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Pasco Letters to the Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

Dumbing Down

When I was in high school in the late 1960s, schools graduated students who could read and write at a 12th-grade level. They could also make change for a dollar.

Most students had memorized multiplication tables and could add fractions. We had to take first-year algebra and geometry. We had to take four years of English, so we could read, write and speak English fluently. If not, we flunked and had to take a class over again. It didn't cause trauma or kill anyone as I recall.

Why are we graduating students today who can only read at a sixth-grade level and can't make change in a store if the computer is down?

I was told that newspapers had to be written at a sixth-grade level; I believe it was probably when we started hiring reporters who couldn't read and write above a sixth-grade level.

And grammar - forget about it. I can't use proper grammar either, and whose fault is that? Could it be that I was looking out the window or daydreaming (our version of text messaging) instead of listening to the teacher?

I recently became a substitute teacher. Imagine my shock when I found out that most of the students weren't even in the room, much less in their seats, when the bell rang. It took me more than 10 minutes to get them to be quiet enough to hear what the lesson would be.

"Please turn off your cell phones," I said.

I had a tag that said "guest teacher." It didn't matter. I thought if I took it off, they would think I was a real teacher. It didn't make a difference.

Some of the classes I had were quiet and went to work shortly after class started. That says something about the teacher and her discipline, but what of the others?

Some think we should bring back corporal punishment. I do not. Students have privileges, so take some away when they misbehave. Make them stay after school and let their parents have to pick them up. That may make parents get involved in the students' behavior.

By now you are thinking, "I'm tired of hearing this old guy talk about 'when I was in school.'" I just wish I could have misbehaved more. I could've had more fun, but then I wouldn't be able to make change for a dollar or add fractions. Who needs that? I've got a calculator.

Just 62 percent correct on the physics semester exam is going to be a passing grade in Hillsborough County. Would you want that student running a nuclear power plant some day? I think not.

DAN CHALFANT

Land O' Lakes

Anderson's Agenda

I will soon leave for Tallahassee to attend the 60-day 2008 regular session of the Florida Legislature. While I am gone, my district office at 2236 U.S. 19 in Holiday will be staffed by executive secretary Evelyn Haas. Legislative assistant Tracy Caddell will accompany me to Tallahassee to manage my office there.

The top issues being considered this session include improving health care and education, reforming property insurance and lowering property taxes.

I will be introducing a number of bills during the session, including another bill on automated external defibrillators, known as AEDs, that would limit the liability to good Samaritans trying to resuscitate individuals using an AED.

I also have again filed a bill, HB 233, to strengthen the laws on elder abuse. If passed, aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult will change from a second-degree felony to a first-degree felony, the same as aggravated child abuse.

I also have been working on legislation that could save the state millions of dollars in state procurement practices by making major improvements in competitive bidding, contract negotiation, contract management and professional development. This bill, HB 79, would create a commission to study this issue.

Due to the problems many of my Pasco County constituents have had with the water company, I am introducing legislation concerning the possible purchase of Aloha Utilities by Pasco County. Pasco residents have endured many years of substandard water quality and customer service from this company.

Throughout the state, residents have been the prey of unscrupulous locksmith companies. I am introducing a bill to regulate the locksmith industry, requiring criminal background checks and licensing. Regulation and licensing of locksmiths is necessary to protect public safety and security.

I also filed a bill, HB 161, that will help lower property taxes by eliminating the "highest and best use" description on determining taxable value and instead using the current value.

TOM ANDERSON

Dunedin

Lights Aren't Smart

I am enjoying the cooler weather that has arrived in our area, but the bubble has broken!

I drive from Holiday to Palm Harbor every day, and then back home later in the day. What has happened to the traffic lights? I have never seen such a display of traffic flow in my life. It's bad enough that gas prices are over $3 a gallon, but to have to wait at every signal going to and coming home from work is disgraceful.

Has anyone ever thought about this? I understand about emergency vehicles being able to "click" the lights green, but it sure screws up the "cycle." (They don't seem to recover for a few cycles.) We are supposedly using "smart lights." I don't think they passed first grade.

If the traffic is extremely heavy, why can't the traffic signals on the main travel road, U.S. 19, stay green for 15 to 20 minutes so traffic can clear? Sorry to the people on the cross streets, but the stop and go is just ridiculous.

Also, can't Pasco get along with Pinellas? It would be nice if we were all on the same page and could get traffic moving. We could save some gas.

SUSAN THOMAS

Holiday

The writer, a Republican, represents District 45, which includes parts of Pasco County, in the state House of Representatives. To contact his district office for more information about bills, call (727) 943-4760.

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