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Calendar isn't the reason for success of students

Re: Let's move school start back toward Labor Day, letter, Nov. 1.

There was a letter urging Pinellas County to change the school year to get in synch with the rest of the country.

I checked some other states just to see how far off Florida is from those other school calendars. Many of the states' individual school districts start at various times. Alabama starts on Aug. 8; Nevada, Aug. 16; Washington, Sept. 7; Utah, Aug. 24; Colorado, Aug. 16; Illinois, Aug. 22. This is only a partial list, and as you can tell, there isn't any standard start date for school districts.

The letter writer also urged the elimination of professional service days for teachers. These are days when teachers attend educational sessions to become better teachers. The U.S. Department of Education published a report for the 2003 school year that spoke to the percentage of classes being taught by highly qualified (in the subject matter) teachers. Florida achieved a 91.1 percent rating, better than 34 other states, including Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Virginia.

Before urging a change, try to do a little research so the argument can have some basis of merit. Just because this is the way it was done in your day, state, country or whatever doesn't make it right.

By the way, I was born and educated in Massachusetts, and my sons received their education in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina and Florida. The teachers and parents are the reason for a student's success, not the school calendar.

Children need to know how to cross the street safely

While driving south on Alt. U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor, I was stopped three cars behind a school bus that had stopped to pick up children. All the children were on the east side of the street and had to cross to the west to board the bus.

Now this is just a two-lane highway, but as I watched the children, not one child looked to see if the cars had stopped. They all just looked ahead to the bus and crossed the street. Parents, it is never too early to teach your children to look before they cross a street.

Tax collector shouldn't require her name on checks

I wrote a check today to "Diane Nelson, Tax Collector." As I have in the past, I wondered why it wasn't simply payable to "Pinellas County Tax Collector." I think having to include her name shows a certain degree of arrogance.

I don't know anything about Ms. Nelson except that she hasn't offered a way to pay taxes electronically except by using a third-party vendor that assesses a 2.65 percent "convenience" fee. Even the IRS can receive payments electronically with no charge and no hassle. If you choose to pay them by check, you write it to "United States Treasury," not "Anna Escobedo Cabral, Treasurer of the United States," or - ugh - "George W. Bush, POTUS (President of the United States)."

I guess Ms. Nelson thinks name recognition will help her get re-elected. Well, name recognition is a double-edged sword. The next time I see Ms. Nelson's name on the ballot, it will remind me to consider voting for someone else.

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:17:13]