LETTERS

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCHOOL

"Why should Johnny bother to read when the vast majority of teachers and parents prefer football games to science fairs?" NATASHA X. JACOBS Bloomington, Ind.

All too often the learning experience for students [SPECIAL REPORT, Oct. 27] is characterized by teachers talking and by students taking notes and endlessly memorizing facts. This approach simply bores students. The schools that will be recognized as institutions of excellence are the ones that directly engage students in the learning process through strong reliance on class discussion, cooperative student projects, community-based learning, meaningful field trips and guest lecturers. RICHARD PARKER, Executive Director Partners in Education Eureka Springs, Ark.

Your articles on schools and how to teach our children were excellent. It was evident that the writers had been in the field, where the action is. But to an old-timer in public education, much of the material could have been describing the circumstances of 30 years ago. The only major changes in public education in the second half of the century have been demographic in nature. The national debate over methods of instruction in reading continues unabated. Sometime back, a savvy old primary teacher summed it up; she said the only thing new in education is Scotch tape. DANIEL A. WELCH Retired School Administrator Rochester Hills, Mich.

Technology does not play an important role in education. It has never been a necessary aid in teaching children. And while technologically advanced equipment may make it easier for teachers, school is not exactly for entertainment. Computers are significant to those who are interested in them, but the World Wide Web has nothing to teach people that a book cannot. As a student, I know that the most important thing to learn is how to teach yourself. Everything else, computers included, is just a detail. PATRICK GIBSON Shorewood, Wis.

If there were one "right" way to teach reading, there would be no illiteracy and every child would be reading at grade level. It takes an experienced teacher using sound pedagogy to teach a child to read. To support phonics instruction and make the advocates of "whole language" the whipping boy does a disservice to our schools and teachers. Teaching reading is a complex process. Pitting one method of instruction against another is confusing and only raises the anxiety level of already concerned parents and teachers. CONSTANCE G. KEAN Pebble Beach, Calif.

I was distressed by "Where Does The Money Go?" Baltimore's public schools admittedly have overwhelming problems and a record of achievement that is less than satisfactory when compared with schools in mostly suburban communities. However, Baltimore's schools have many similarities to other urban schools--problems such as poverty, shortages of resources, aging facilities and competition for staff. You should have included the many examples of excellence found throughout the system. The 1997-98 school year is a fresh era for Baltimore. The new city-and-state partnership and the infusion of some added monies will permit us to initiate reforms. Our school system is moving forward with new ideas and programs. I hope you will watch, and will be ready to report our successes. SHEILA Z. KOLMAN, President Public School Administrators and Supervisors Association Baltimore, Md.

A LOOK AT NURSING HOMES

Your investigative report made such broad statements about poor treatment of patients that all nursing homes in America have become suspect [NATION, Oct. 27]. I can truthfully say more nursing homes are well run, caring and of a high-quality caliber than are not. Believe me, the employees are not paid well for their hard work. Yet most of us are dedicated to maintaining a healthy, safe and stimulating environment for the elderly. Our rewards come from making a difference in their lives. LAURIE M. DIEKEMPER, Administrator Park Terrace Resident Center Florissant, Mo.

I have worked for more than four years in nursing homes. On a daily basis, the nursing assistants are put under tremendous pressure, including physical, verbal, emotional and mental abuse by patients, co-workers and administrators. How can a job that requires taking responsibility for another's life pay only the minimum wage? The work all too often goes unappreciated, and many places are short of staff. But there is no excuse for patient neglect. Improving both sides of this equation is a challenge that we must all resolve to meet. JENNIFER GLEVA, Student Nurse Quakertown, Pa.

