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Setting the record straight

Re: "Bad Jews" review by David Raymond. Great review!

Just one thing. Chai is NOT a Hebrew letter. It's a Hebrew word consisting of two Hebrew letters. Important distinction in the play and otherwise.

JONATHAN GETNICK

Forums deserve coverage

A September 8 editorial in City decrying the lack of attention paid to our city schools, says the following: "Fix the schools? Maybe we're not up to the job. It is our responsibility to deal with this. But given our mindset, collective and individual, I worry that the job is just bigger than the Greater Rochester community is willing to tackle."

Having expressed that the job is up to all of us, you would think that City would then give some attention to the program, "The Crisis in our Schools: Is There a Future for Public Education," a series of public forums taking place in the community throughout the fall.

The planning committee for this important program, composed of representatives from Writers & Books, the University of Rochester, Nazareth College, the Coalition for Justice in Education, the Rochester Teachers Association, the Rochester Community Foundation, Roberts Wesleyan College, and the Alliance for Quality Education has responded to City's editorial staff's oft-stated request for creative solutions to Rochester's education problems by creating a "community read" of education reformer Diane Ravitch's book, "Reign of Error," and a series of community forums discussing a range of issues impacting public education in our community.

We are very disappointed that City has chosen not to announce or have press coverage of these forums. We believe that the Rochester community should know about these opportunities to learn about education issues and that City, which is rightfully calling for more of a focus on our schools, and is one of the most effective vehicles to inform the community about these forums, has chosen to ignore them.

The remaining public forums are:

• "Why Would Anyone Want to be a Teacher Today?" 7 p.m. on November 5, at Nazareth College's Schultz Forum Room;

• "Would a Metropolitan School District be Good for Monroe County?" 7 p.m. on November 19, at Third Presbyterian Church;

• "What is the Role of the Community in Providing Early Childhood Learning?" 2 p.m. on November 23, Rundel Library;

• "What is a Good School?" 7 p.m. on December 3, at the Rochester Museum & Science Center's Eisenhart Auditorium.

JOE FLAHERTY

Executive Director, Writers & Books

DAN DRMACICH

Writers & Books "The Crisis in our Schools" Planning Team Member