Letters, Aug. 17

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2023 (1142 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In defence of cursive

Re: Cursive, foiled again (Editorial, Aug. 12)

I am writing in support of teaching cursive writing in schools. I have been an educator for 26 years during a time when cursive writing was taught in schools. I have seen firsthand the benefits of cursive writing in both motor and cognitive development as research shows. We do need to keep up with new trends in education to adapt to an ever-changing world but let us not give up the tried and true methods that work.

Josie Landry

Winnipeg

 

Cursive and good riddance

Your editorial was spot on. Going back in time to cursive writing in order to improve our education system is not the answer. There are much better ideas such as hiring more teachers or educational assistants and reducing class sizes, particularly in the early years.

Or, providing breakfast/lunch/after-school programs in schools where the socio-economic needs are highest and having daycares available in high schools. We should also invest more in technology, arts and athletics.

Perhaps then, our educational system would be better equipped to prepare our youth to face the challenges of our complex world.

Slavo Federkevic

Winnipeg

 

Cool it on the road

What a fortunate group we Winnipegers are! So many tragedies in the world and yet we continue to moan about the streets.

For four months of the year it is wailing and screeching about potholes and why is nothing being done about them. Then six months is wailing and screeching about all the road work that is being done (to fix those potholes) and the inconvenience of that. It is ironic and occasionally rather funny, but when it gets viciousness against the workers, it is way out of line.

I understand the fury, although mine is directed against the other drivers who see it as their right to cut into lines wherever they would like (but definitely not at the end apparently or to follow proper zipper merge protocol).

Suggestions welcomed on how to soothe the savage driving beast that lurks inside of each of us… Certainly radio stations need to pick their music carefully. Maybe some zipper merge training. Maybe travelling to other countries where you can see what a real pothole looks like. Maybe reframing potholes into speed bumps. Maybe a chance to Bluetooth talk to people.

I don’t know what will work to soothe the savage beast but it sure points out how privileged we are to fuss about work not being done and then work being done.

Val Kellberg

Winnipeg

 

Sympathetic parties

Small business owners and operators have my sympathy regarding the consequences to them, of the strike action by the MLL employees.

Their financial losses are very apparent to anyone paying attention.

There are other financial losses as well, but not so much presented by the media. People, the ones actually walking the picket line. Media are quick to fairly enough present business owners’ concerns and losses. Where is the financial impact on striking individuals presented?

A long strike action certainly could cause a business to close, and as well, a home to be foreclosed. Being on strike hurts everyone, and not just financially. The province (taxpayer) as well is suffering from the lost income this Crown corporation generates. As another writer pointed out, this is a contract dispute, not a labour dispute.

Bob Haegeman

St-Pierre-Jolys

 

Clean air not a partisan issue

As the wildfire smoke choking so many parts of the rest of the country, continent, and world descends upon our own city, it is worth remembering that breathable air is a non-partisan issue. If you have lungs, please email, write, or call each candidate in your riding and ask them to share their party’s plans to address climate change.

Every party should have a clear, detailed, and visionary plan for transformative changes to address the challenges which are experienced everywhere but which must be dealt with locally. Any minimization of the need to make significant efforts to address climate change is dangerously irresponsible. Refuse to accept political rhetoric, evasive generalizations, or self-serving excuses as answers.

Demand that candidates for leadership have real ideas for actual solutions to serious problems.

Pauline Ripat

Winnipeg

 

Consider a red light

Re: Province installs safety feature at scene of devastating June highway crash near Carberry (Aug. 15)

The simplest answer for safety reasons is to install a controlled intersection. I know it is a major highway but it is a well-used and important intersection with another highway (not a provincial road) so I think that would be the best option for it.

The Perimeter has some, Deacon’s Corner has one, Bird’s Hill Road has one, going into Brandon has some and I can list more. Why not there? Make it controlled with warning lights to slow down prior and make it motion activate vs timed.

I’ve driven that intersection well before the crash, I didn’t feel unsafe but was hesitant to turn south from my westbound lane.

Jillian Ainge

Winnipeg

 

Golden age not so shiny

Re: Bring back political joy (Think Tank, Aug. 15)

John Wiens’ paean to Athenian democracy ignores slavery’s place in operating that democracy.

The Athenian state, per se, owned a class of slaves called “dēmosioi.” These highly skilled slaves were a precursor to what we would now characterize as the middle and senior ranks of the civil service. Despite receiving incomes, and owning property, they were, nonetheless, slaves. But that’s not where the “oops!” moments end.

Dubious historical precedents are inherent in “golden age” mythology — a belief that, by reprising a largely confabulated prior era, we could set the ship of state on a proper course. Dream on! Politics has always resembled a blood sport, and it always will. Consider one line from a description of Canada’s House of Commons, “The distance across the floor of the House between the government and opposition benches is 3.96 metres, said to be equivalent to two swords’ length.” While physical confrontations are impermissible, other types are inevitable. Realistically, the only issue is the extent of those confrontations.

Equally realistically, only an informed public can defend against inevitable political chicanery. Reliable sources of information are an essential part of that defence. Therein, the Free Press certainly deserves praise for its “Free Press 101” online learning tool. Since John Wiens and I are both retired schoolmarms, I’m sure he would join me in encouraging all teachers to incorporate such resources in fostering an informed public.

Edward Keith Bricknell

Toronto, Ont.