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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

Not Government's Duty

Regarding "It's Time For Tampa To Make A Splash" (Commentary, Aug. 17):

Rosemary Goudreau's article is typical of those on the fringes of government and the hierarchy who come up with ways to spend taxpayer money in a time when the whole nation's economy is going down the tube.

The purpose of government is to furnish those services the citizen cannot - water, sewer, police, fire departments, hospitals, streets and roads and their repair.

In a time when citizens are having it economically rough, how can those in authority come up with an idea as ludicrous as a gigantic water fountain which serves no purpose other than to use the valuable resources of the citizens - taxes.

JERRY C. HIERS

Tampa

Fountains Show Class

I read the article concerning the need for a grand fountain in downtown Tampa and I fully agree. Having a grand fountain entertains, mystifies, soothes, intrigues, refreshes - and much more. It is also a statement and a benchmark of moving from a lower to higher-tier class of city.

I would say a sculpture-type fountain like the Buckingham Fountain trumps the dancing water jets of the Bellagio any day. Anyway, I hope this idea will come to fruition.

JEFF OSWALD

Tampa

Another Teaching Fad

Regarding "Will Teachers Rap The 3 R's?" (front page, Aug. 17):

I read with amusement about yet another new way to teach called "Springboard."

I remember 35 years ago at the U.S. Air Force Academy when one of my fellow professors believed he had found a new book and a better way of teaching French. After one year of comparing the results of his system to the existing system, we concluded that the slight improvement in the students' test scores had probably been due to his enthusiasm and increased attention and not the program itself. This short-term increase in productivity caused by increased attention is known in industrial circles as the Hawthorne Effect.

Over the years in business and in teaching, I've learned that success is due more to having smart, enthusiastic people on your team and less about the process. Ask any successful person why he decided to pursue his vocation. The response usually mentions a teacher who demonstrated great enthusiasm about his subject matter. The process of instruction is never mentioned. Whatever happened to Ebonics anyway?

CLAUDE FORTIN

Valrico

Cheating Good Students

Your Aug. 17 story on the Hillsborough County schools and the 3 R's reminds us of another blind experiment using taxpayer money to fulfill liberal dreams of academic equality. When money meets a very mediocre school system with politically correct but academically weak leadership, you get another failure that will be generously touted as a success because people feel better as a result.

Springboard and its related projects will confuse and distract good teachers from their primary mission-teaching content fairly rapidly to our best young minds. AP courses are intended for kids with minds that already perform at high academic levels. To toss students whose habits and capacities are inadequate into the AP pot is to cheat the real students whose years of higher level cognition should be rewarded in AP.

CORNELIUS J. TROOST

Tampa

Lower The Drinking Age

Regarding "Educators Drive Drinking Age Talk" (front page, Aug. 19):

It's about time. The drinking age should be lowered to 18. For no reason, this absurd law has created an underground culture of binge drinking and fake IDs.

Eighteen is the legal age of informed consent in the United States. You can elect the president of the United States, get married, buy a gun and enlist in the armed forces and be sent into harm's way, but you can't responsibly buy a beer? Crazy! In all other phases of life we expect 18 year olds to learn to be responsible. Why not as it relates to the use of alcohol? This is another example of a law having unintended consequences that completely negate the law's original purpose.

FRITZ ARCHERD

Tampa

Townsend Rebuttal

I am Rob Townsend, candidate for Hillsborough County Property Appraiser. I would like to respond to a previous editorial on why I believe I am the best candidate for this very important job.

I have come to understand why inflation was Ronald Regan's top priority. Expansion of government and its spending through taxes or borrowing is the cause of inflation. It hurts the most vulnerable in our society: our elderly, our disabled and our fixed income residents. Inflationary policies in appraisals such as we have seen in recent years will have adverse affects both immediate and long term for our residents.

An increase of approximately 50 percent in three years is incredible. It was a response of over-exuberance in fear of our current financial dilemma. This over-exuberance benefited insurance companies, financial banking and our state treasury coffers the most.

I am fighting for my family, home and farm from excessive taxes and fees, which amounts to arbitrary seizure by tax. I will fight hard for all of Hillsborough County's residents and families if elected. If you are dissatisfied with the current tax situation and are looking for a change in the office of Property Appraiser, then vote for Rob Townsend.

ROB TOWNSEND

Plant City

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