He saved our day

November 12, 2008

Dear Sir,

Last week, my wife and I visited the beautiful island of Bermuda for the first time. My oldest friend was getting married, and we quickly filled up the memory card in our digital camera with pictures from our hotel at Elbow Beach, a ferry ride to the Dockyards and an afternoon at Horseshoe Beach. The next morning we took the bus into Hamilton to buy another memory card, and immediately got onto another bus to visit St. George. On the way, we found out the new card didn't work. And from the local shops, we found that we couldn't buy another one in St. George. We faced the very unpleasant reality that we would have no pictures from our afternoon trip.

On a last-ditch effort, we stopped into the Visitors' Centre in St. George's. We explained our problem to the man we met there, hoping he might know where to find another memory card. Instead he offered us a simple but stunning solution. "You take my camera," he said, and handed us a digital camera that must have been worth $1,000.

I asked if he wanted anything to hold as collateral, or if he wanted to write down my name so he knew who had his camera.

"I don't need to know your name," he said. "Take your time. Come back when you are done and we'll send your pictures home by e- mail."

Wow. Two hours and 94 pictures later, we were back at the Visitors Centre, where Mr. E. Michael Jones and I finally made a proper introduction.

Mr. Jones' trusting nature and generosity made him the hero of our trip, and our pictures of St. George will always remind us not just of your beautiful country, but also of the kindness of your people.

ALEXANDER JONES

New Jersey

Sameness kills teaching

November 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

Although I agree with most of the statements in the article, "Wrong man was sacked", I must take issue with the second last paragraph justifying one size fits all approach to teaching.

Curriculum alignment refers to the written, taught and assessed curriculum being in sync. It does not necessitate teaching curriculum objectives in the same way and at the same time. The main objective should be that the student has demonstrated mastery of the curriculum objectives through successful completion of rigorous and relevant learning activities that will enable them to perform successfully in the end of year or course Island-wide exams. Teaching should be based on teacher creativity, student needs and environmental opportunities. Current research supports instruction which is differentiated, student centred and authentic. This recognises developmental differences and knowledge gaps and allows more time, when needed, to achieve mastery.

In going forward, we must be careful that the decisions are not based on expediency for administrators but what is best for students. Sameness will kill good teaching and hinder the teacher from responding to individual student's needs. Sustaining this country's quality of life necessitates an education that develops thinkers, problem-solvers, good communicators, community mindedness, team players, national pride, self-confidence and understanding of Bermuda's past and present at the local and global levels. These attributes will enable today's students to act wisely in taking this country forward socially, politically and economically in the 21st century.

DISMAYED

Sandys

Watch for political bias

October 31, 2008

Dear Sir,

In any working democracy it is imperative that checks and balances be firmly in place to ensure neither Government nor political insiders of the day wield an over abundance of influence. We have seen repeatedly in the past both nonsensical decisions and at times a complete lack of interest from some of our Government Boards that leave many in the community wondering where are the independent thinkers.

The recent ruling by the Broadcast Commissioners is a case in point. Subliminal political party advertising should not be paid for by the taxpayer, no matter which Party is in Government. I think most understand that impartial decisions coming from Boards stacked with political appointees are virtually impossible.

That being said, one would have expected the Governor to be extra vigilant when selecting a candidate to sit in the Upper House as an Independent Senator. In this Chamber it is vitally important that Bermuda have independent representation to keep the checks and balances in place. Whilst one must be fair and not pre-judge the future voting record of the new appointee Mrs. Dillas-Wright, her previous role as a card-carrying member of the PLP and a Party Branch chairwoman concerns many, and makes me question what due diligence the Governor undertook and from whom he sought advice prior to the selection. Going forward, there is no doubt that Bermuda needs quality candidates with resumes that are without political party involvement and history, for only then can Bermuda be the beneficiary of independent thought.

ALLAN D. MARSHALL JP

Smith's parish

Don't distort facts

November 10, 2008

Dear Sir,

I read the Premier's comments at the opening of the PLP's Annual Delegates Conference and would like to take this opportunity to disagree with some of the comments.