On behalf of nursing facilities across the country, I assure you that the long-term health-care community strives to provide the highest-quality care in a safe and secure environment. America's nursing homes are intensively reviewed by more than 4,000 surveyors, who visit nursing facilities unannounced. Last year those surveys showed that out of 12,855 facilities examined, only 96, or 0.7%, were providing care that posed immediate and serious jeopardy to residents. "Substandard" care, even though not life-threatening, was seen in fewer than 5%. We can never condone isolated cases of neglect, but we are proud that the vast majority of us, day in and day out, fulfill our responsibility to America's most vulnerable people. PAUL R. WILLGING Executive Vice President American Health Care Association Washington

Despite the multitude of state and federal regulations in the nursing-home industry, such rules by themselves do not guarantee quality care. Only highly motivated and educated health-care professionals and administrators can do that. And families must take an active and ongoing role in visiting (and thus monitoring) their loved ones in nursing homes. Our organization believes it is critical to encourage more doctors to be the attending physician of record for their patients after admission to a nursing home, rather than turn such care over to the "house doctor." Perhaps your report will serve as a trigger for politicians and the communities they represent to finally realize that providing quality care and dignity near the end of a person's life is as important and challenging as providing them at the beginning. ANDREW D. WEINBERG, M.D. American Geriatrics Society New York City

When I get to my golden years and am frail, senile and dependent, I would rather be a victim of a fatal, random act of violence than admitted to a "nursing" home to await a slow, lonely, torturous death. Growing old is scary! JULIE FERREIRA Marlboro, Mass

I was taken aback by the one-sided nature of your article on nursing homes. No doubt thousands of caring, hard-working, underpaid staff members were humiliated by this piece. You failed to take into account the homes' heavy regulatory burdens, the fairness issue with fines and recent research indicating that nursing- home quality is improving. You should have emphasized that there are approximately 15,000 nursing homes other than those of the troubling Creekside variety. RICHARD L. PECK, Editor Nursing Homes Magazine Cleveland, Ohio

You described many problems at a Vacaville, Calif., facility called Creekside, which has now changed its name to the Vacaville Rehabilitation and Care Center. Because our facility is in California and bears the name Creekside Convalescent Hospital, we are worried people will confuse us with the home you wrote about. We are in no way related to the former Creekside facility in Vacaville. GEORGIA OTTERSON, Administrator Creekside Convalescent Hospital Santa Rosa, Calif.

MR. JIANG GOES TO WASHINGTON

Does China's president, Jiang Zemin, truly believe China freed Tibet from slavery, as he claims in his interview with Time [WORLD, Oct. 27]? And should the murder of 1.2 million Tibetans be known as the emancipation of Tibet? No Tibetan was a slave to Buddhism when the Dalai Lama governed Tibet, but the Tibetans remaining in their native land are surely slaves to China. TASHI GYALTSEN Calgary

American citizens from Taiwan want to protect it from any possible threat of invasion and takeover from China. That country is much bigger in size and population, but Taiwan is more advanced in economics and democracy. The two countries share the same language, character and culture. What is different is the political system. China must improve its human-rights record. It must democratize. Its people should have the right to free speech. JOHN HSIEH Newark, Calif.

China is a country of tremendous growth and opportunity, but people should be made aware of the cruel realities of doing business there. Small- and medium-size enterprises have had success, but joint ventures with Chinese companies often turn out to be nightmares of embezzled funds and false documents. Complaints can be brushed aside and injunctions ignored. Seeking remedy through the courts can produce no relief. Jiang can say China has improved the business climate, but many American firms have suffered at the hands of powerful quasi-state enterprises. I hope China's President will transform rhetoric into practical, good-faith solutions that guarantee an equal arena for China's foreign-trade partners. CANDACE CHEN, President Power Clean 2000, Inc. Los Angeles

MAKE A RESERVATION AT MURRAY'S

We were so pleased to see Garrison Keillor's fabulous piece on Murray's restaurant in Minneapolis, Minn. [ESSAY, Oct. 13], which referred to our magic and elegance. Unfortunately, the blurb on Time's index page indicated that Keillor was writing about a "landmark restaurant closing." Though we are a landmark restaurant, we certainly are not closing, nor did Keillor's Essay say so. Please let your readers know we are open and intend to stay in business for at least another 50 years. Come visit us! LINDA LINDQUIST, Marketing Manager Murray's Minneapolis, Minn.

