Supporting English learners

Re "Reading can help write kids' future" (Our Region, Dec. 10): As a student teacher currently working on my teaching credential, I appreciated the article by Niesha Lofing.

Education has made great strides in addressing the needs of English language learners resulting from their ever-growing numbers in California schools. This conscious effort to address the needs of English language learners is making tremendous strides; however, students are only at school for as much as seven hours a day. At the end of the day, students go home and are exposed to the native language of their families.

Having a program that supports English language development in the homes of students is a tremendous support to the students because it increases exposure to the English language in an environment where they can receive personal attention to their learning needs.

A program such as the Book of Dreams not only offers this support by making English literature accessible but also validates their native language. I think this is a wonderful program because of the support that parents need in families where English is a second language, and because it starts children off very young receiving this critical support.

– Sunny Campbell, Sacramento

Don't hesitate on kids' safety

Re "Questions for CPS Still Unanswered" (Editorial, Dec. 9): If one child is being neglected, why would there be any question about the others? Children are taken away for bad parenting, and if they feel the need to take one child away, they should take all of the parents' children away.

The Moua case is definitely a prime example of this. The oldest child was taken from her home while the rest remained with their parents. Two of the children were killed and one was seriously injured.

The Bee editorial brings up an important point for this situation: CPS needs to step up and admit its mistakes in the case. If it had taken proper precautions, two children would still be alive today. There should be no hesitation when it comes to the safety of children.

– Matt Oakland, Elk Grove

The toll of mental illness

Re "Mental trouble found common in young adults," Page A12, Dec. 2): There is a common belief that mental illness is not a legitimate health issue in our population. This is a false and potentially damaging position, as it tends to marginalize these disorders – ostracizing already suffering patients and causing others with true mental illness to hesitate in seeking needed therapy.

This perception is alluded to in a letter to the editor questioning the assertions of a recent article focusing on the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young adults. I am not a psychiatrist, but as a gastroenterologist, I have treated many patients with gastrointestinal manifestations triggered or worsened by underlying mental illness such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety.

Whether the increasing incidence of these disorders is due to improved awareness or some other cause is unclear. What is clear is that the toll of untreated mental illness to society is great, resulting in increased drug and alcohol abuse, crime and an increasing burden on our social services.

It is my hope that our society continues to seek understanding of both mental illness and those that suffer from these disorders.

– Alexander Low, M.D., Folsom

Problems with burning wood

Re "Davis fired up over wood heat plan" (Our Region, Dec. 9): Thanks to Hudson Sangree for his article on Davis weighing a ban on wood-burning fireplaces.

When there are wood-burning stoves in operation for meals and at the same time a constant fire in the fireplace, this can cause a problem. And if there are just two or more neighbors doing this all winter, how does that affect their non-burning neighbors? They receive the exhaust.

This puts a minority of people in control over the majority.

– Henry Rutledge, Fair Oaks

Free market vs. green jobs?