Readers Write (Dec. 1): Harmon Killebrew, school suspensions, the polls, the future of driving, downtown Minneapolis entertainment options

The Nov. 14 article "Could Killebrew get his own stamp?" was a fascinating blast from the past, and I think we can all agree that Harmon Killebrew deserves such an honor. As a Twins slugger for most of his career, he was a great ambassador for both Minnesota and the sport of baseball. His incredible ability to smash home runs out of the old Met Stadium helped make the Twins a powerhouse in the 1960s. He inspired a generation of ballplayers throughout the Twin Cities and the Midwest, and was a stand-up guy both on and off the field. A commemorative stamp with his image on it is a small honor, but well-deserved for an American legend like Killebrew. The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should strongly consider him in its next round of stamp selections in 2015.

Diane N. Pulling's Nov. 20 commentary regarding new policies for suspensions in the Robbinsdale Area School District ("Suspensions down, disruptions up") shed light on how and why systemic racism has existed in schools for years.

Many teachers are racist and do not even realize it. I have taught for 14 years in Minnesota public schools and have seen students of color repeatedly receive prejudicial treatment by teachers.

Classroom management is in fact about building relationships with kids and acknowledging the color of their skin. Great teachers start doing this on the first day of school and every day following. Building these relationships is as important as teaching the core class content.

Too many teachers claim to be colorblind. By doing so, educators deny the racialized and often racist experiences students of color have every single day.

Closing the achievement gap and ending the institutionalized racism that exists in schools requires a complete overhaul of the education system. Robbinsdale's Aldo Sicoli is doing what most superintendents would be afraid to do: enact change.

If teachers like Pulling are not willing to engage in these long-overdue changes, they need to get out of education.

It may be helpful to check out other things the American people have indicated through polls. Seventy-one percent support raising the federal minimum wage (CNN). Up to 90 percent favor tougher background checks for gun purchases (Washington Post). Fifty-eight percent want more stem-cell research (ABC). Finally, 74 percent think the government should be responsible for elderly health care, and 56 percent feel the same regarding the poor.

There's your agenda, Congress. You may take your dispute with the president on immigration to the Supreme Court.

As someone who programs computers for a living, I'm skeptical of the excitement over Google's "self-driving" cars. Yes, many thousands of lives are lost in vehicle accidents across the country every year, and the effort to reduce human error is noble. The technology has a long way to go, however, and it won't ever be perfect. How will we feel when the first fatality occurs because of faulty electronics or software?

Danger comes from many avenues. One of the bigger technical challenges is that depth and motion is not actually perceived, but merely inferred from two-dimensional video images. Another problem is that engineers, being humans themselves, make errors: The Mars Climate Orbiter, for example, crashed in 1999 because of an engineering goof. The consequences of mistakes in the programming of vehicles driving at high speeds are obviously horrendous. Finally, imagine human drivers learning to drive more aggressively on freeways because the computer-driven vehicles sharing the road yield to their recklessness.

Maybe someday this technology will improve transportation. But let's keep our skepticism intense and demand persuasive evidence.

A hydrogen-powered car is being introduced for sale next year. The output from the combustion of this vehicle is carbon-free. I think it would be wise for us to invest in a hydrogen refueling infrastructure across this nation, rather than supporting the Keystone pipeline that will transport dirty Canadian oil across our land to Louisiana for foreign sales. I'm looking forward to when transportation can occur without noxious emissions.

As I read the news that The Forum is once again being resurrected (Nov. 19), I thought back to the places where I ate as a teen and young adult in downtown Minneapolis. My friends and I loved to go downtown to shop a bit and eat.

Where did we eat? The Forum. Woolworth's cafeteria. The Mayflower Doughnut shop. A bagel with cream cheese and jelly at the Brothers. Pizza at the Venice Cafe. The lunch counter in Powers' basement. Bridgeman's. Spaghetti at Cafe di Napoli. As a student at St. Margaret's Academy, I remember taking field trips to John's Place and La Casa Coronado, as none of us had any experience with Asian or Mexican food. Things have changed. Is there any food venue downtown that is not either part of a chain or expensive? Is there any reason for a young person to go downtown — during the daytime?

I am writing to express my appreciation and enthusiasm for the Minneapolis Community and Technical College's Theatre on The Park series. I recently attended the play "The Madwoman of Chaillot" and was delighted by the story and intergenerational actors. This theater is a well-kept secret amid all the other small but sophisticated theater in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Maxine Klein, the theater director, does an amazing job of casting and crafting each play. These shows are free to the public. I would encourage all of you to attend the next one, "Intimate Apparel," which is about Esther, a black seamstress in New York in 1905, to be performed Feb. 11–14.