Hey, Danehy: Homeschooling Can Be a Fine Option
It's been many years since I've had to defend homeschooling. In my naiveté, I thought the largely misplaced distrust toward homeschooling was a thing of the past, confined now to message boards full of people who love to anonymously rant for the sake of ranting. However, after reading Tom Danehy's Dec. 9 column, I realize the fight ain't over yet. (Yes, it is too a word!)
His rather vehement dislike of homeschooling led me to read some of his material on the subject in the archives. I really think Danehy needs to be schooled on a few things himself:
• Not all homeschoolers are "right-wingers."
• A child can work hard, be a good citizen and practice politeness and all the other social graces without officially attending school.
• If a school isn't schooling my child, it shouldn't need (or miss) the money that it would have received for his education. However, there are ways. Look into Galena City School District's IDEA program in Alaska, in which both schools and homeschooling families get to dip into the pot.
• We all have gaps in our knowledge, even public-school teachers. We also all have access to the same resources, save one: parental love and commitment to the child.
Not considering alternative options over failing ones is "dumb."
Renee Marrano
I'd Love to Know More About Downtown's Old 'La Calle'
Regarding "Downtown's Demise," Books, Dec. 2: I couldn't disagree with Paul Wine more about La Placita Village.
The oldest downtown structure hides within the colorful La Placita Village. "The Stables" are nestled within. Once, the "stalls" were individual brothels, then horse stables, then more recently business offices. Business cycles rise and fall—something that you don't understand at the Tucson Weekly—and so does occupancy at "The Stables."
However, I would have loved to have seen that old part of town that is now gone. I am a devoted lover of Tucson, Pima County and Southern Arizona. I participated in the 100th anniversary of the gunfight at the OK Corral and enjoy other spectacular local events.
Keeping the homes in the area in a Sonoran flavor would have made sense, but there are tons of such homes still here. Arguing about it now is as useless as debating the Civil War. It's over. Playing victim serves no one.
I arrived in the mid-'70s and have never read a thing about the "historic homes" you claim were in that part of town. So, a challenge: Let's hear from Ernesto Portillo, Lydia Otero and others from the community about the historical value of those places. I am one hungry consumer who is ready to listen, ready to buy and ready to absorb the knowledge.
I was not here in the '60s when the decision was made to drop the buildings in the area. If I had been, I would have helped block the tractors.
Roger Fulton
Comments From Readers at TucsonWeekly.com
Regarding our coverage on The Range, our daily dispatch, of the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry:
I believe everyone wants to stop (these border problems) from happening, but there are differing opinions on what the most important problem is and how to go about stopping it. These deaths are related to drug-smuggling, not the average illegal immigrant looking for work. Unfortunately, most of the efforts to "stop this from happening" are aimed at the latter, not the former. Tax cuts will certainly not finance the efforts needed for this "wall," and politicians don't have the political will to do what it takes to cut the smugglers out of the drug industry.
—bullseye
I have been volunteering on that border for 5 1/2 years now; I average about 50 to 60 days a year in Arizona coming from Long Island, N.Y. Border Patrol intelligence informed us of Mexican illegals organized into "rip off teams" out of Phoenix that comb the desert to steal human- and drug-smuggling loads and will kill anyone they run into. Law enforcement officers have told us to shoot these rip teams before they shoot us. ... This is how bad it is. It has nothing to do with tax cuts or some poor slob looking for a job. It has to do with politicians from both parties not having a set of balls to send the troops down to the border and stop this crap.
—Minuteman1
Thank you, Minuteman1, for doing the job the government refuses to do!
I always knew that if Mexicans got a hold of this country by the millions, we Americans would be in great trouble! Their country is and was always a mess, because their culture is a damn mess! ... They brag about voting in our U.S. elections and brag about taking over the U.S. without firing a shot. Mexico is a scourge on the U.S. Killing our border agents is nothing to them.
—PortTobacco
PortTabacco: "Thank you, Minuteman1, for doing the job the government refuses to do!"
Thanking the Minutemen for doing the job that the government won't do? Are you folks going stark raving nuts? Just what do you think Agent Terry was doing? Try: HIS JOB FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. A bunch of opportunistic wing nuts are trying to cash in on an American hero's death. ... It's a very sad and pathetic bunch commenting here. How about honoring a man who gave his life to his nation instead of the usual B.S.?
—JoelFriday
