Editorial voices from elsewhere
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:
It’s been said quite a bit, but undoubtedly it’s not been said enough: the hysteria surrounding Ebola is far worse than the reach of the disease – at least for now and most likely forever.
The possibility of an Ebola epidemic should be taken seriously. The Center for Disease Control and health care leaders across the country need to work hand-in-hand to make sure the best, most responsible measures are taken to treat those who are infected and to protect the further spread of this deadly disease.
Clearly, the CDC and some hospitals have made missteps early in this situation; however, everything seems to be fairly well contained at this point. What needs to happen now is continued diligence in work, preparation and education.
The fear is understandable. It’s a deadly disease that until recently was never a threat to the United States. So, sure, people are worried. That’s why it should be the role of the government, health care professionals and the media to educate people and keep them informed of facts and realities, not distortions, speculation and rumors.
When George W. Bush proposed pulling U.S. bases out of Germany and moving them farther east to Poland and Romania, the plan got a chilly reception with the U.S. public and Congress.
Bush’s credibility was at low ebb. Russia was in economic shambles and posed little immediate threat. Now large, permanent NATO bases in Eastern Europe don’t seem such a bad idea, particularly now Russian President Vladimir Putin has annexed Crimea, seems bent on reducing Eastern Ukraine to vassal status and cowing Poland into weakening its commitment to NATO.
As Russia’s economy sinks deeper into recession, more because of falling oil prices than Western sanctions, Putin reflexively blames all of Russia’s woes on the West. Then there is the problem of Putin himself. His behavior is increasingly erratic, and although this might be a tactic to keep the West off balance, his actions surely started to worry his acolytes in the Kremlin.
Poland’s current leadership is formally opposed to a permanent NATO base on its soil, preferring a quick reaction force based somewhere else. That will change in a hurry if Russia, as it surely will to distract from domestic problems, begins to meddle in Polish affairs.
A chief finding in a report issued earlier this month by the West Virginia Department of Education may not come as a surprise, but it should give Mountain State educators plenty to think about when it comes to disciplining students.
A study by the department’s Office of Research concluded that an increase in discipline referrals raises the likelihood that students will do poorly on standardized tests, particularly those students who are given forms of punishment that take them out of the classroom.
The findings also suggest that out-of-classroom punishments also may be unnecessary in many cases. The research showed that more than three-fifths of documented school disciplinary action in West Virginia takes students out of the classroom for some period of time, although the majority of disciplinary cases are categorized “minimally disruptive behavior.”
The issue raises a type of “chicken-and-egg” question. Do disruptive students have poor achievement because they don’t behave? Or does taking them out of the classroom contribute to their poor showings on tests?
There’s no clear answer to that. That’s why it seems to make more sense for the state’s school systems to look for alternative disciplinary strategies, particularly if the student does not pose a threat to other students.