Calgary Sun letters to the editor, May 5, 2024

Article content

Nenshi, now Gondek

Article content

Jyoti Gondek continues to demand more money from the feds and the province. The city of Calgary has millions in a slush fund, yet she raised taxes above what was supposed to happen, made people pay to park in front of their own homes, killed the arena deal that now will cost us more. Wants money for a climate emergency. She is a tax-and-spend mayor just like Naheed Nenshi was. If people would have checked her record, she voted for every tax increase Nenshi wanted. She does not listen to the people.

Article content

Richard Mrozinski

(She should be listening.)

Should have asked for more

Our mayor must have slept better now she has her transport subsidy of $6.2 million. Once again our premier proved that she has the funding to control our city hall like a monkey in a stick. Our highly educated Mayor Gondek should have should have kept her mouth shut and requested Ms. Smith join the fast train research and ask for $9 million to help her with the Green Line. Too bad our mayor with her education has learned to play the political game.

Article content

Article content

Champak Bhaumik

(That game is quite common.)

NDP debate a letdown

Recently I attended the NDP leadership debate. What a dull non-event that was. While many people were there, I was surprised how few young people were in attendance. Lots of talk but no substance. In group discussions afterward one good thing was apparent. If Naheed Nenshi gets control, we could finally see the end of the radical left socialist influence on the party. That’s really held the party back. Nenshi’s points on balancing budgets, reduced spending and smaller government were welcome. However, going by the body language and lack of energy both on stage and in the audience, one can’t believe this lot will stir much overall support. Nenshi states he doubles NDP membership to 32,000. One candidate pointed out this is only 0.01% of the 2.94 million voters in the province. With their history and this low membership, it’s unlikely the NDP will win in 2027, but perhaps 2031, 2035?

Article content

Tom Burns 

(Substance would be appreciated.)  

Dangerously distracting devices

As a teacher with over 40-plus years of experience, I am now enjoying retirement. However, I still engage in substitute teaching from time to time. I’ve observed that cellphones have become dangerously distracting devices. Students should be focusing on reading and creating coherent texts, rather than relying on screen-generated acronyms and emojis. The addiction to their phones is evident, and it has led to a loss of face-to-face interaction that was prevalent in previous generations. In the classroom, the ability to read and write with concentration has diminished; students find it overly taxing to engage with static pages of text. This shift away from traditional learning modalities has implications for cognitive development and social skills. Cellphones need to be banned in the classroom. No more compromises. I have seen the consequences of trying to implement different strategies to incorporate them as teaching tools, but that has failed. I am not a Luddite. I own cellphones, laptops and tablets, but there is a place and time for everything, and the classroom is no place for cellphones. 

Harvey Loria

(You bring up valid points.)

Article content