Letters to the Editor

Mary Scullion the visionary

Kudos to the Inquirer Editorial Board for proclaiming Sister Mary Scullion, executive director of Project H.O.M.E., "a warrior" ("Fight to end homelessness has become even harder," Saturday). Indeed, this leading advocate has been a courageous visionary, battling for the rights of the homeless. She has also inspired legions of young people to step forward and speak out for those who have been marginalized by the arbitrary and capricious nature of a society that, far too often, is frozen in the ice of its own indifference.

I am so incredibly proud of the students in our community service organization, young people who have spent the last 25 years addressing the myriad problems that plague the homeless in our city. Working with Habitat for Humanity, St. John's Hospice, Mercy Hospice, and Project H.O.M.E., our students have consistently breathed life into the idea that young people, fueled by the courage of their own convictions, can truly shape positive changes in our world.

Peter C. McVeigh, coordinator of community service, Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, pmcveigh@comcast.net

Overhauling No Child Left Behind

A while ago, I agreed with your editorial position on having states take waivers from the onerous and unrealistic rules of No Child Left Behind ("Camden schools show need for NCLB overhaul," Wednesday). Common sense tells us that demanding 100 percent above-average performance on standardized tests is equivalent to asking Philadelphia to have a zero murder rate, or else the city will have to close police stations and turn law enforcement over to private managers. Setting impossible goals is one sure way to dismantle any system.

If, however, waivers continue to include standardized testing to evaluate schools, with similar NCLB sanctions attached, the problem has not been solved. Testing should be used as a diagnostic tool, not a weapon to fire teachers, close schools, and turn them into charters. Christopher Cerf, New Jersey's acting education commissioner and a former head of the private Edison Schools, is not an educator but an education entrepreneur who favors for-profit school privatization.

Beware: New Jersey is going from NCLB to NCLB redux.

Gloria C. Endres, Philadelphia

A higher tax rate than Romney's