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Why should John Rich dictate library catalogues?
It truly is a bad day for education when we have a very conservative country singer testifying about what materials are appropriate to be in school libraries.
These materials have been in libraries for years, and somehow those students grew up and live around us today as successful adults.
Somehow, somewhere, it seems that we have strayed from the path of education that makes you a well-rounded adult capable of understanding other points of view and concepts besides your own.
Patricia Armstrong, Nashville 37221
Plus:See how Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s new funding formula could affect school district funding
Smith was privileged with a quality education.
Re: “Republicans think they protect children by banning divisive topics. No,” by Cameron Smith, February 27.
I am a college math student. I have always been impressed by the building blocks of learning necessary to become a good mathematician.
The first degree was addition; second degree, subtraction; third grade, multiplication; fourth grade, division. Once those concepts are mastered, you can go a long way in math. High school brought Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Precalculus. The learning consisted of placing block on block.
Consider what Mr. Smith said. His education consisted not only of very similar building blocks in virtually every subject studied, but also included a building block emphasis on morality with chapel and Bible classes at Lipscomb Elementary and High School.
Then it is not until college and law school that he is introduced to books and subjects that, as he read and studied, he also had the foundation provided by his previous education that would help him figure out the bad and build on the best.
In short, it had the privilege of being protected so that the correct basic elements could be placed. Has every choice he has made since then been the right choice? Like the rest of us, no. But those early building blocks allow one to make adjustments in life to get back to what we first learned was the right decision.
Today, when high school seniors are still reading at the fifth-grade level and unable to make changes in fast-food businesses, something has gone wrong with the right building blocks.
Alsup Grass, Woodbury 37190
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Invest in traditional public schools
I am a history teacher; I am firmly behind the power of America’s public schools. I vehemently oppose any expansion of privatized charter schools, especially those governed by religious doctrine.
Public funds are best spent in the public education system, where, given the support they need and deserve, students can absolutely thrive.
I have witnessed the greatness that comes out of Wilson Country schools during my time there. Phenomenal young men with the ability to do great things. This system works. We cannot allow private for-profit corporations to use something as essential as education to line their pockets.
Rep. Bill Beck and Sen. Heidi Campbell should oppose Governor Lee’s proposed expansion of charter schools.
Jonathan Shaffer, Old Hickory 37138
Plus:Special Invited Essay Presentation on Education Financing in Tennessee
Charter schools are not the same as public schools
Governor Bill Lee wants to push charter schools any way he can. He wants to call them “public” but their finances are not transparent, they often don’t abide by the rules that the real public must abide by, they have devious ways of excluding students who require the services public schools are supposed to provide or don’t show better performance scores, nor are they run by an elected school board.
Most focus on profit, and help students second.
Hillsdale College, Lee’s favorite, has a very skewed position on most issues. It does not teach a true or complete account of American history. He appears to have a fairly right-wing view of Christianity, one that does not reflect the views of most Christians. But Hillsdale is another of Lee’s strategies to destroy public education.
Let’s save our public schools!
Larry Blanz, Nashville 37221
Editor’s Note: Currently, only nonprofit entities can operate charter schools in Tennessee.
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Why Hillsdale College is Good for Tennessee
Re: “How the Governor Addressed Hillsdale”, Feb 27.
The Tennessee article on Governor Lee and Hillsdale College was extremely biased against the college and the governor.
He mentioned “political alliances pushing for more right-wing education policies.” What we are really pushing is correcting leftist education policy, which was discovered during the COVID shutdowns to be embedded in many school policies and curricula.
You disparage interest in charter schools by calling them “The charter gospel.”
It shows a picture of a Civil War Monument without noting that it is a monument to sacrifices on the Union side.
Founded in 1844, Hillsdale was strongly anti-slavery and accepted women and minorities from its founding.
The Tennessean no doubt hoped that people in Tennessee would assume that the Civil War Memorial was a Confederate Memorial and that the school favors white supremacy. You show a large picture of him in the chapel hoping to imply that it is a school for religious extremists.
We only expect the citizens of our city and state to get their information from sources other than Tennessee.
John Nading, Nashville 37205
Hillsdale’s curriculum model misrepresents the truth
Re: “How the Governor Addressed Hillsdale”, Feb 27.
Contrary to Governor Bill Lee’s pronouncement in his State of the State address, his proposed educational partnership with Hillsdale College will serve to undermine the teaching of “true, unbiased, non-political American history.”
The Hillsdale curriculum model is designed to twist the truth in order to advance a conservative political agenda by arbitrarily rewriting, ignoring, or whitewashing inconveniently incriminating historical truths.
Chauvinism (extreme patriotism) is representative of Hillsdale’s “1776 curriculum”; a flattering vision of an American past, a yearning for an illusory America, championed by those who deny its camouflaged flaws.
Racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and patriarchy were prevalent in this idealized America. While much progress has been made, the residual stench of bias is still with us. A retrospective sense of entitlement breeds a paranoia of victimization, and refuge is sought in the imagined grandeur of the past.
Robert Judkins, Hendersonville 37075
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Do not support religious schools with public funds
Our governor’s inclusion of charter school funding in his proposed education formula is a brazen move to get taxpayers to pay for conservative religious schools.
Our public schools will suffer an even greater loss of money, loss of freedom to include different points of view, and loss of teaching critical thinking skills.
I can’t believe this is legal under our constitution.
What is happening with the separation of church and state?
Margaret Smith, Nashville 37215
How to discover immoral books
The Tennessean can help parents, voters, and legislators determine if books in school libraries contain objectionable, pornographic, or racist material.
Ask concerned parents and citizens to submit excerpts they find objectionable and post them in print or online. Be specific. The evidence needs to be examined. If The Tennessean can’t print excerpts from books submitted in the newspaper (or at least online), they probably don’t belong in the books in K-12 school libraries.
Section Disclaimer: “May be inappropriate for children under 12, 14, 18 or adults under 70.” Pick a number. Let the reader decide after they have a chance to “I know when I see it.”
Don’t embarrass concerned parents by posting the names of people submitting statements. All you need to do is verify that the excerpt is from a book in a public library. Highly moral people must protect their honor and good name.
Garbage inside garbage outside. Reading your disclaimer will suffice for me.
Wayne McDonald, Brentwood 37027