The Premier, in talking about labour, said: "Although protest and dissent are the hallmarks of a democratic society, you do not have to use the same manner of protest with a PLP government that you used 30 years ago with a UBP government. Why? Because back then, you did not have the Premier's home phone number. You did not have his cell number or e-mail address."

The Premier went on to say: "It used to be that the only way to get a Minister or Premier's attention was to cause inconvenience to your cousin or your sister or that valuable tourist by disrupting bus, taxi or school service. You could not sit at the same table as Government. You had no ear and you had no voice, so you had to lay down tools."

Let me correct the Premier on a few fronts, perhaps as he was off the island for so long until he returned in the mid-1990s he just did not know!

Many former Premiers had their phone numbers in the phone book, I note the current one does not have a home number in the book. He does have bodyguards that no other Premier ever used with such regularity.

Cell phones and e-mail are relatively new to the market, I don't think Sir John Swan or Sir David Gibbons even had one as they were not available yet. I do know that their phone numbers were in the book and they could be easily reached. Sir John when he was Premier walked all over town without bodyguards and talked to anyone who wanted his ear. Sir John Sharpe rode a bike to work with no police escort.

Democracy and freedom of expression have done many great things for society and labour has the right to withdraw its services in the correct way if they believe it is the right thing to do. They did it under the UBP and yes they have also done it a number of times under a PLP government. It has nothing to do with "sitting at the same table", these words are just more of the everyday spin many people expect from Premier Brown.

The fact is that as government the PLP have found out that labour will still stand up for it's rights even if it makes a PLP government look bad. Furthermore the record for the PLP government in labour relations is poor and there are many examples, one of the most recent being the way the Premier did away with the New York Tourism Office!

Bermuda, like any successful society, owes much of its success to the toils of labour. We need to remember our past and build on it for our future success; we do not need to distort it for one's political gain.

SEN. MICHAEL H. DUNKLEY, JP

Devonshire

A simple solution

November 13, 2008

Dear Sir,

The large cumulative total of fines faced by unlicensed drivers caught multiple times by the new automated system has been the subject of much debate. Innocent but forgetful drivers suffer as much as those with criminal intent, with fines that many are unable to bear. Recent court decisions have given unlicensed drivers an excuse to stay on the road until they are notified.

If the goal of the system is to correct the behaviour of unlicensed drivers and not one of revenue generation, I have a simple solution. When a car passes an automated checkpoint, why not illuminate a coloured light to alert the driver? If one is flashed a yellow light, one's license is due to expire and action is required. If one is flashed a red light, one has incurred a fine and no longer has an excuse to remain on the road. This is a simple solution, with simple implementation, that would truly be of value to all motorists.

COMMON SENSE

Paget

Hard work going unseen

November 11, 2008

Dear Sir,

This letter is directed at the people responsible for erecting the Sally Bassett statue on the Cabinet grounds. First of all, I want to congratulate Carlos Dowling for his master piece and for having a chance to show off all of his years of experience in sculpturing. While the location of the statue comes into question, as it is not the same location where the burning was said to have taken place as written in the history books (Crow Lane). If you have to put her somewhere, please do it better than this. I am referring to the manner in which the statue of Sally Bassett was erected. With the statue being larger than life and tied high to a wooden stake with wood logs at the base, it would be more real and natural to have the statue mounted at ground level with the wood logs on the ground and not mounted on a two tier stone pedestal like someone mounted on a cake. It puts the statue too high off the ground and the face of Sally Bassett out of view. We want to see her face and I am sure sculptor Carlos Dowling would like for us to see her face. How could the sculptor let this happen? His hard work is going unseen.

Please have a look at it again and take the ground mounted view into consideration. Now, because the work on the statue is not completed and the official unveiling of Sally Bassett has not happened and with Government being transparent and open to listening to the people, we ask that the pedestal be removed and for the sake of picture taking, that she be faced towards Front Street with the large tree behind her instead of the ugly Police Station building that is now behind her. Thank you.

GERALD BEAN

Paget