Letters

Home Sweet School

Home schooling's real threat to public schools is not the money [SOCIETY, Aug. 27]. No matter how you shift the dollars around, the bottom line in education funding is this: every child educated at home saves taxpayers money. Home schooling's real threat is in making clear that public schools--and the teachers, administrators and government officials who run them--are less successful in educating children than average parents with no special training or certification. LAURA DERRICK Austin, Texas

Stop putting teachers down! In the schools I have taught in, teachers work very hard to provide a quality education for all students. Along with their subject area, they have to teach character, morals and basic hygiene; deal with disruptive students; and tackle numerous other tasks. Schools have become the place where a child is not only educated but also raised. Teachers can't do everything. Schools should be the place to send your child to learn, not to be raised. REBECCA M. GILLESPIE Elkhart, Kans.

When people take their kids out of public schools, they essentially give up that ground to whomever wants to stay in it and dominate the education field. Without the participation of the most promising students and their parents, the educational system is likely to be at best dull and at worst oppressive. RANDALL H. COOK Durham, N.C.

Any trend that serves as a catalyst to improve our school systems should be revered and emulated. Loving parents do not sacrifice their own children's future for a stab in the dark at improving an overly bureaucratic public school system. We have chosen to home school in order to provide our children with a superior academic experience that is provided in a morally protected atmosphere. As Mark Twain said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." HENRY AND SONNYA VARENHORST Smithfield, R.I.

Unlike the majority of her public school peers, my home-schooled daughter knows what century the Civil War was fought in and where Vietnam is on the map. Her public school friends may know how many slaves Jefferson and Washington owned, but my daughter understands the revolutionary ideas--limiting government powers, assertion of individual freedom and natural rights--that these men fought for. H. JACK FEDER Austin, Texas

Home schooling doesn't threaten public education. Public schools threaten public education. CYNTHIA STEINWEDEL Peoria, Ill.

If public school students had the same parental drive behind them that home schoolers do, public schoolers' achievements would jump. Bottom line: it's a parent problem. ROBERT SIMPSON Indianapolis, Ind.

What home-schooled students learn is that you can withdraw from the community if it is convenient and check back in when you want. If all parents had the necessary resources and educational background, then home schooling might approach the equality-of-opportunity standard that characterizes our nation. It fails that simple test, and the smug, self-righteous superiority of home schoolers is not the stuff that makes a great people, regardless of the test scores. Get out in the community, and work to make your public schools better! Your attitude is intolerant and mean-spirited. LON C. THOMAS JR. High Point, N.C.

In a home-schooling setting, students miss out on experiencing the diversity of teaching and learning styles they would normally encounter in a public school. Every teacher has something different to offer, and the exposure to varying points of view is a critical element in the development of tolerance. Knowledge is not a commodity to be traded between expert and novice. Rather, it is a construction of ideas negotiated by the learner in a social setting. ROSAMAR GARCIA Vancouver

--What separates childhood from adulthood? Many of you thought home schoolers weren't missing out on childhood if they ended up being more patient, less competitive and combative, and more likely to introduce themselves than public school students. "How do rudeness and fighting allow kids to be kids?" asked a confounded mom. A woman from Alabama asserted, "Being a child does not mean you have to be childish." "I prefer polite, respectful behavior over the taunting and bullying that pervade public schools," agreed a North Carolinian. A 16-year-old Minnesotan attested, "We home-schooled children have time for imaginative, unstructured play and the freedom to be innocent. I wonder, How does this make for less of a childhood?"

Fire over Indonesia

The coverage of Megawati Sukarnoputri's new role as Indonesia's President [WORLD, Aug. 6] barely hinted at one of the most pressing challenges she faces. Indonesia's forests, perhaps the most biologically rich in the world, are under assault as never before. Between 1985 and 1997, the country lost nearly 50 million acres of forest. In the 3 1/2 years since, an additional 12 million acres or more may have been lost. The biological, social and economic implications are incalculable. As one of her first actions, Megawati can show wisdom and vision by ending the onslaught on Indonesia's forests. KIRK TALBOTT, VICE PRESIDENT Asia Pacific Division Conservation International Washington

Rape Charges in Okinawa

I just finished reading your story on servicemen in Okinawa and the rape case involving a male African-American Air Force staff sergeant and a young Japanese woman [WORLD, Aug. 27]. Thank you for a balanced article. I am a former Marine, and was stationed on Okinawa in 1996-97. The shock and shame from the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen were still reverberating then. All the same, I am sick and tired of articles that portray our military men as violent and the Okinawan women as innocent schoolgirls. Ninety-nine percent of the servicemen are good kids trying to serve their country far from home. JENNY WATSON Stafford, Va.

I agree that there are biased public views on crimes by U.S. servicemen, especially among Okinawans. But what led you to conclude that if the defendant in this rape case were a Japanese man, he might never have been indicted? There are lots of factors that we may not know at this stage. It is an oversimplification to make that comment. CHIEKO INADA Kochi City, Japan

The servicemen and -women who frequent the clubs in Okinawa act the way they do because of what they see on the Generation X TV they watch. The solution is for the U.S. government to offer a training program that provides a better understanding of Japanese culture and language. Beyond that, anyone who commits rape should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. At the same time, anyone who falsely accuses someone of rape should suffer the same fate as a convicted rapist. Then people would think twice about making such charges. RAY FERNANDEZ Okinawa

I am unhappy at the shamelessness of Americans today. Is it O.K. for an American soldier to rape a woman if the place is the parking lot of a bar? Is it O.K. for an American soldier to rape a woman if she is drunk? Is it O.K. for an American soldier to rape a girl if she is a kokujo [a woman who likes black men]? Is it O.K. for an American soldier to rape a woman if he is black? The time, the place, the situation, the woman and the race--none of these can be excuses for rape. NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST Kawasaki City, Japan

