Give school choice to all our children
At no time in his diatribe, “Vouchers undercut public ed” (Opinion, March 15), does Jay Bookman speak to the worthiness of our government schools. He also refers almost exclusively to the “rich” or 1 percent, ignoring the fact vouchers will give the other 99 percent the same option the 1 percent have — school choice.
Competition always makes the service or product better over time. That’s not to say some government legislation can’t be improved. However, the choice of parents to educate their children with public taxes is public education, and probably much better. This is from a guy whose ex is a retired government teacher, whose daughter is an ex government teacher, and whose son is a graduate of a supposedly exceptional Broward County school system.
I have a dream — to be free of the yokes government schools place upon us and which liberals want left on us while so many of them send their kids to “private schools.”
BRIAN WALKER, ACWORTH
AP History debate itself worth study
Reading state Sen. William Ligon’s criticism of the College Board’s changes in AP History curriculum (“America’s melting pot turns into boiling pot,” Opinion, March 17) reveals a striking opportunity for Advanced Placement students to “learn how to learn.” The current AP History debate is, in fact, historical. As it is being conducted, the terms can be laid out in the first week before a single page is turned in the textbook. American Exceptionalism is either a fact beyond question, or it can be viewed as part of a zeitgeist worthy of challenge.
The notion of “lenses,” societal mythology and nationalism would be approached as a basis for this debate. Mr. Ligon’s preferred texts would indeed be the core of the course — rich fodder for analysis and debate. “Learning to learn” begs us to defer all conclusions as long as legitimate and useful inquiry remains. That may not be appropriate in the average American history course, but it is in an Advanced Placement course.
TOM DOOLITTLE, ATLANTA
Press should curb bias in coverage
The Fourth Estate seems to have abrogated its responsibility to serve as a watchdog to protect our republic from abuses of power and corruption of our federal and local governments. Over time, the print and electronic media (the AJC included) has evolved into a noticeably biased voice of a particular political party instead of serving the general public by maintaining a semblance of objective journalism.
I, for one, look forward to the return of the days when there was far less politicizing of the news and current events. The media has a critical role to play in our society, and I encourage the free press to exercise more introspection and objectivity when reporting the news.
JIM SIEGENDORF, JEFFERSON
