Readers write
More specifics on Georgia education needed from candidates
Both Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson left key challenges facing pre-K-12 educators unspoken in their interview with Cassidy Alexander: waivers, screen time, artificial intelligence and academic freedom. (“Georgia governor race: Bottoms and Jackson say they’ll raise teacher pay,” AJC, Aug. 30).
Although Georgia has established class size limits and clear parameters for what schools can demand of teachers, school systems seek waivers to opt out. This needs to end. As research increasingly demonstrates the negative effects of screen use on learning outcomes, both candidates should clarify how the state should regulate screens. Likewise, they should share their views of the role of AI in education.
Finally, the candidates’ views of academic freedom should matter. Recent laws — HB 1084 and HB 1178 — have allowed parents to silence instruction and ban books that challenge their worldview. A single complaint from a husband-and-wife duo over curriculum topics like sexual assault and vaccines in a senior AP Psychology class nearly cost me my job. My punishment — intrusive oversight and censored lessons — drove me from the classroom.
Teachers who can’t have personal libraries, choose the posters that decorate their classroom or cover topics included in national curricula will not be the GOATs we want all children to have.
With only months away, Bottoms and Jackson need to provide more specifics on education. Georgia’s children need a public school system that provides a sense of belonging, with smaller classes, a variety of learning modalities beyond screens and energized teachers with the freedom and resources to implement culturally responsive lessons.
SALLY STANHOPE, ATLANTA
GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY PH.D STUDENT, GRADUATE INSTRUCTOR
Trump hopes we’ll forget why gas prices are high
With the November election looming and gasoline prices up, President Donald Trump wants us to think he’s done something to bring prices down. It would take massive development to expand Venezuela’s oil exports enough to make much of a dent in U.S. supply.
Moreover, Trump hopes we’ll forget that the reason gas prices are high is because of his unwarranted attack on Iran. He was advised not to attack Iran by some of his top advisers, never mind the opinions of Iran experts.
RICHARD FULLER, MARIETTA
Postal Service should stay out of elections
It seems that the U.S. Postal Service has its hands full just trying to deliver the rapidly diminishing volume of mail. Yet it also seems the postmaster general is eager to expand the organization’s mission to include determining voters’ eligibility.
My advice to the PG would be to concentrate on fulfilling your primary job: getting the mail delivered accurately and efficiently. In other words, stay in your lane.
KEN MOORE, SMYRNA