Of Digging and Denial

The Israeli researchers' downplaying of the importance of mysterious bones found at Qumran near the Dead Sea [SCIENCE, Aug. 6] is reminiscent of the Vatican's dismissive reaction to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices, a set of significant scrolls found before the Dead Sea Scrolls. By rejecting the idea that the bones might be those of Jesus, the Israeli experts may be seeking to protect prevailing religious doctrines. Indeed, your article closes with the sentence "To keep on the right side of the rabbis, the Israeli archaeologists say they have already reburied the bones." I would add that their heads would also fit nicely into the surrounding sand. It is perhaps a small victory that we see the different faiths cooperating on at least one front--their absolute refusal to look at any information that would shed light on the days of Jesus. CARL BACHELLIER Waterdown, Ont.

That Face in the Mirror!

Garrison Keillor's essay about his emotions as he slowly recovered from major surgery [ESSAY, Aug. 13] still has me chuckling. It was right on the mark. I had a similar experience in January, when my heart's plumbing was altered and doctors and nurses looked after me for a week. As Keillor said, a day's work for them, a revelation of human kindness for me. After three days, I was feeling fine and was as flirtatious as any 62-year-old man could be under the same circumstances--that is, until I looked in the mirror the first day they let me wobble to the bathroom and saw a vision of my own grandfather there. Talk about shrinking your libidinous urge! BRUCE GORDON Nanaimo, B.C.

Africa's Endangered Art

Your story on the plundering of our rich African heritage [ARTS, July 30] vividly highlighted the great damage done to our histories. Through the slave trade, colonialism and related humiliations, Africa has been raped over the ages by other countries, particularly the European nations. That is why most of her children see nothing of her dignity and glory to protect; they will sell something off if there's a buyer. However, the sin lies at the rapists' door. As long as Africa's riches are coveted elsewhere, they will continue to be carted away. TEMITOPE O. OYETOMI Akure, Nigeria

Thank you, TIME, for publicizing an important issue to a largely unaware and indifferent public. Now that African art and culture are coming into their own, we Africans ought to realize who we are and solidify our standing in a world that is dominated by Western civilization and thought. It is a pity that this treasure trove is being plundered by its own keepers. While it is sad, how can we really blame poverty-stricken subsistence farmers in an oil-rich economy for plundering the earth if Nigerian leaders leave a legacy of thoughtless actions? EDOZIE N. UMEH Lagos

I used to live a five-minute stroll from London's British Museum. Sadly, there are far more examples of Nigeria's art heritage there than here in the country itself. Your report was a welcome focus on the colonial looting that is still going on today. DAVID TOMLINSON Kaduna, Nigeria

Critics on the Web

While I appreciate the prominent mention of my website, the Flick Filosopher, in your article about reviewers whose critiques appear online [CULTURE, Aug. 27], I am sorry that you questioned my integrity as a film critic without giving me the opportunity to respond. One of the joys of producing a labor-of-love site like mine is that I do not have an editor or a publisher pressuring me to give a film a good review. The editorial freedom I have allows me to blast any and all films that deserve it--something I have to do with alarming frequency. Yes, I write screenplays. Yes, I would love to see one produced someday. But lying to myself and my readers in order to ingratiate myself with the studios is not a price I'm willing to pay. MARYANN JOHANSON New York City

Dressing Way Down

Kudos to Joel Stein for "confusing" badly dressed rich women with prostitutes [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 27]. As a woman, I am embarrassed by the sheer vulgarity of certain "modern" females who wear their sexuality on their sleeve. It makes it difficult to be a serene, self-respecting American lady when so many of my countrywomen insist on dressing like women of the night. I'm not sure why they want to look cheap. DIANA COOPER Kentfield, Calif.

In the '40s there were tacky parties. We would rifle our mothers' closets trying to find some weird, mismatched outfit to wear. But our moms were never trashy enough to produce anything as outlandish as the so-called haute fashion of this enlightened age. Thanks, Joel, for saying what we old broads think. PEGGY PONDER-PERRON San Antonio, Texas

Arguing Assassination

Thank you, Charles Krauthammer, for your commentary "In Defense of 'Assassination,'" supporting Israel's targeted response to Palestinian bombers [VIEWPOINT, Aug. 27]. Israel is responding as the U.S. would to stave off the wave of indiscriminate acts by Palestinian suicide bombers, who are not martyrs but murderers. The only reason Israel is negotiating is that it wants peace. RON GALLOP New York City

Assassination is a terrific idea. And from the Palestinian point of view, getting rid of that warmonger Ariel Sharon could only be a blessing. Oh, and the Pope's anti-birth control stand is just a little much, don't you think? Or maybe we should just sit down and try to work out our differences. That is what Krauthammer should be writing about. JAMES MILLS Hanover, N.H.

Five Decades of Hits

Now that the Isley Brothers have once again made the Billboard Top 200 chart, you tell us that it's "time to forgive" them for their party anthem Shout [PEOPLE, Aug. 27]. Is forgiveness required for the sin of producing one of the most justifiably popular, ebullient and long-lived hits of the '60s? Should we forgive Beethoven for his Ode to Joy? SALLY FRENKEL New York City

Correction

In the article on Al Gore's return to public life [NATION, Aug. 27], we referred to Andrew Jackson's winning the popular vote in 1828 but losing the election. Jackson won the 1828 election. The reference should have been to the 1824 election, in which Jackson won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College to John Quincy Adams.