Bad decisions
Editor,
Four years back the Worcester school board spent $50,000 to import a new school super from Portland with the required suitcase of diplomas and titles.
And, for $200,000 a year, he showed us rednecks how to cope with Obama’s Common Cure continued destruction of American philosophy, or what’s left of it.
How to give the teachers a raise, and laptops to the students so that they could visit Facebook and get comfortable with texting to destroy structured English. To turn our rural schools into social compassion centers for the needy and illegals.
Do we really need this kind of help that ignores our local talent such as the principal of the tech school who ran a great middle school in Pocomoke, and is more than capable of leading Worcester county schools? Was this extraordinary teacher offered the job? Was she passed over because she was a woman?
In a county where our high schools readily pass out diplomas of stated academic ability, half of the graduates can’t write five sentences to a paragraph with a pen or pencil that are comparable to fifth grade private school writing. Four years at $200,000 was a waste of our tax dollars. Now, the school board wants to do it again.
Bernie Dietz
Pocomoke
Editor,
Four years back the Worcester school board spent $50,000 to import a new school super from Portland with the required suitcase of diplomas and titles.
And, for $200,000 a year, he showed us rednecks how to cope with Obama’s Common Cure continued destruction of American philosophy, or what’s left of it.
How to give the teachers a raise, and laptops to the students so that they could visit Facebook and get comfortable with texting to destroy structured English. To turn our rural schools into social compassion centers for the needy and illegals.
Do we really need this kind of help that ignores our local talent such as the principal of the tech school who ran a great middle school in Pocomoke, and is more than capable of leading Worcester county schools? Was this extraordinary teacher offered the job? Was she passed over because she was a woman?
In a county where our high schools readily pass out diplomas of stated academic ability, half of the graduates can’t write five sentences to a paragraph with a pen or pencil that are comparable to fifth grade private school writing. Four years at $200,000 was a waste of our tax dollars. Now, the school board wants to do it again.
Bernie Dietz
Pocomoke
Taylor for ‘super’
Editor,
I am a retired high school teacher of 39 years, 30 of which have been in Worcester County Schools.
I coached and taught at Snow Hill High School for 18 years, and at Stephen Decatur High School for 12 years.
The 12 years at Stephen Decatur High School were under the leadership of Principal Lou Taylor. I strongly recommend that you hire Mr. Taylor for the position of Superintendent of Schools for Worcester County.
Lou Taylor was a superior leader as principal and as a representative for education in Worcester County. He made it clear from the first day of classes each year that our goal was to work hard together to educate and help each student grow and reach the best of his or her potential.
He set a high standard for himself, his administrative staff, and teachers alike to work as a team to produce educated citizens. He worked an unbelievable amount of hours in support of our school and our community. I believe that Stephen Decatur’s high state and national academic rankings during his tenure prove this.
While I was a staff member at Stephen Decatur, we were evaluated for accreditation by The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. We scored well on the evaluation. It was mentioned to me by several committee members that the entire committee was extremely impressed by our school.
To my recollection, this is what was said: “One thing that stood out during our evaluation, was how your faculty and staff cares for your students.” They continued that, to their observation, the students could “feel” this and responded to it. To me, this is an example of how Mr. Taylor’s great leadership was manifested in a way that was obvious to all.
Mr. Taylor should be hired as Superintendent of Worcester County Schools. He is an experienced educator, administrator, involved citizen, and community advocate who will not rest until our schools shine as an example of what schools should be doing for our students. To me, there is no other choice.
Robert F. Mitchell, III
Berlin
Successful debut
Editor,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Rackliffe House, I would like to thank the many generous individuals and organizations who helped us launch “Rackliffe House Presents: Chamber Music in Berlin.”
Drawing a near-capacity audience from the Town of Berlin and surrounding area, and an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees, we are encouraged to consider this the first in an ongoing series of “Chamber Music in Berlin” concerts.
