FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 18, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
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Here’s a real history lesson from the Ridgewood Times archives. That’s former Borough President Claire Shulman reading to a class of
fourth-graders at P.S. 88 in Ridgewood in February 1990. Shulman, of course, made numerous visits to Queens public schools during her
tenure as borough president, from 1986 until 2001. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com (subject: A Look
Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be
carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
THINK BEFORE YOU
SPEAK, PRESIDENT TRUMP
President Trump needs to carefully
choose his words when giving his
opinion on issues that he discusses with
his staff .
Using an expletive to describe certain
countries from which many immigrants
have come from is certainly not very
tactful, especially for a world leader such
as the president of the United States.
While he is most certainly is entitled
to his opinion, he must learn to tone
down his comments so that he does
not end up creating an international
maelstrom. Th e last thing we need is
more unnecessary tensions with other
nations, since we already are experiencing
that with countries such as North
Korea and Iran.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
SCHOOL ISN’T
FAILURE DUE TO BAD
EXAM GRADES
Th ere’s no such thing as a failing
building. Buildings may be put to bad
use, but anything wrong with them is
always due to human error or neglect.
We don’t infl ict penalties on buildings.
We repair them.
What really plagues some of our
schools, such as those on the new list
of those to be closed, is human abandonment.
Adequate buildings are given
up and given away. Buildings are being
“punished” because of what goes on
inside them.
Consider Brian Piccolo School, M.S.
53, in Far Rockaway. It is now on the
list of schools to be permanently shut
as a public school, justifi ed by the usual
“red herring”: low scores on English
Language Arts and mathematics citywide
tests.
Th ese disappointing exam results
should not be explained away. Th ey
should drive a no-nonsense quest for
improvement. But to call the school,
and its human elements a “failure” is a
misnomer and a distraction.
Ron Isaac, Fresh Meadows
THE CASE AGAINST
RECREATIONAL POT USE
With respect to any marijuana regulation
and taxation bills in New York
state which would legalize recreational
marijuana similar to alcohol with state
regulation and sales taxes, I believe this
is the most stupid liberal policy ever
proposed in a legislature.
Th is is in of the damning evidence
against two other legalized substances:
tobacco and alcohol, which, although
regulated, are responsible for many
diseases, deaths and social costs to any
society.
Specifi cally, recreational use of marijuana
has been shown to have serious
medical and psychological eff ects, and
no sane legislator would be so oblivious
to the facts just to generate tax
revenue.
What shall the state do with the
excise tax of $50 per ounce of marijuana,
and the locally authorized sales
tax on retail sales? Well, the bill will
fund another social program initiative:
a portion of the state tax revenue collected
by the sale of marijuana would
go into substance-abuse programs and
job-training programs in low-income,
high-unemployment communities.
Th is is absolutely illogical to be legalizing
a drug and thus encouraging
recreational drug use in general, and
concomitantly apportioning the taxes
thereof to drug treatment programs.
Let’s put the kibosh on any recreational
pot plans immediately.
Joseph Manago, Flushing
Editor’s note: New York state currently
allows for the use of medicinal
marijuana — consumed through
pills, oils or vapors, not through smoking
— for the treatment of various
chronic ailments and diseases including
multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease
and even certain types of cancer. Th ese
points were not addressed in the original
letter.
Furthermore, the bill mentioned
would legalize pot for recreational use
as several other states across the country
have already done. Th e legalization
and taxation of marijuana, much like
the legalization and taxation of alcohol
or tobacco, is not equal to government
encouraging people to use the drug.
Email your letters to editorial@qns.
com (Subject: Letter to the Editor) or
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at QNS.com. All letters are subject to
editing. Names will be withheld upon
request, but anonymous letters will
not be considered for publication. Th e
views expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of this
publication or its staff .
The arts are here to stay
BY SCHOOLS
CHANCELLOR
CARMEN FARIÑA
When I accepted the job
of chancellor, I knew right
away that the arts would
be a focal point of my tenure.
Th e arts are not an add-on or simply an
extra-curricular activity; a rich arts curriculum
strengthens school communities and
teaches students skills and passion, cultivates
hobbies and can instill confi dence and creativity
that students will keep with them for
the rest of their lives.
Th is is evident at P.S. 111 in Long Island
City. When I visited in September to celebrate
the opening of a new cafeteria, I was
stopped in my tracks by the sound of students
belting at the top of their lungs. I
instantly turned around to see where the
noise was coming from.
As I walked down the hallway, the singing
became louder until fi nally I found the classroom
– a group of 25 fourth-grade students
practicing scales. I interrupted and asked the
teacher what they were working on. It was
still only the third week of school, but they
were already rehearsing for their holiday
concert in December.
“We have a lot of work to do,” the teacher
said with a smile.
She was right — they had a long way to
go. But that didn’t matter, because every student
in that classroom was beaming with joy.
Th is was the music teacher’s fi rst year at the
school and her class represented the culmination
of hard work by the principal, Ms.
Jaggon, to revamp the school’s arts instruction.
Just two years ago, P.S. 111 was on the
state’s list of persistently dangerous schools.
Th e school was also struggling to engage parents
and morale was low. Needless to say, a
drastic change was needed and the arts have
played a critical part in that eff ort. Th e school
now has a dance teacher and a new dance studio,
a visual arts teacher, a music teacher and
a theater teacher. Parents are excited to be in
the building where student artwork hangs on
every wall and a performance or concert happens
with great frequency. Most importantly,
students have become more confi dent, motivated
and curious to try new things.
Th ese are the types of investments that
we’re seeing schools make in every borough.
In fact, over the past two years, school-level
spending in the arts has increased by over
$45 million. And this year, we have a record
high-number of certifi ed arts teachers in our
schools – the highest in more than a decade,
with nearly 3,000 citywide.
Schools like P.S. 111 are the reason this
administration invests in the arts each year.
Because we know that the arts help strengthen
school communities, foster creativity and
critical thinking skills and help create an
inclusive environment for all students.
Now, aft er 52 years of working in New
York City schools, I will be retiring in the
coming months. It gives me great pride and
satisfaction to see this reinvigorated passion
for the arts from our youngest learners
through high school. Th e arts are not a frill,
and they are here to stay.
A LOOK BACK