SF Weekly Letters

It's Harder to See a Camouflaged Elephant
PE the best you can PE: The big elephant in the room is that JROTC can't get PE credit unless its instructors are certified by the state of California's credential system, just like every other teacher in this state ["Cadets in the Crossfire," Lauren Smiley, Feature, 4/8]. But from what I know, JROTC instructors are not certified by the state to teach PE. You might be a former colonel or sergeant, but it's no shortcut to being legally allowed to give PE credit. And in this budget crunch, the extra activities the instructors do at their schools cost the district money in ways we don't really think about, like cleanup costs by janitors, someone locking down the facility at night, electricity use, etc.

Akit

Web Comment

Open Minds Close Doors
Warring over JROTC: There are more than five pages of news to the JROTC program. I went through the whole four years, and my parents are really proud of me.

I don't see the downside to a military. They protect us. If teenagers decide that they want to aid their country in protecting its citizens when they turn 18, what's the problem? At least it'll be an informed decision. I know people who weren't in JROTC and joined the military with even less information. I see a higher rate of non-JROTC students joining up and talking to recruiters then I did for JROTC students.

The budget is a problem to everyone, but since part of the program is funded by the Department of Defense, that might have saved the district some money. Now the school district will need to have the facilities for the students going from JROTC to PE if it decides to get rid of the program. The facilities are limited, and the teachers even more so.

And then there's the janitorial staff. I don't know how it works at other schools, but at mine, we had daily company sanitary patrol, which meant we cleaned the JROTC room every day. There was no need for a janitor in our classroom. We also leave school the same time as any other extracurricular programs do.

For a liberal city, why can't we see past this? There are choices, and this is one of them. Why eliminate it? Open-minded liberals ... sure, very narrowly open-minded liberals. I'm liberal on all my social issues except this one. I believe we do need a military, but I know we don't always need war, especially if we're the offensive ones. If it is for defense, I'm all for it. Who else will risk their lives? The board members? I doubt it. If there were a draft, I bet most people would be more willing to have JROTC to train people, just so they don't have to go themselves.

Joining the military doesn't always mean going to fight and shoot and kill. There are desk jobs and intelligence sections. I hope someone reads this article — it says some things I'd like to get out to people about the program I stayed with for four years and I never regretted.

Kimberly Sae-Ung

San Francisco

Blog Quotes of the Week
Regarding the recent influx of small pets, especially Chihuahuas, at local shelters:
This is just ridiculous. We talk about this time and time again, and it keeps happening. Anyone who is unaware of how bad this is should walk into a dog shelter and see for themselves. Really. Then walk into a pet store and try to determine if those pets are well looked after. Not always.

People should do enough breed research and not rely on just looks. Celebrities who use and/or have pets as part of their careers and lives should join in asking people to be more responsible.

If you don't want to put in the time to work on your pets' habits, good and bad, don't get a pet.

Kevin

That bunny looks delicious!

Edible