Soul-searching needed to end deadly violence
Chattanooga: "Gig City;" "Scenic City;" "River City;" a top 10 best family vacation city in the country; birthplace of the Krystal; home of Coca-Cola's first bottling company; nestled among ridges and mountains in one of the most beautiful settings in the South.
Chattanooga: home to almost 1,000 churches and several colleges and universities.
Chattanooga: home of another 2-year-old child who will grow up without a father following the senseless murder last Tuesday of Percy Allen IV.
What is it we are not doing right?
Following the start in 2014 of the Violence Reduction Initiative, gang-related violence in Chattanooga is holding steady.
What more, as citizens of one of the most blessed cities in the country, can we do to ensure our children will grow up safely and with intact families?
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that homicide is the second leading cause of overall death in 13- to 21-year-olds and is the leading cause of death in 13- to 21-year-old African Americans.
What, oh, what can we do?
Jeannette Martin, M.D, Retired pediatrician
Test scores not easy to increase
A recent TFP article reported the frustration of Hamilton County officials with low increases in standardized test performance relative to other districts with lower previous scores. The implication is that the school system (i.e., teachers, the usual scapegoats) are doing something wrong. This is not the case. In fact, given the current state of many public school children's family, social and economic problems, schools are doing heroic work. For a long time educators and social scientists have known that student achievement is far more determined by socioeconomic and other family factors than anything else.
To improve average scores is extremely difficult, particularly as scores get higher. This is known as "the law of diminishing returns." Extremely low scores characteristic of poverty areas have a lot of room for improvement and can with less difficulty be improved by intensive and often expensive academic and social enrichment programs or by random chance on multiple choice tests. Extremely high scores are nearly impossible to improve due to the tiny room for such improvement, and due to a "ceiling-cellar" depressing statistical effect of multiple choice tests.
Gary Furman, Rossville
Merge governments in Bradley County
Much to my dismay, I read that the Bradley County Commission is considering appealing its loss in the recent court decision over the proper division of liquor taxes in the City of Cleveland. These are the same sorry public servants who decided we needed two fire departments and two animal control agencies. They are a prime example of why a city-county government is needed in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the perpetual litigator chuckles all the way to the bank.
Steve Barnes, Cleveland, Tenn.