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Welcome Back to School
Your article about professionals who switch careers and join the school system, "Rookie Teacher, Age 50" [EDUCATION, April 9], discussed a very important topic. At age 56, after 30 years as a construction engineer with the City of Los Angeles, I retired and started teaching fifth grade in Santa Ana. Teaching elementary school is the most difficult, intellectually challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done. JOHN ZIEBARTH Fountain Valley, Calif.
I loved reading about my new colleague James Fogel, the 50-year-old judge turned teacher. After teaching history, civics and government for 15 years, I'd like to quit and go fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a judge. Yet the judicial system heavily favors applicants with a law degree. I'd be required to spend a year or more obtaining degrees in law! Why isn't the shortage of judges being addressed with fast-track programs for entry into that profession? TOM PETERSEN Richmond Beach, Wash.
Unsung Heroines
I read with interest the review of new books about the civil rights movement and the struggle to end segregation [BOOKS, April 9]. While your critic noted that one book, Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement by Constance Curry, was among the best on the subject, he didn't discuss it further. I was disappointed not to read more about this book, but thanks for highlighting these important contributions to American history. JEWELL DASSANCE Washington
Deep in Our Hearts, an oral history of young women in the '60s civil rights movement, was published in October by the University of Georgia Press, whose phone number is 800-266-5842.
Damming the Rivers of Cash
Charles Krauthammer simply misses the mark in his commentary opposing campaign-finance reform [VIEWPOINT, April 9]. He defends the American political tradition that says all kinds of voices and interests must be allowed to clash in order to produce a diverse balance. But the main purpose of campaign-finance reform is to restore some balance between the political access available to constituents (through letters and phone calls) and the much more influential access available to those with huge amounts of money. Krauthammer seems to feel that swollen rivers of cash are inevitable in politics. But reform takes a first step toward making ideas, not money, the currency of politics. JEREMY RAYMONDJACK Lowell, Mass.
Krauthammer stated that "there are few more important or more cherished ways for those outside the political system to express themselves than by contributing to a political party that reflects their views." Poor li'l ole naive me. I always thought that the most important and most cherished way to express myself politically was to vote for the people who reflect my views. If the special interests were stripped of their power, it would surely be enough for my wishes to be heard and acted upon. RACHEL WUBKER Cinnaminson, N.J.
Rally for Reform
Money equals influence. Why not have campaign reform that limits how much a candidate can spend [NATION, April 9]? No level playing field here! And why not limit the time for campaigning to the six weeks right before an election? This would cut costs and save us all from tiresome, repetitious political speeches! BARBARA FERRIZ Naples, Fla.