Saratoga News

Letters

Writer shows lack of an open mind

The statement, "I don't want to hear from anyone defending weapons," in the second-to-last paragraph in Deborah Taylor-Hollis' commentary about the evils of guns in the July 8 issue of the Saratoga News certainly does not show an open, inquisitive mind.

To state a position and then refuse to even hear objections or other opinions is not the way our country was founded. Deborah Taylor-Hollis is not only a freelance writer, but also must consider herself omnipotent and infallible--almost dictatorial.

Charles Shaw
Ravenwood Drive

Eucalyptus trees deserve our caring

Yes, eucalyptus trees at the Oak Street School are not native. John McLaren introduced these trees to the United States from Australia, hoping they would become a rich source of lumber since they grew so fast. Alas, even though his house in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco uses this wood for its interior, the wood proved impractical for commercial use.

Still, we have a long history of welcoming foreigners to our shores. We learn to accept each other's idiosyncrasies, thus making our lives richer. It is no different with trees. We know what is needed and are prepared to offer this care. The same miracle that we call growth takes place whether it is native or foreign. We do not cut them down.

Richard St. Barbe Baker, the great tree-planting saint of England, felt that one's energy can be restored by placing one's hands on the tree, connecting with the powerful circuitry of the tree.

"Eu" from the Greek meaning "good" is part of its very name: eucalyptus. Here we have a natural cure for stress, malaise, degeneration of the body and mind.

I believe that the education that comes from a school is as good as the trees that shelter it. These sentinels are more than what they are. There have always been tree-lovers and worshipers. I count myself as one. Along the way, there were the Druids. The root of the word druid means tree-lover, and this was the same as the word from truth. And isn't this what education is all about?

At Oak Street School, we have more than reaped the benefits from these giant trees--the oaks, the catalpa, the eucalyptus. We do not cut them down.

We are grateful for their shelter. We are grateful for the exchange of our gift of carbon dioxide for their life giving gift of oxygen. We are grateful that they provide homes for the owl, the peregrine falcon and all the other birds we can't see but can hear the music of their songs. We are grateful for all the stars they have embedded in their fruit cups that they so generously drop for the kindergarten children to gather for math and crafts for their gift-giving. We are grateful for the fragrance that refreshes us. We are grateful for their gift of shade.

These historical landmarks, the eucalyptus trees at Oak Street School are our heritage. We do not cut them down.

Betty Peck
Retired Oak Street and SUSD teacher

Encourage sports, stop gouging kids

Saratoga hired a project manager for $47,340 to negotiate a contract with AYSO and Little League for use of our playing fields. Would not $47,340 go quite a way in the improvement and maintenance of Congress Springs Park? Are there not qualified negotiators in Saratoga who would volunteer to work out a new contract?

The city wishes to charge a new fee of $12 per child involved in a sport. Since Sarah Lombardo's article in the Saratoga News fails to mention the number of children involved, we do not know how much additional income the $12 per child (to become $20 over time) will generate. However, the costs of enrolling a child are now quite high (Little League is now about $100 per child). If you have several children in both these sports, the cost could easily run to well over $500 per year.

Involvement in sports is a key way of producing self-esteem and developing talents, sportsmanship and team playing, as well as deterring negative behavior in this next generation. We suggest forgetting the negotiator, forgetting the $12-added charge and investing in our youth rather than gouging them.

Phylis Ballingall
Wendy Land
Saratoga

Just who are the dangerous ones?

My dear, my dear, you cry out, "Oh God, what shall we do?" because children are killing one another at the young ages of 11 and 13. So said Deborah Taylor-Hollis in her commentary in the July 8 issue of the Saratoga News.

I cry, too, but I can tell you why.

She declares, "Children can't control their emotions, their rages." How did she ever come up with such an absurd idea? Susannah Wesley raised 18 children. She taught them early, "If you must cry, cry softly." It was a quiet and dignified household full of beautiful children. And by the way, they all learned to read by their fifth birthday, and their mother taught them.

The wisest of all, Solomon, said, "Train up a child in the way he should go." I submit that too many modern mothers are too selfish to stay home and train up their children to be civilized, decent and thinking teenagers.

Children with rage will use their fists, a rock, a ball bat or a knife to act out rage.

Rage should never be tolerated in a child. They need to have their basic needs met, such as love, good meals, sleep on schedule and lots of security. A mother should be there to observe the whole life of her babies, toddlers and teens. When they grow up like untended gardens, full of weeds (who knows who is on duty at day care), of course they get angry and resentful. They want Mom.

Recently, I saw a 4-year-old cry because her father would not buy her a toy. Then came rage, and she threatened her father with, "I'll get you." I was scared.

Solomon said, "He that spareth the rod, hateth his son. But he that loveth him chastiseth him early (while he is young)."

I could write a treatise on, "No one can change a child's behavior. Never."

God gave us the answer, and again I quote Proverbs 29: 15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."

Let's get back to the Bible and Sunday School--the answers that have worked for 2,000 years.

Audrey Thompson
Fruitvale Avenue

School board needs to respect heritage

When I was a student at Saratoga School in the '50s, before the gentrification of the Valley of Heart's Delight, we were taught about the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen via plant life. The larger the plant life, the more oxygen would be produced.

Little did I suppose that when I voted for Measure B that funds thereby provided would be used to decimate some of the very trees under which we played baseball, basketball and volleyball.

And for what? A restructured playground. Although the playground may need restructuring, I doubt it should be at the expense of these trees. The school district's facilities committees, staff and citizens approved the renovation and playground changes, but it will be the school board who will vote to destroy our old trees. These same trees are termed "heritage trees" in the vernacular of the city Planning Department. Private individuals who have destroyed such trees have been made to pay restitution to the city of Saratoga in a court of law.

Why is our school board allowed to hopscotch over laws by which we mere mortals must abide? Who are these people? Too bad they did not attend Saratoga School.

Lea Ann Hernandez
Class of 1958

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]