Let teachers get back to job of teaching

I used to aspire to being a "jack of all trades" in life and in the classroom.But lately, I’m calling all that into question as I ponder the latter half of that famous saying.

First, No Child Left Behind and the high-stakes state testing morphed me from classroom teacher to merely a test coach. Test early and often is now the rule, and with three attempts scattered throughout the school year, it seems we’re always either in the prepping, taking or recovery stage.

More recently, the National Rifle Association would have us teachers all trained and equipped to function as the next wave of armed forces of homeland security.

Finally, the Hawaii State Teachers Association has requested our assistance in getting the attention of the governor and the public at large to our no-contract situation.Politics is an important endeavor, but if I have to personally convince you that education is important enough to invest in, something is clearly wrong with this picture.

Will the "teach" part of our job description really be relinquished to a romantic, bygone era?

Dan Senger
Kaimuki

New city directors seem thinly qualified

Another lawyer mayor selecting a lawyer for managing director?And for Department of Transportation Services?

Lawyers perform useful services, but most spend time deciding what is legal and not legal.Those who perform effectively outside of that field are the exception.

Nothing in Ember Shinn’s experience seems to point to an important role in managing and leading a large, complex and entrenched bureaucracy. Being a chief of staff to a legislator is a far cry from being the de facto day-to-day leader of our city.

Same for Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s new DTS director, who has spent the majority of his time practicing law. Hopefully, he was not selected primarily for his expertise on procurement laws to watch over the rail project, however important that may be. Hopefully, he knows something about improving our traffic problems — arguably our biggest quality-of-life issue — and making our streets more "complete" and friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as cars.

I hope they were selected for their competence, not familiarity, comfort or diversity.

Tadahiko Ono
Kaneohe

Chinese leadership doing something right

William Pesek claims that China’s state control "masks underlying economic inefficiency" ("Billionaire princelings ruin a vision of China’s future," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 30).

At the same time, he admitted that the Chinese Communist Party’s rule has "succeeded wildly, lifting some 600 million people out of poverty and putting China on a growth path that may allow the country’s economy to surpass the U.S.’s in 15 years or so."

If China can accomplish this astounding progress in spite of "underlying inefficiency," the Communist Party must be doing something right.

Perhaps "socialism with Chinese characteristics" is the secret of China’s economic success.

Oliver Lee
Aina Haina

Shapiro’s harping on age a bit offensive

David Shapiro’s column on the succession issue following the death of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is a bit offensive ("It was Abercrombie’s call, not Inouye’s, so he made it," Star-Advertiser, Volcanic Ash, Jan. 2).

It smacks of both ageism and sexism, belaboring the advanced age of the late senator, and the advancing age of U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa — both women, by the way, whose ancestry may have endowed them with long and productive lives.

Who knows? Our governor is getting there, too, but Shapiro didn’t mention his age.

Shapiro seems to think that old age means you’ve become less useful, while youth is the great promise of the future. Not necessarily. History is replete with examples of leaders who grow wiser with the years.

On the other hand, there are young leaders who have initial promise but end up withering on the vine.

Again, who really knows what happens in the unpredictable world of politics?

Belinda A. Aquino
Moiliili

Tourists don’t know where to recycle

My family and I were on Oahu for vacation from Tokyo, Japan. The recycling effort in Japan is strong. This is a stark contrast to our experience in Hawaii. We found recycling not worth it.

Many tourists, like us, find it nearly impossible to recycle, since there are no convenient locations for disposal. I’m all for recycling and find littering in general detestable. However, with no idea on where to redeem items, we were forced to dispose of them with the regular trash, about half the content.

All recyclable items are separated in Japan, as well as in Pittsburgh, where we lived previously.

Hawaii’s problem with the HI-5 program is a fraction of the recycling problem faced by your beautiful islands. I fear that unless a comprehensive recycling program is installed, the natural beauty your state will be forever degraded.

Mark McAllister
Tokyo

Let’s boycott movies that feature violence

As one individual horrified by the countless deaths of our young children throughout America due to guns and high-powered weapons, one way in which each of us can participate in ending this horror is by refusing to go to movies that are violent and glorify killing and slaughter.

I, for one, will not attend movies produced by Hollywood that make killing an enjoyable outcome.Examples include Tom Cruise’s new movie, "Jack Reacher," Arnold Schwarzenegger’s "The Last Stand" and "Django Unchained."

For Hollywood, the only way we as individuals can affect it is through its pocketbook. If we refuse to watchsuch movies, Hollywood will stop producing them and maybe, just maybe, produce storiesthat are uplifting and productive.

Tony Suyetsugu
Sunset Beach

North Shore traffic already untenable

During a 90-minute drive through gridlocked traffic from the first stoplight in Haleiwa to my home in Pupukea late last Sunday, which should take 10-15 minutes, at most, I was wondering if those advocating the massive development of Turtle Bay actually have occasion to commute on the North Shore themselves.

If they do, they could not help but know how misleading and disingenuous are the representations of the impact this development would have on the North Shore’s already untenable traffic.

A prerequisite to any further development here should be mitigation of the existing traffic problems, as well as of the increased traffic such development will surely bring.

In the case of the proposed Turtle Bay expansion, the developers should be required to pay for and complete traffic-mitigation improvements, and show that they are adequate, as a condition of approval of the project. The supplemental environmental impac statement does not adequately address this issue.

Mark Jacobsen
Pupukea

Rename Natatorium and see funding flow

Here’s an idea. Why not rename the Natatorium the "Daniel K. Inouye Natatorium." I bet there’d be funds galore to fix it up then.

Michael O’Hara
Kaneohe