Letter to Senator Reed

The Initiation of Interaction

My life continues to become more and more hectic, but I will do as best I can to keep up with this new feature. Below is a sample letter that I will be editing and sending off to Senator Jack Reed. Eventually, I will post letters to other important Rhode Island politicians.

I attempted to keep the letter to one page in order to be succinct and concise. I wouldn't want to ramble when I'm trying to keep the Senator's attention throughout the letter. I tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but surely that will improve as I write more letters. Moreover, I again encourage you to write letters or e-mails of your own to Senators and Representatives. (especially ones previously listed on the site) I hope that you will take a lead from my letters, but definitely integrate your own personal touch to your letters. Remember, every small piece counts.

But without further adieu, the first letter:

[Return Address]
[Return Address]
26 March 2007

The Honorable Jack Reed
201 Hillside Road, Suite 200
Cranston, RI 02920-5602

Dear Senator Reed:

As a teenager and high school sophomore in Rhode Island, I find it difficult to avoid constantly being bombarded by my education. It began early, remains prevalent today, and represents the foundation of my future. Like your website states, I agree that “education is the key to our economic future.” This fact remains legitimate on the individual, state, and nationwide levels. In that regard, I am both grateful and impressed to discover that you helped engineer a program that has contributed nearly one hundred million dollars to school libraries.

Rhode Island is a great state, and I am certainly proud to live within its borders. Still, it is not without flaws. The most widely sweeping reform in national education over the past several years has been No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Frequently, the press touts this legislation as President Bush’s signature domestic achievement. However, I beg to differ. In my experiences with the programs and policies brought on by this federal mandate, I have met not only frustration and disappointment, but most of all a sense of infidelity to tangible student needs.

Especially in Rhode Island, the problems in education have been miscalculated. Proficiency-based Graduation Requirements (PBGR) allocate augmented burdens of stress to high school students already pressed with an assortment of academic demands. Still in its developmental stages, this system strives to standardize the success of every high school student in the state through the ambiguous label of proficiency. On a scale of just 1 through 4, each student’s work is evaluated, with a three representing minimal required proficiency. Keep in mind these rubrics are graded subjectively by hundreds of different teachers around the state. It is hard to argue that the premiere work of an Advanced Placement student can be equated with the best of a College Prep student. Furthermore, proponents of this incomplete system deduce that the e-portfolio will benefit students in the future. Frankly, however, universities and employers will not sincerely browse an applicant’s 24, 48, or 72 artifacts. My peers and I feel strongly about this issue, and we collectively urge you to further research the subject and exercise influence to rectify the matter.

Respectfully yours,

Theodore J. Capaldi
Student, Westerly High School