Improving Public Education
Your article ("The New Face of Segregation", Dec. 2002) notes some of the transitions underway at George Watts Elementary School and some of the promising collaborations with the Trinity Park neighborhood. Although the third-grade students did very poorly last year, as you correctly cited, the overall performance at Watts was much higher. More than 60 percent of the student body tested at or above grade level in reading and math. In the last five years, student achievement has improved more than 50 percent--a major accomplishment resulting from higher expectations, greater parental involvement, more student motivation, focused teaching and strong leadership.
I expect to see these positive trends continue. Duke has supported Watts in many ways--including scores of tutors, visiting artists, support for the construction of an amphitheater and a major upgrade in their computer technology--and will continue to do this. We welcome assistance from anyone in the Duke community who would like to help close the achievement gap at Watts.
David Stein
Education Partnership Coordinator
Office of Community Affairs
What if Duke prepared more students to eschew the dubious world of "business ethics" and take on the blessed and messy work of teaching at a school like Watts? Or, perhaps we could start by training the Tri-Delts and Sig-Eps to respond like Carolyn Kreuger, meeting the challenge of helping a public school rather than fleeing to a private one.
Amy Laura Hall
Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics
Duke Divinity School
Recycling: Worth the Cost
Your article ("Rethinking Recycling", Oct. 2002) points out that the University cannot afford recycling without volunteer support. This reflects a dollars and cents argument that is indefensible for a university of Duke's stature.
The consensus from both our own National Academy of Sciences and the rest of the world is that, for purely selfish reasons, we should maintain open space and reduce waste and carbon-based emissions.
Therefore, demanding that recycling remain "cost-effective", as New York City and Duke appear to do, shows an unwillingness to participate in improving our global climate.
My hat is off to the volunteers of Duke Recycles! My donation to the University is on hold until it dedicates itself to this issue, one as important as any in its mission statement.
Dr. Erich Bachman
Cambridge, Ma.
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