Common Core aid to military families
As a retired Army general, I applaud AJC columnist Jay Bookman (“Why the Pentagon Backs Common Core,” Aug. 15, Opinion) for underscoring the importance of consistent, high education standards for military families.
One certainty of life in the service is the promise one will have to move frequently. In fact, the average child in a military family will move six to nine times during their k-12 schooling, three times more than a child in a civilian family. My three daughters moved 11 times before graduating high school. That kind of mobility requires students to transition in and out of schools. Inconsistencies in what is taught from one classroom to the next can leave a child struggling to catch up, or to relearn material they have already mastered.
This is why the military community supports the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core sets well-defined, high goals for each grade level that are congruent from state to state. They don’t dictate what is taught in the classroom or how it’s taught, but establish clear levels of proficiency. For the more than 2 million students with parents in the military, that consistency is hugely important.
SPIDER MARKS, EXECUTIVE DEAN, COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
Gas costs will rise if federal tax hiked
Guest columns in the AJC last week featured interesting transportation costs. In “Find a transportation fix, or Ga. loses” (Opinion, Aug. 19), former state Rep. Edward Lindsey wrote a Georgian will pay $85 annually in state gas taxes while driving 12,000 miles at 24 miles per gallon. But the total tax bite is about $200 a year, considering 26 cents a gallon for federal and state fuel taxes, plus the Georgia sales tax of 4 percent of, say, a $3.50 pump price.
In “Port expansion shows state is committed” (Opinion, Aug. 19), Ray LaHood, former Secretary of the U. S. Department of Transportation, recommends a so-called “modest” 54 percent increase in the federal portion of the fuel tax, from 18.5 to 28.5 cents a gallon. That would raise the annual cost to $250 — or $375 for the 18,000 miles a year many people drive. That’s two to four times the impact noted by Mr. Lindsey. Mr. LaHood would automatically adjust the federal fuel tax for inflation.
ROGER CARTER, WOODSTOCK
Without facts, don’t judge Ferguson
The events in Ferguson are a classic example of the kind of systemic failure that takes place when legitimate questions are answered with mob behavior. That an individual died and a police officer allegedly fired the fatal shots is all anyone knows with certainty. The rest of the event is lost in an escalating loop of meaningful demonstrations rendered insignificant by criminal looting and destruction, answered by officials who ramp up the public safety response to deal with lawlessness.
Investigation into the initial incident has hardly begun. Those who claim to know what actually happened are either delusional or have no use for the truth. A grand jury is the immediate next step, but can they wisely judge when a valid investigation will take weeks? How can true peace be restored when justice is trammeled by looters and political hacks and facts are postponed as irrelevant?
DENNIS E. MCGOWAN, SNELLVILLE
