A reader who's a longtime Broward teacher says cell phone use by students is out of control.
After teaching in Broward for more than 25 years, and now as a part-time substitute, I find that one of the biggest problems that schools have is controlling the use of cell phones in classrooms. It’s out of control.
Students feel it’s their right to have their phones out at all times. It causes chaos. Teachers spend exorbitant amounts of time getting students to put phones away. Students with a phone between their legs think they’re hiding it from their teachers, or they wear earbuds with phones hidden in their backpacks.
How can teaching go on? All students want do is stay on their phones, take pictures, play games and be on social media. It’s time every school board in Florida and the Legislature take appropriate action if they want schools to be places of learning.
It’s a parent problem, too. Parents think they have a right to be in touch with their kids 24/7. Parents must remember, they can call the school and leave a message or put their child on the phone in the classroom. They don’t have to text them every time they think of something.
At many private schools, cell phones are not allowed. This may not be the sole reason why they achieve higher rates of success, but it is certainly a factor.
Hal Krantz, Coral Springs
The annual Sweet Corn Fiesta recently celebrated its 24th year in a jampacked day of delicious farm fresh food, contests and family-friendly games at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
It’s also a time to reflect on the hard work of our local farmers and our bountiful land that nourishes and sustains us.
The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is proudly the nation’s top producer of sweet corn. EAA farmers produce about 1 billion ears annually, enough for almost every person in Florida to have one a week, or enough sweet corn to circle the Earth three times.
Our sweet corn is part of what puts Palm Beach County on the map as the largest agricultural producing county in Florida and east of the Mississippi River. Beyond sweet corn, EAA farmers grow lettuce, green beans, celery, radishes, and rice, making a significant contributor to America’s domestic food supply.
Farmers across the EAA practice crop rotations, which helps maintain a healthier and more balanced soil base, implementing barn owl nesting programs as a natural form of pest control, and employing EAA best management practices to conserve water.
Thanks to this hard work, our local environment is safeguarded so that it remains fruitful for generations to come, our grocery stores stay stocked, and homegrown, delicious farm fresh food makes it to your family’s dinner table. Remember: Farmers make it all possible.
Ann Holt, Wellington
The writer is founder of the Sweet Corn Fiesta, hosted by the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau.
Kudos to the Sun Sentinel for publishing two letters to the editor, one urging Jewish voters to support Donald Trump and one urging Black voters to support Trump.
Jewish voters doubtless won’t forget Trump’s affection for the people who chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville. Black voters would be wise to remember that Trump asked New York State to execute the Central Park Five after they were exonerated.
Fairness does not require slouching to myopia, but slouching to tyranny does.
James Wilson, Plantation
When did this start?
Since the start of the human race, when was it first determined that men could tell women what to do?
What to wear. How to style their hair. Whether they could vote. To learn anything — period.
When did men first assert themselves as the superior gender? When we lived in caves, and we discovered that men could beat the hell out of women if they kvetched about something?
Now men tell women what to do with their bodies. Why?
Wendell Abern, Sunrise
