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COMMUNITY VIEWS

:40

I Will March
With Millions Of Moms

I

am not a mom. I don't even
have a child living at home
any more. So why will I be
spending Sunday, May 14 —
Mother's Day — in Washington,
D.C., attending the Million
Mom March along with my
wife?
First, I believe that all of
us — moms, dads and
everyone else — must act to
prevent injury and death,
particularly to children, as a
result of gun violence.
When children kill children
with guns, something in our
DAVID
society is clearly wrong and
GAD-HARF
we must right it. Where so
Special to
many other issues are com-
the Jewish News
plex, this one is simple:
Guns.do indeed kill people,
many of whom are children. If we
license people to drive cars, shouldn't
we license people to use guns? If we
vidual human security. How much
mandate safety measures in cars to
more so when those humans are chil-
protect children, shouldn't safety
dren. According to Jewish tradition,
locks on guns also be mandated so
when one person saves a life, it is as if
children can't use them?
he or she saved the entire world. The
Second, I believe that the Jewish
Million Mom March offers us the
community should be front and cen-
chance to make the world heed that
ter in the movement to _build a secure wisdom and take action to protect
America for all of its citizens. Just as
the precious lives of America's chil-
we understand what is at risk in
dren.
issues of national security, we must
Third, the Million Mom March
be aware and active in issues of indi-
will be a historic event, one that I
want to share. Many of us remember
David Gad-Hart is executive director
the feeling we had in December 1987
of the Jewish Community Council of
as
a quarter million Americans gath-
Metropolitan Detroit.
ered on the Washington Mall for the

.

Soviet Jewry Rally. We felt a bond
with people from around the country
who shared the experience. I expect
that this extraordinary feeling of soli-
darity will return on May 14, this
time with our fellow Americans who
are concerned about gun safety.
Finally, when my grandchildren, as
yet unborn, ask me what I did to
help end the devastation of gun vio-
lence, I want to be able to say that I
did a small part. I want to be able to
say that I was there on May 14,
2000, and that I encouraged others
to join me.
So, I urge you to transform May

14, 2000, into a Mother's Day that
you will never forget, one on which
you will act on your principles, repre-
sent Jewish commitments and share a
sense of camaraderie with thousands
of others. Join me in Washington. ❑

pressed by the Bush administration in
1990, that refuted many of the claims
made in the now infamous Nation at
Risk study of 1983.
Even the National Assessment of
Education Progress (NAEP) results, _
when taken as a whole and accurately
reported, show no overall decline in
the achievement of American students
(David Berliner and Bruce Biddle).
There is continual need for
improvement in public education, and
we have good research that tells us
what needs to be done. There is limit-
ed research regarding vouchers and
student achievement that is, at best,
inconclusive (Alex Molnar, University
of Wisconsin, 1999).
The public is owed the truth about
public education so that it can make
the best decisions regarding our

nation's children. The public is also
owed the truth about one of the
authors of the commentary. Matthew
Brooks is listed as the executive direc-
tor of the Jewish Policy Center, which
he may be; but he is also the executive
director of the Republican Jewish
Coalition.

For information about the Million
Mom March, call the National
Council of Jewish Women office,
(248) 355-3300, or visit the Mil-
lion Mom March Web site at

www.millionmommarch.com

LETTERS

Are Schools

Really Failing?

Jy

4/28
2000

40

I read with great interest the special
commentary you ran ("Voices For
Vouchers," April 7)-written by
Matthew Brooks and Seth Leibsohn.
In order to bolster their pro-vouch-
er position, the authors included some
unsourced statistics. In their own
words, "Proving that the longer one
stays in school today the worse off one
is, 38 percent of fourth graders, 26
percent of eighth graders and 23 per-
cent of 12th graders score below basic
reading levels."
If the statement is correct, and I
would check it if it had been properly
cited, it most certainly does not prove
that longevity worsens performance;

in fact, it proves the opposite.
There are many longitudinal mea-
sures available disproving the notion
that our schools are failing; and when
the national testing numbers are
reported, it is always important to
question the population base and the
standards being used. I would refer
readers to anything written by David
Berliner and/or Gerald Bracey, two
outstanding researchers who have
worked tirelessly to counter the agen-
da of those who benefit by bashing
public education.
In fact, contrary to the statement
by Brooks and Leibsohn, there is a
question regarding the veracity of their
blanket statement that "American
public schools are failing our chil-
dren." One need only read the Sandia
Report, which was paid for but sup-

Mindy Nathan

Bloomfield Hills

Food Bank: A True
Community Endeavor

I read with interest Yad Ezra Develop-
ment Director Lea Luger's Communi-
ty Views column ("Our Collective
Goodwill," April 7). Her focus was on
how Jewish agencies such as Yad Ezra
receive support from both Jewish and