NAROPA IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Your article on the new popularity of Buddhism in America [RELIGION, Oct. 13] referred to our school, a private, nonprofit, liberal-arts college, as having been at the forefront of teaching Eastern spiritual and Western intellectual cultures. We were thrilled to be included, but as much as we value our proximity to Denver, the institute is in fact located in Boulder, Colo., and received its accreditation in 1986, not 1996. LISA TRANK Manager, Public Relations Naropa Institute Boulder, Colo.

THE SIEGE IN ILLINOIS

Notwithstanding the tear gas and bean-bag-like projectiles, I am not amazed by the actions in Roby, Ill., where state troopers have Shirley Allen under siege [AMERICAN SCENE, Oct. 27] for resisting a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. It seems there is no right to privacy or constitutional safeguard when others decide you are not conforming to an accepted method of living. Hence we have the rule of the masses in the guise of what is right and moral. When there is no longer room in a society for individuality or eccentricity, then we shall lose our greatest resource. EUGENE A. LOJEWSKI Naples, Fla.

Leave Shirley Allen alone. she has a right to be different. THOMAS GREENING, Clinical Psychologist Los Angeles

NOW AND THE PROMISE KEEPERS

Several of the readers who wrote you about the Promise Keepers story drew the faulty conclusion that the all-male group was similar to the National Organization for Women. In your box summarizing readers' reactions [LETTERS, Oct. 27], reader John Strade simplified the male group by calling it a national organization for men and responding to NOW's criticism of it by rhetorically asking "Am I missing something?" Yes, John, you are. NOW comprises both men and women working to achieve social and economic equity for women. The Promise Keepers believe the way to a happy home is through a wife's submission to her husband's authority. NOW works to share power. The Promise Keepers work to hoard it. Big difference. JENNIFER COBURN San Diego

Over the years in which we have been monitoring the Promise Keepers, we have spoken to thousands of people across the U.S., including wives of its members who are terribly concerned about this dangerous movement. NOW should be commended for doing its duty and raising the alarm about a well-financed national organization of angry white males who promise they will get into line as long as women agree to submit to them. Promise Keeper members are not Boy Scouts but Fundamentalist wolves in sheep's clothing. LEE COKORINOS, Editor Promise Keepers Watch Center for Democracy Studies New York City

A 100-YEAR-OLD MOM?

Re your report on a new procedure that may offer women the ability to freeze their eggs, thus lengthening their reproductive years [MEDICINE, Oct. 27]: the prospect of helping unfertilized human eggs transcend time raises the specter of babies born of mothers long deceased. Should a woman's death be accompanied by the destruction of her eggs? Or should the eggs of a particularly admired woman be allowed to reproduce ex post facto? Once again, science is so far ahead of the law that ethicists can only watch in wonder as the techno-train flies by. Disembodied eggs need living wills too! PETER HUMPHREY Washington

Years ago, before the wonders of modern science increased our life-span, a woman was barefoot and pregnant for many years, sometimes until she died. Now, thanks to new technology, a woman can once again be barefoot and pregnant until she dies. Progress? BARBARA TRINCA Bloomfield, N.J.

JANE FONDA IS BACK!

Margaret Carlson's report on Jane Fonda's new campaign to reduce teen pregnancy [WASHINGTON DIARY, Oct. 27] brought a smile to my face. I had the good fortune of working with Fonda on her last four award-winning workout videos. Fonda spoke with me on the set about her passion to work on the issue of teenage pregnancy. Here is a woman who is powerful, famous and rich enough to sit back and do nothing. Instead, she chooses to help others. She might wear out, but she sure won't rust out. I say, "Go, Jane, go!" JAY BLAHNIK Laguna Beach, Calif.

Why doesn't Jane lead by example? She should work side by side with others in the community, without fanfare or thanks. Being on Good Morning America isn't the solution. Jane, roll up your sleeves, keep your mouth closed and work hard. Make a donation if you like; deduct it from your income tax if you can. Don't make a federal case of it. KEN KELLER Valencia, Calif.