Dear Editor

...Dear Editor Vouchers The exchange on 'Voucheis & Public Education (NL September 6) leaves me saddened and disheartened Many of the responses to Robert Lekachman's article are unreal academic and indeed subversive ot public education Coming from people who occupy leadership roles in education, they just add confusion to the vexing problems ot today's schools Since I have never held an exalted position in government or in a university—being only a teacher for most of mv working life—I daresay my comments will be discounted by the academic elite Teachers do not rate high in the education hierarchy No matter what the problem with our public schools may be the solution university authorities invariably recommend is retraining teachers to promote innovation and experimentation But universities have been training teachers for Years in proposing retraining they acknowledge their own failure Doesn't this cast a shadow on their criticism7 In spite of the myriad obstacles to innovation and experimentation, many teachers pei-form with ingenuity They do not lack ideas so much as the opportunity to put their ideas into practice The school has been a stepchild among public institutions people have always expected much for little Before teachers began to assert themselves, salaries were low, decrepit buildings were not replaced, auxiliary services were legarded as frills" supplies and books were held at a minimum change and accommodation were slow and piecemeal At last, not only teachers but parents—black and white, poor and middle-class—are demanding that children receive a decent education The educationists reply, "Give them vouchers " What a cop-out' Settling for diversity is an escape not a solution, it shifts the issue from education to administration Though voucher supporters sympathize with the needs of the poor, they seem mtent on isolating them from the middle class Unless we believe revolution is the way to end all inequities we had better bridge the gap between classes, not pit one against the other Education should provide the means Christopher Jencks and Judith Areen conclude their arguments for a voucher system by saying 'Whether vouchers would alter anything is hard to know in advance but it seems more likely to do so than simply increasing expenditures " Here the cat is out of the bag Have we ever tried to increase expenditures in amounts sufficient to fulfill the promise of public education ? Volumes can be written about the problems arising in affluent private schools, segregated schools, faddist schools, and parochial schools Is it in these that the voucher system seeks diversity...

...When difference becomes the object-tive of educational reform rather than a fact of life to which the schools must accommodate, society is in deep trouble Voucher proponents assume schools must compete in the open market It is discouraging to see educators turn to free enterprise foi inspiration The aim of business is to make money, that of education is the growth of human beings These cannot be achieved by the same process nor measured by the same yardstick Sister Mary Ramona suggests that only those schools in operation for at least five years under state education regulation should be included in a voucher system Is this breaking new ground7 Where, besides in established parochial schools and a few private schools could parents "shop"1 Much talk about vouchers supports vested interests—religious social, economic, political—rather than education This threatens to further fragment our divided society John Dewey said ' Shared experience is the greatest of human goods " He believed public education gave promise ot such experience Today more than ever, we need a deep commitment to the public school a greater effort and increased means to make it work Peek skill, N Y Rebecca C Simonson Former President Local 2, Amencan Federation of Teachers Simon In pioposing that he replace John Simon as your film critic Deni...

...NOrth Hollywood, Calif DAN BATES...

...Paz concluded, 'I also promise not to be a pompous ass'1—an oath he had already ignored (' Dear Editor" Nl October 4) He found Simon 'boring' and "overly impressed with his own importance but he really should have applied these criticisms to himself since he feels far more qualified as a critic than Simon whose credentials include a PhD m literature several fine film books and positions with some of the better magazines around Simon's reviews are clear enough to me I suggest Paz try reading them next time Who knows—it just might help If Paz were genuinely sincere about not wanting to "insult the intelligence' of his leaders he would have spared us his junk mail Ftankfort, III S A Gould Raoul Coutard's film, Hon Binh, is doing as badly out here as it did, according to John Simon f" Hoa Binh' Means Peace," NL September 20), in New York City It fairly crept into Los Angeles with very little advertising and in what ads there were, no mention of Simon's full-page rave review in the New York Times some weeks ago Hoa Binh was hidden away in a theater at which no film ever did and business to speak of The leading reviewers for both local dailies, the Times and the Herald Examiner damned the movie with very faint praise, calling it "awkward" and I uneven " It probably wont be playing at all by the time you print this I ve been trying to rally support for it among my friends but how much can one person do in the face of such apparently national indifference...