It was good see the guest column last week by Superintendent
Edwin Diaz.
It was good see the guest column last week by Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
I agree that it is a challenge trying to meet the needs of all students. At the end of his column, Mr. Diaz spells out the interventions and enrichments offered to students. Unfortunately, our interventions are all part of schoolwide plans. The commitment of the district to the intervention programs has always been obvious. Enrichment is not a high priority in our district. GATE enrichment has been weak for years. It is starting to get better, but still has a long way to go. Every child who needs intervention (High Point) will get the help he needs. Not every GATE student will be able to enroll in a GATE enrichment class. The middle school academies are only in existence because parents pushed for them. The academies only serve less than 100 students out of a middle school population of more than 2,000 kids. Likewise, honors classes exist at the high school because the community willed it.
The enrichment programs at two of our elementary schools are in a precarious position right now. The violin program at Antonio del Buono School and the theater arts program at Rucker School are hanging on by mere threads because the overwhelming amount of funds at each of our schools go to intervention programs, literacy coaches and testing staff. The word of the day remains equity.
As the parent of a freshman at Gilroy High School, it was gratifying to read the letter in the Dispatch written by Principal Bob Bravo. I now have hope that corrective actions will be taken to assure that the drama department at Gilroy High will never again be a source of embarrassment to our community.
Unfortunately, student Corrine Petro’s letter did nothing to assure me that the drama department at Gilroy High School will ever truly flourish. The job of a drama teacher is to instruct, just as it is the job of a math teacher to instruct. I am a fan of the show “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” Through the years, I have watched scores of our finest actors talk about the craft of acting, talk about the technique. When our finest actors talk about their high school experience, they reminisce about being in wonderful plays and musicals – actual theater if you will. I don’t see why a school the size of Gilroy High, with so many talented students, shouldn’t be able to produce at least two decent productions each year. I suggest that they scrap the “Showcases” and start working on something a little more substantial.
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I usually enjoy Chuck Flagg’s religion column in The Dispatch, but found his latest one very problematic.
I’ll admit that I have a strong dislike for the group “Jews for Jesus.” I don’t object to a Jewish person, or anyone else, becoming an evangelical Christian. I strongly object to the name of the group “Jews for Jesus.”
Once people have decided that Jesus is the Messiah, they should not call themselves Jews. I find it very suspect. This is a fringe group of non-Jews whose mission is to convince people of the Jewish faith to become evangelical Christians. As a result, I prefer to call this group “non-Jews for Jesus.”
Many years ago, I had a lengthy discussion with a follower of this group in New York. (They can’t quite get a strong foothold there, because not only does New York have a large Jewish population, New York Christians are rarely of the evangelical persuasion.) The non-Jew I was debating with was insisting that he had a right to call himself a Jew because he was “culturally Jewish.” He was massively confused.
I distinctly remember him throwing around a few Yiddish words, talking about being one of the “chosen people”, etc. – I contended then, and still do, that it is possible to be “culturally Jewish.” I know many Jewish people who are not observant, but they aren’t converts. To my mind, being an evangelical Christian cannot co-exist with being Jewish.
I am sure that the representative from this group who comes to speak to at one of our local churches will do a wonderful presentation. But isn’t she preaching to the choir?
Passover is a solemn occasion. While anyone can hold a seder, you can’t truly celebrate both Passover and Easter.
You have to make a choice as to what you believe. The Christians who call themselves “Jews for Jesus” have made their choice. In becoming evangelical Christians, they have accepted Jesus as the Messiah. In doing so, they have rejected the most fundamental aspect of Judaism. Perhaps it would be more enlightening to hear an actual Jewish person talk about Passover.
