WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 1, 2018 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS OP-ED
NOTHING IN
THE MAIL BUT
PROBLEMS
On Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, my
sister in Florida mailed a
standard, size 10 letter to me in
Forest Hills by fi rst class mail.
On the same day and from the
same location, she mailed a fl at
9 x 12 envelope to a diff erent
address in Queens by fi rst class
mail.
The smaller envelope, postmarked
Jan. 5, 2018, reached
me a week later on Friday, Jan.
12, 2018. The larger envelope
arrived in Queens on Monday,
Jan. 22, 2018, two weeks aft er
it was mailed. It contained no
postmark, only a bar code.
Proper postage, a legible
label and correct address
were affi xed to the larger, late
envelope. Both envelopes
were mailed from the same
location and picked up on the
same day.
Since no snowstorm or
holiday mail glut can account
for this shocking delay, I have
reached the conclusion that
the postal service has a serious
problem. This should be
investigated immediately before
mail starts disappearing.
Dorothy Philipps, Forest Hills
THE DANGERS
OF CENSORSHIP
Imagine growing up as a
child going to a school where
you did not learn about race,
ethnicity, religion, sexuality
or our country’s grave history.
Imagine having to learn these
things from the news or reading
it in the newspaper.
Censorship is stressed
mostly in family households
where parents approve or
disapprove of language, ideas
and values due to their personal
views. However, over
the past few years, censorship
has escalated immensely in
our public school systems.
Schools are constantly
making changes to which
materials should and should
not be introduced to students,
especially with the emergence
of social conditions such as
gay rights and feminism. Many
controversies come from
whether such topics should be
censored from students or not.
According to PBS, there
currently are lawsuits against
the Utah State School Board
describes how districts censoring
LGBTQ discussions
are not protecting students
from harassment and abuse.
In eight states there are set
laws prohibiting teachers to
discuss homosexuality topics
and issues. The law makes
students who are identifi ed
as LGBTQ feel shameful and
should not to be spoken of.
It is important to educate
and protect the learning
generation by providing
them with the tools and information
they need to take on
businesses and issues we will
be leaving them with. They
are the future of our country
and they must be educated
to take on the role of current
and future social conditions
we will face.
Amy Kamerzel,
Long Island City
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Expand bilingual programs
BY SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR
CARMEN FARIÑA
When it comes to our children’s
education, the sooner we start
the better.
An extra year of education can change the
course of a young life. Children absorb a great
deal of information in the fi rst several years
of their lives – they’re like sponges, soaking
up all the words they hear, the interactions
they have, and the many things they see. The
learning they do in their earliest years is the
building block for success in school and in
life.
If we don’t reach them when they’re 3 and
4 years old, we’ve missed the opportunity
to support the development of important
skills, particularly the ability to learn a second
language. We’ve also missed an opportunity
to bring families into the classroom.
That’s why New York City has built Pre-K
for All – providing free, full-day, high-quality
pre-K for every 4-year-old. That means
nearly 70,000 4-year-olds are getting that
critical foundation – like learning 1,000
new words, experiencing how to interact
and play well with others, and getting ready
for kindergarten. Now, we’re expanding
our investment in early learning through
3-K for All, which will bring free, full-day
education to every 3-year-old in the city.
This year, there are 30 Dual Language
pre-K programs, setting some of our city’s
youngest learners on the path to success
in a multilingual, multicultural world. I’m
thrilled that next year, we are doubling that
number to 63 programs that will be available
in Spanish, Bengali, Chinese, Russian,
and Italian this fall across all fi ve boroughs.
In a Dual Language classroom, half of
the students in the classroom speak the
language the class is learning and half are
English-proficient. Students receive instruction
in English and a second language
with the goal of becoming bilingual and
biliterate.
Dual Language classes foster a learning
environment that encourages sharing of
vocabulary, cultures and traditions.
Being able to speak and read in a diff erent
language – and understand a diff erent
culture, too – is a game-changer for our
students and families. As a fi rst-generation
American who started school without
speaking English, I know fi rsthand the
struggles many of our English Language
Learners face when they fi rst step foot in
a classroom.
In a global City and a global society, our
next generation of leaders – in business and
in our government – will need to know and
understand more than just one language
and culture.
Dual Language education also brings
parents into the classroom. Each month,
families come together to learn what is
happening in school and share ideas of how
they can better support their child at home.
Pre-K also has given tens of thousands of
parents the opportunity to go back to work
while saving money that would have been
spent on child care. This is a win-win for
students and families.
Expanding Pre-K Dual Language education
is an important part of the work we’re
doing across New York City schools – embracing
the diversity of our students and
families, making the right investments in
early childhood education, and preparing
our students for success in college and
careers. Now, more of our City’s future
leaders than ever before will get a head start
on becoming global citizens.
Trolley tracks and cobblestones
emerge from the
pavement in this 1937
photo of Palmetto Street
off Seneca Avenue in
Ridgewood. The street lies
below the elevated Myrtle
Avenue Line, which now
carries the M train. 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.
A LOOK BACK
