Published: 9/20/2020 10:00:03 PM

Modified: 9/20/2020 10:00:01 PM

This is a shout out to a marvelous group of teachers. I recently attended a Zoom meeting with the pre-K teachers in the White River Valley Supervisory Union. Six pre-K teachers, the pre-K coordinator and pre-K interventionist were meeting to discuss how the first week of in-person instruction had gone. The teachers were beyond excited to see their students. None of the new COVID-19 health precautions (frequent hand-washing, washing the toys, sequestering used toys for 72 hours, replacing the materials every day, etc.), seemed to perturb them, and mask-wearing was not a problem with these 3- and 4-year-olds.

The teachers took all the extra steps in stride and shared strategies on new ways to make days interesting and instructive during the pandemic. They mourned the loss of carpets and soft toys, but were not only willing but enthusiastic about what could be done this school year.

This group is the most cohesive, collaborative and non-competitive group of educators I have ever seen. Their determination to make the pre-K experience fun but safe is wonderful to see. Parents should feel confident that their children are getting the best start possible.

CYNTHIA TITUS POWERS

Royalton

The writer is grant coordinator for the White River Valley Supervisory Union.

What do the World Series, The Championships (at Wimbledon) and the Marines have in common? They get the uppercase treatment out of respect, because they were each first in their fields, and are still the most prestigious.

Other so-called world series the Little League Baseball World Series and the College World Series must use their full name because the World Series was there earlier and can claim the title. And only the annual tennis tournament at Wimbledon can be called, simply and grandly, The Championships.

Those who have served in the Marines and some editors know the Marines is short for the U.S. Marine Corps and should be referred to with an uppercase M, not just as a sign of respect, but because it was the first organized force of soldiers serving on naval vessels for expeditionary and amphibious assault operations. The recent, much quoted article from The Atlantic used marines, which is just plain wrong.

MICHAEL WHITMAN

Lyme

It looks like President Donald Trump is trying to revive his failed gambling joints on a national level using Russian roulette and the new coronavirus as his cornerstones.

Herman Cain, an ardent Trump supporter who attended a Trump virus-spreading rally in June, contracted the deadly bug and died in late July. So the big question now is how many attendees of Trumps latest coronavirus death rally in Nevada will succumb to it and forfeit their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Could all those rally attendees just be addicted to gambling, or are they in total denial of the coronavirus death moth that lurks nearby and ready to strike when Trump rolls into town? Who will be next and how many more bodies will Trump rack up before those in denial awaken and protect themselves and all those around them by staying home.

Trump knows that Russian roulette is a stupid and dangerous game. He would never play it. But he does seem to enjoy watching his flock do it.

JACKIE SMITH

Sunapee

Alan Tanenbaums recent Forum letter (Trump has supported the troops, Sept. 13) derides the article in The Atlantic that reported derogatory comments by President Donald Trump about military people. In fact, the writer alleges, Trump supports them.

This is nonsense. A few token visits by this rear-guard malingerer to fake (he loves that word) grief over military coffins at Dover and to greet wounded troops are easy photo ops. Increasing the military budget (which he robbed for his hapless wall), an easy stroke of the pen, in no way mitigates his alleged comments about suckers and losers. Those words are entirely in line with his pathological jealousy of the late Sen. John McCain. He resents those who have accomplished anything on their own or put their lives on the line. Trump cannot comprehend a life that is not solely devoted to the accumulation of money and bling.

Critics of The Atlantic article bemoan the fact that the sources have not come forward. Of course they havent. In all likelihood, they work very close to the Oval Office and value their jobs. Whistleblower laws exist to protect these sources. Deep Throats anonymity was vital in sending President Richard Nixon home. Without anonymous sources we would be drowning in the swamp that Trump has made wider, deeper and murkier.

As a Navy veteran of 26 years, I read of Trumps remarks with pity and laughter. They were just another indication of his immaturity, envy and weakness. He is like a little boy with his nose pressed against a window while looking in at a party to which he was not invited. The guests at that party are ordinary members of the human race who possess ordinary honesty, empathy and intelligence. Trump is not among them. He is a lonely, damaged outlier, humorless and friendless. With good reason, two fine U.S. Marine Corps generals and many, many other high-minded, top-drawer staffers have deserted him.

One could almost feel sorry for the man.

ARTHUR E. NORTON

Woodstock

Originally posted here:

Forum, Sept. 21: A cohesive and collaborative group of teachers - Valley News