The three-day event (Aug. 24-26) brought internationally acclaimed musicians Elena Urioste, Nicholas Cannellakis, Benjamin Beilman and Matthew Lipman to Berlin for a public concert, a donors’ event, and a free master class for young violinists at Stephen Decatur Middle School.
We are grateful to Ms. Urioste for sharing her concept of a chamber music series here, for her outreach to the talented musicians who performed, and to the Rackliffe House volunteers who put in countless hours to make the event a success.
With deep appreciation, we would like to thank our event sponsors for their generous support: Kathy and Mark Clark of Monogram Realty; Taylor Bank; Bank of Ocean City; BSC America; Worcester County Tourism; Rebecca and Leighton Moore; Anonymous; Bunting Realty; Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy and Almand, P.A.; the Worcester County Arts Council; Maryland State Arts Council; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
An additional thank you goes out to Berlin Mayor Gee Williams for helping us to welcome the audience and kick off a successful event.
Fantastic talent, dedicated volunteers, the backing of local businesses and the community, and an enthusiastic public response … altogether it is clear to us how Berlin is the “Coolest Small Town in America.”
Carolyn Cummins
President, Board of Directors
Rackliffe House Trust
Celebrity opinions
Editor,
It is and has been apparent to me over the past 70 years or so that the celebrity world is far different from the everyday, ordinary life 90 percent of us lead each and every day. I make no opinions or comments on their lifestyles and/or their outlook on life in general. I just say it is different, and comparisons should be self-evident.
I wonder, therefore, when our lifestyle and our core beliefs are so different, that we pay so much attention to what these celebrities think, say or do? It’s a different world guys, and what these people think, say or do matters not a whit to us.
That’s what shocks me, when one of these people decides not to stand at the playing of our National Anthem and the whole of America goes berserk! Who the hell cares? All of our news media is quick to defend with, “He has a right to say what he thinks.” Well, of course he does; what I don’t agree with is that I have to care or that it will change my life.
I love my sports, but what I don’t understand is why more of us don’t recognize celebrity and the show business in sports. These athletes fill paid seats to watch them and the game … is that not what other celebrities do, no matter their specialty? The opinions of these athletes mean naught to me and they shouldn’t to you either; so what’s the big deal when one of them refuses to identify himself with patriotism and love of his country? If they are not intelligent enough to know there is no other place on earth they could achieve what they have here in the U.S. of A, it’s their problem to deal with, not ours.
It changes his life a lot more than it does one of ours, so let him wallow in the mud while we bask in our patriotism and love of our country. So I say to him and others like him, “See ya, and don’t look for me in one of your paid seats.”
Frank Vetare
Berlin
Editor,
It is and has been apparent to me over the past 70 years or so that the celebrity world is far different from the everyday, ordinary life 90 percent of us lead each and every day. I make no opinions or comments on their lifestyles and/or their outlook on life in general. I just say it is different, and comparisons should be self-evident.
I wonder, therefore, when our lifestyle and our core beliefs are so different, that we pay so much attention to what these celebrities think, say or do? It’s a different world guys, and what these people think, say or do matters not a whit to us.
That’s what shocks me, when one of these people decides not to stand at the playing of our National Anthem and the whole of America goes berserk! Who the hell cares? All of our news media is quick to defend with, “He has a right to say what he thinks.” Well, of course he does; what I don’t agree with is that I have to care or that it will change my life.
I love my sports, but what I don’t understand is why more of us don’t recognize celebrity and the show business in sports. These athletes fill paid seats to watch them and the game … is that not what other celebrities do, no matter their specialty? The opinions of these athletes mean naught to me and they shouldn’t to you either; so what’s the big deal when one of them refuses to identify himself with patriotism and love of his country? If they are not intelligent enough to know there is no other place on earth they could achieve what they have here in the U.S. of A, it’s their problem to deal with, not ours.
It changes his life a lot more than it does one of ours, so let him wallow in the mud while we bask in our patriotism and love of our country. So I say to him and others like him, “See ya, and don’t look for me in one of your paid seats.”
Frank Vetare
Berlin