Reply All | Letters: The 9.15.13 Issue

CAN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BE TAUGHT?

I respect what these programs are trying to do. But I worry that they seem to be forcing children to share their feelings even if they don't want to. Do schools have the right to require children to announce their emotional state all the time and volunteer information about all aspects of their lives? I think a shy child, or a child who comes from a family that values privacy, might find this very uncomfortable. Wanting to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself (when you aren't among family and close friends) isn't a character flaw, even in children. BETH BABCOCK, Miami, posted on nytimes.com

As a therapist, I see many patients who were never taught this type of information. As adults they have difficulty finding words to express their feelings, cannot calm themselves after being upset, cannot tolerate the intense feelings of others, may become numb or persistently depressed and have obsessive negative thoughts long after the emotions have dissipated. I frequently wish that emotional-intelligence skills were taught in school to prevent so much misery in childhood and adulthood. Why should children be forced to suffer when the information is readily available? SHELLEY DIAMOND, San Francisco, posted on nytimes.com

The child's overall lifestyle — sleep, diet and exercise — is probably even more influential on school performance than any pseudo-cognitive behavioral therapy. If only schools could teach parents how to be parents. ROBERT FAHEY, Burlington, Mass., posted on nytimes.com

NO CHILD LEFT UNTABLETED

I'm a music teacher, and I think the idea of teaching a classroom of children with tablets is awful. They are already so distracted by technology. They need a smart, engaged adult standing in a room with them, talking to them, explaining things to them. I love technology when appropriate in my classroom. I don't lament the loss of the 8-mm projector in favor of a Smart Board. I'm happy to use film clips of musicals with middle-school students, and I keep my iPod handy to play songs that illustrate my lesson. But kids staring at a screen? No way. ROSEMARY BUETIKOFER, Harleysville, Pa., posted on nytimes.com

Do you not look down at a book? Do you not turn your back toward students to write on a chalkboard? Do you not look at a projector screen or a computer monitor? A tablet can be a way to aggregate all of those. As opposed to having numerous places to look for both teacher and student, now they can have one place, thus allowing for more eye contact. It's actually a solution, not a problem. TYLER M. REID, Louisville, Ky., posted on nytimes.com

THE BOY GENIUS OF ULAN BATOR

What moves me most about this article is that this young man allied his intelligence with a mission to help others — from a family member to all of humanity. Reminds me of that quote: "Love! Love! Love! That is the soul of genius." PAUL ROSSI, New York, posted on nytimes.com

All learning is individual, and we insist on teaching in groups, to the lowest common denominator, when an alternative is now readily available in the form of MOOCs. Think of the human potential that will be unleashed everywhere! CAROL HARRINGTON, Anacortes, Wash., posted on nytimes.com

HOW TO GET A JOB WITH A PHILOSOPHY DEGREE

I was a philosophy major, and I recently retired from a long, successful and relatively well-paid career. College should be for education, not vocational training. Most nonspecialized skills can be picked up on the job. If I were hiring for a general management or business job, I would much prefer a philosophy, history or literature (or hard-science or math) major over a business major. Better to have brains, imagination and cultural literacy than a vocational-training business degree. JACK AUBERT, Falls Church, Va., posted on nytimes.com

Bill Gates didn't graduate from college; Steve Jobs used the same old rotary phone as everyone else growing up. Living with imagination and drive are the key elements to building a career. A philosophy major has just as much if not more of both of those. So go ahead, condemn your own children to being hired and fired by someone else — teach them to think small. PRISCILLA KAWAKAMI, Salt Lake City, posted on nytimes.com

THE REAL-LIFE 'GLEE' IN LEVITTOWN, PA.

The power of good teaching — the power of a drama program — no test can quantify this. @nyccollaborator, via Twitter

E-mail letters to magazine@nytimes.com or post comments at nytimes.com/magazine. Letters should include the writer's name, address and daytime telephone number. We are unable to acknowledge or return unpublished submissions. Letters and comments are edited for length and clarity. The address of The New York Times Magazine is 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 29, 2013

A report in The One-Page Magazine on Sept. 15 about a book on why authors drink referred incorrectly to John Cheever's connection to Alcoholics Anonymous. He did indeed find sobriety with A.A.; it is not the case that, unlike Raymond Carver, he did not.

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