I Answer the NEA’s Mail

Taken from the new issue of NEA Today:

Wow. An interview with Angelina Jolie. What’s next? Paris? Britney? If I want to read about Angelina Jolie, there are plenty of tabloids from which to choose.

Cheryl Peach
Puyallup, Washington

Ms. Peach,

The Allman Brother’s album “Eat a Peach” was classic. Classic, I tell you! And we should interview Britney; she’s a classic case of the old education research adage, “If you can’t be a success story, be a case study.”

I have to agree with Keith Parker. By the time a student takes a class at the university level, the lack of basic training really shows up. By this time, the basics should be anchored in cement. You don’t climb the mountain before you climb the molehill, and you don’t drive a car until you have had driver training.

Ila Oaks
Kalispell, Montana

Ms. Oaks,

Why are you climbing molehills? I usually just step over the damned things. How big are the moles in Montana?!? Please write back, as all of us here at the offices are very concerned about giant moles tunneling over. We’ve just recently seen the movie Tremors, and Reg isn’t sleeping well any more.

In our district, we use Wikipedia as background information only. The only problem is that our own NEA educators aren’t aware that it isn’t an appropriate source for research. It is merely an organized, interesting, widely used, informative blog.

Paige Jaeger
Glens Falls, New York

Ms. Paige,

Just so we’re clear on this, it’s “organized, interesting, and informative”, yet it’s not appropriate for research? For pity’s sake, why not? If they’re using it as a gateway to find other information, and certainly fact checking those things that seem unreliable, then what’s the problem? Plus, the discussion pages on Wikipedia are excellent for ferreting out the erroneous information.

I think you’d be far better served to teach your kids how to use the tool, instead of discarding the tool out of hand.

Your friend,

The Rain