of progressive research projects? Or is it simply the money that prevents global warming that he wants taken and used instead to combat malaria and AIDS?
This frighteningly dogmatic War on Terror/War in Iraq (for I, like the president, don’t even know which is which any more) continues to harvest American and Iraqi lives as a literal cash crop.
We are in desperate need of intellectual and moral characters to break through the modern glass ceiling that represents a prejudice against political dissenters in today’s society.
It’s very startling to see how once greatly-respected American pride and intelligence is wasted on fat-cats and teeny-bopper politicians. Can we not see how easily money is taken from everyone’s pockets and placed neatly into coffins and bombs? Do those help solve malaria? AIDS? Global warming? Global issues of any sensible kind?
Colin Williams
Second-year English student
Teach for America misrepresented
In the article entitled “Teachers-in-training crucial to schools” (News, Oct. 10), Sheila Lane, the faculty advisor of UCLA’s Teacher Education Program, states the following about Teach For America: “… It doesn’t have a long-range view.”
She differentiates UCLA’s Teacher Education Program, stating, “We’re looking for retention … not just people who are dabbling, who think it would be fun to see what it’s like for a year or two.”
These statements about Teach For America’s mission and those who choose to serve it could be no further from the truth. Teach For America espouses a long-term vision based on the principle that educational reform can become a reality when America’s future leaders understand the conditions facing students in low-income communities.
Ultimately, these individuals will work from both inside and outside of the classroom to address what is believed to be this generation’s civil rights issue.
Teach For America corps members are leaders who not only create classrooms where students achieve significant academic growth but also gain experiences that build their understanding of educational reform issues, strengthen their skill set and shape their trajectory.
As a 2002 Teach For America corps member, I gained a direct experience that has guided me to where I am now: pursuing a master’s degree in business at Anderson to develop management skills that I can one day use as an administrator at an under-performing school district.
There are other Teach For America alumni at Anderson, UCLA’s School of Law and other graduate programs at UCLA seeking to impact education from avenues outside of the classroom. However, there are plenty of corps members who are teachers, principals and founders of schools as well. As a point of parity, Teach For America’s five-year teacher retention rate is on par with the retention rate of individuals coming from teacher certification programs.
I take great offense in being informed that my experience in the classroom is considered “dabbling” or “just for fun.”
My former seventh-grade students are now juniors and seniors in high school, and I regularly receive e-mails from them about how they are starting the college search process, an option many of them might not have had if we didn’t work relentlessly every day to bring their reading abilities up to grade level.
Lane should make sure to check her facts before making blanket statements about a program she is clearly misinformed about.
Chris Weber
MBA Class of 2009
UCLA Anderson School of Management