To the editor:
I recently chatted with some county lads — seniors and a recent graduate — and asked them what their (public) schools were teaching them. They answered in unison, “NOTHING!” Taken aback, but intrigued, I asked them to name their 5 bedrock rights in the First Amendment. Only one came close, with “protest!”, which loosely corresponds to “the right to petition government for redress of grievance.” I then asked each to name 6 African countries, but none could. One replied, “Quebec”, so I shifted gears and requested he name Canada’s provinces and territories. Nervous laughter followed. When I asked if they learned CRT they all said “YES!” with one emphatically adding, “especially in Leland!” Knowing one’s core rights is fundamental to being an American, in my opinion, and those who don’t are merely individuals residing within the boundaries of the United States. If county graduates cannot recite the BILL of RIGHTS when handed their diplomas -— and grasp the underlying philosophy of American liberty— then our schools have failed them, in my view. And what else aren’t they learning? Geography, civics, certainly. History, Ethics? State test scores are unimpressive. Are these fledglings being tossed out of the nest and expected to fly as citizens on mangled wings? Cut off from the past, trapped in an eternal present, critical thinking impaired, they live in mortal danger of becoming democrats. As America exits a holocaust and enters its new “Golden Age” under President Trump I know our schools can do better.
Curt Raftshol Suttons Bay
