Thank you to Hollister Library
I must put pen to paper and express my sincere gratitude to the Hollister Library for making the last year and a half so much better during the pandemic!! They made it possible for me to get every book I wanted and my solitary life was very much enhanced by getting lost in a good book.
It only took a phone call and a quick drive to the library and voila! My books were ready to go. Whoever assisted me on the phone was always accommodating and more than helpful and I am forever thankful to the competent staff.
Seventy-three years ago I stepped into the Hollister Library and Nancy Drew sealed the deal. Books have been a part of my life ever since and how lucky we are to have such a marvelous library with an even more marvelous staff.
Jan Ames
Hollister
Take back your child’s mind
One of the few bright spots during the pandemic was that I had the opportunity to monitor what my child was being taught, as I could often hear the Zoom meetings in the background. I would carefully check in to make sure my child was not taught critical race theory, economics which spoke badly of the free market and other anti-American propaganda being passed off as education these days.
I would encourage all parents to make sure that your child is being educated in the three R’s and not in social justice. You, the parents, get to set the moral tone of your family, not the government, and certainly not the public schools.
Teachers are people too, and their views and opinions may come through from time to time because they are human. But the school, the district, the boards of education should be selecting curriculum which promotes good teaching, and the learning of basic fundamental skills, concepts and abilities.
To be fair, my child was blessed with some teachers who actually added some extra meetings to help prepare her for the AP tests. Since they had to go the extra mile to do this, not one second should have been spent teaching kids about pronouns (I am referring to what gender people identify with).
One thing that did come through loud and clear in the curriculum was this myth of equity. As I have mentioned many times, similar words do not mean the same thing—equity does not equal equality. Equality means that each student has an equal opportunity to receive an education, equal teaching, equal access, etc. Now I am not going to pretend that this occurs 100% of the time, but this at least is an attainable goal.
Equity refers to an equal outcome, and that is not only impossible to achieve, but is also un-American. We do not seem to have a problem with people having innate differences in talent in athletics, art, interpersonal skills, etc., but when we talk about innate differences in intelligence, people go nuts.
I was a good athlete playing in both high school and college and I worked hard, but I was never going to play professionally. I simply was not talented enough. Nobody cried for me, but when we say that a student, no matter how hard they work, and how much extra help we provide can’t perform integral calculus, some scream racism. Just because people choose to ignore them doesn’t mean they cease to be facts.
The fact is, not everyone can be an engineer, a doctor, a pilot, etc. So equity comes in and says “level the playing field”—I would say, “lower the bar.”
You have a wonderful opportunity during this pandemic to take back your child’s mind. Remember even in what passes off as America today you are still the parents. While that child lives in your home, you have the right to set the family tone. You have the responsibility to teach your children well, and need the resolve to make sure that your child is exposed to, has a love for, and a passion to pursue truth, not narrative. Use this time that they are being forced to be educated at home and take back your child’s mind.
Randy Logue
Hollister
