The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

STAR article didn't factor in apathy

I am writing in response to the article "Fremont High School District fares well in statewide test" (July 15, Sunnyvale Sun). I understand that part of the reasons the STAR testing scores were lower than other tests is due to the requirement of including scores of the non-proficient English speakers. However, this should not be the sole reason that lowers the district average. There are also other non-measurable factors, such as the students' laid-back attitudes toward the test. Many students came to take the test merely because they are required to do so. Many of them do not take the test seriously simply because the test results will not be on their records or affect their high school grades. I had friends who took the STAR test by blindly bubbling in all the answers in the scantron sheets and used the remaining testing time to do their homework. I am sure that these people's results can also affect the district means drastically.

The accuracy of the test to measure students' abilities will improve if the STAR and Iowa scores were recorded on their permanent records like regular college entrance exams simply because students will take the tests more seriously than before. However, colleges should not put STAR and Iowa scores as part of the admission process. They should only be used as reference of how the students do compared to others in the state. In addition to putting the scores into permanent records, teachers should award extra credits to students who do well in the exams as a way to motivate students. Unless the STAR and Iowa testing will give students benefits, the test results will not be accurate and the whole program will become useless.

Winsy Cheung
Cupertino

Real moms have sense of humor

In response to Teri Lynn Baron's July 8 letter, "Real moms stay home": Get a life, and perhaps a sense of humor. Real moms work, and real moms stay at home. I've done both, and I'm a very real mom. I am a working mom now. Still, even as a stay-at-home mom, Pop-Tarts sometimes were a food group (by the way, Pop-Tarts were invented long before most women worked outside the home--coincidence?), and sometimes beds didn't get changed after accidents (note to real moms: sleeping bags and "camping on the floor" work for those 2 a.m. bed changes that don't happen). Life with kids is not all structure, clean faces and made beds--at least it shouldn't be. Real working moms and real stay-at-home moms know there are more important things in life than clean teeth twice a day.

I know and love stay-at-home moms who can't get their kids potty-trained right on time ("I'm sure she won't go to college in Pull-ups"), who don't get shirts ironed in time for church ("Wear the other one; it almost matches"), and who might feed the young 'uns cereal for breakfast and dinner ("The grocery shopping just didn't fit in my 18-hour day"). I know and love working moms who use drive-through eateries too often, who don't dust the kids' rooms for weeks ("The scattering of toys will distract the eye from the dust"), and who can't get the Batman costume off the daughter for three days. These are all real moms, too. These moms all have kids who are happy and healthy--shoot, what kid wouldn't be happy being Batman for three days?

It's just the facts of life with kids. Sometimes beds don't get made, sometimes faces don't get washed immediately and sometimes lunches don't consist of the four food groups.

In her letter Baron stated, "I always make sure my kids are fed properly, brush their teeth and have clean bed sheets. These are the basics in life." These are Baron's basics in life. Here are mine (working mom that I am): I always make sure my son sings once a day, that he hears "I love you" more than once a day and that he laughs. His face might be somewhat smudged and his bed might not be made, but he's a happy kid and I'm a happy mom. That's what matters.

Kyle McIntosh
San Jose

Some moms have to work outside home

Regarding Teri Lynn Baron's July 8 letter commenting on Deborah Taylor-Hollis' "Real Moms Know Bosco is a Food Group": Ms. Baron, in my opinion you are ignorant to what reality is in the United States for many single or married moms. We work because we have to contribute to our households and as a matter of real living. Like many other single moms, I am the sole support for my children. We do it by working one or two jobs because we do not receive child support. Many of us have applied and reapplied for child support, but our child-support system has such a heavy load that our children are put on the back burner. I have tried to get child support for nine years but get nowhere with the County of Santa Clara. As for child care, I do pay that myself--up to $500 per week--so I can raise my children properly. Sure, Ms. Baron, it must be nice to stay home and raise your children, but I think you have sat on your pedestal much too long. Obviously you live in a utopian world, a real fantasy. I wish I could stay home, but reality is reality.

If I'm an non-traditional mom in your eyes, so be it. I also raise my family, keep a house, pay bills, go to PTA meetings, do homework with my children, teach CCD, go to school and act as both mother and father to my sons. Just like you, I feed my children properly, have them bathe and have them brush their teeth. Ms. Baron, I do take responsibility for my children.

Also, Ms. Baron, never once did you mention that you love or nurture your children. With all my heart, I love and nurture my sons and guide them the best way I can. They do not suffer as you claim, but see what "mom" has to do to make a better life for them. I have shown my sons by example that hard work, morals, love, nurturing, communication and closeness are what make a family.

Maybe many of us single or married working moms are not from your 1950s-1960s era, but I really think, Ms. Baron, that you should try to walk out the front door of your residence and check out the real world; it might do you good.

In closing, we real moms do work outside and inside the home, whether we are single or married. We do take care of our children and do a very good job of it. I chose to have my sons (by the way, I was married when I had them) and take care of them. Like my Grandma used to say, your children are the ones who tell if you're a good mom. My sons tell me all the time that I am a terrific mom and the best at it.

Theresa Ruiz
San Jose

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