Thank you,
Eddie S. Maddock

The Superintendent is correct. Our schools and teachers do incredible work with minimal resources. The voters need to support referendums when facts prove them to be of value, while parents need to be involved in the classrooms and in parent organizations. And children must be expected to be civil, respectful and studious and held fully accountable equally by all when not.

It is the parent involvement which is crucial. No child will succeed without parental support and accountability because no school, no teacher, no peer will influence a child’s outcome and output more than a parent/guardian. Education must be a #1 priority for achievement in the home and for those without English, it must be important for the parents to learn from the children. Children and parents must teach each other.

As a child of an immigrant, learning English allowed me to excel in school and go to college, and I taught my parents the language during homework time. They eventually landed good jobs and my mom went to college later.

My father taught us that language was a tool no different than a wheel or fire, a skill builder and nothing more. He had little respect for those in our community who refused to learn the English language, and who clung to old ways that new knowledge or science debunked. My parents believed all ancestors had adapted to new societies and cultures or they would not have survived, and that American freedoms demanded integrity and honor. They are right.

I believe it is racist to encourage lack of assimilation. Those that do not avail themselves of every freedom and opportunity America has to offer will never be more than subjects of others, whether your local grocery, employer, bank or religious leaders. Return to your old countries to understand the gifts America has given the poor and disenfranchised, the religious or the atheist. It is a gift to be living in America, so appreciate the source of that gift and honor it.

To those of you with little money or education, may I suggest you join the military and earn a free education and medical care. You can volunteer anywhere to build your skills. It’s a worthy and honorable exchange for the right to live free of the old ways.

Thank you for your patience reading my comment.