Stop coddling DC Occupiers’ illegal encampments Re: “Eradicating rats may require removing Occupy tents,” Jan. 11
Since when does the “right to free assembly” give DC Occupiers the right to camp indefinitely in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, both national parks, and harm local commerce? Their usurpation has restricted me and every other American citizen from enjoying those public places.Occupiers’ lack of respect for themselves and others’ property has now attracted vermin, degrading the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
Surely park rules prohibit open fires and/or cooking. If the federal government would just enforce the rules, the occupiers would not be so comfortable. Stop coddling them! One of the reasons they are protesting in the first place is that they haven’t learned to fend for themselves and think they have a right to free “stuff”.
I’m all for peaceable, respectful protests, but clean up your trash and don’t impede access to our parks.
Jeff Underwood
Columbia, Md.
Pay only thing better about government employees
Re: “Highly trained federal work force has no comparison,” From Readers, Jan. 10
Bill Spruce typifies the arrogance often demonstrated by government employees everywhere who feel superior to civilians because “the federal work force does not generally include all of the same low-wage occupations. …”
However, this is not the same as saying the federal work force does not have some of the same low-wage occupations; they just get paid more for performing the same functions.
As a contractor, I saw just as many thumb-twiddling, wall-supporting, game-playing government employees as I did in civil work. The aura of superiority comes from the realization that as a government employee, it virtually takes an act of Congress to get fired for poor performance, a luxury not enjoyed by those in the civilian sector. Not to mention terrific benefits for which government workers pay little, if anything.
Ben Arnold
Centreville
Don’t blame teachers for lack of student progress
Re: “No more automatic teacher pay raises,” Local Editorial, Jan. 4
The Washington Examiner is an outstanding paper. However, your unsigned editorial on Fairfax County teachers was atrocious, unprofessional and demagogic. It begins by citing a survey that says that teachers are motivated by raises, but then sinks to nonsense.
Teachers in my family have master’s degrees, more than 10 years of experience, take on extra duties, and put up with the criticism of the uninformed. For this, they earn about $60,000. Federal employees and others with similar backgrounds make twice as much.
Teachers stay because they love the kids. The main failing of the editorial is to blame the slow progress on teachers. I believe in standards, but the Standards of Learning are killing the learning process. Bureaucrats have added new topics like economics and advanced statistics to overcrowded curricula while eliminating basics like multiplication facts.
But the editorial’s main transgression is its failure to mention the social ills facing Fairfax teachers. For children to learn, they must have parents who push them to study and do homework. In many cases, that is sadly lacking. I have volunteered in classrooms where the majority were non-native speakers, including a recent experience with a new student who spoke no English at all.
Look for cuts in the bureaucracies. Deal with the growingsocial problems of the county. But put away the knives when it comes to teachers.
Thomas J. Fields Jr.
Springfield
