Parents in New Hampshire, and in many other parts of the country, are arguing that they need to approve of everything their children are being taught. I find this an outrageous concept.
Education is meant to broaden one’s horizons, open one’s mind to a larger world of ideas and viewpoints. If they are only allowed to have information of which their parents approve, how is this going to happen? What is the point of the education profession if the job of schools is to just repeat what kids have already learned at home?
If a child is Catholic, should that child not learn about religions practiced by the other 84% of the world’s population? If the parents are prejudiced against Asians, for example, should their children not learn about the rich history of Asia or how Asian Americans have been discriminated against in the U.S.?
Why would you want your children (and by extension all the rest of the children in that school) constrained by the narrowness of you own biases? Doesn’t education mean being given not just facts, but also the tools to contrast and compare differing ideas?
If we want a society that embraces and adapts to the coming challenges, we need to educate our kids, not indoctrinate them.
BETH DINGMAN
Norwich
We talk with people every day about climate change. Most of them are worried about what the future holds, most of them know that human activity is the cause. Many of them have made changes in their personal lives to cut their own emissions: become one-car households; chosen to eat less meat; installed solar panels or joined a solar collective; insulated their homes or replaced old windows; purchased Energy Star appliances, etc.
What we don’t hear very often is that they’ve called their legislators to ask for national leadership to address the problem. And without national legislation, there is no way we can ever achieve the emissions reductions that science tells us are required to maintain a healthy planet.
So, we have to ask: What’s with that?
Have thoughtful, responsible Americans lost confidence in democracy, in the belief that government listens to we the people? Say it isn’t so; we don’t want to believe our efforts to make a better world are pointless.
As members of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, for many years we have supported legislation that would make the polluters pay and distribute those funds to American households. The overwhelming majority of economists say that without a carbon tax, we will never hit the carbon targets that climate scientists tell us are necessary to curb the effects of climate change.
Your voice can support democracy and the future: Go to cclusa.org/white-house and ask President Joe Biden to address the single most important issue of our time by putting a price on carbon.
BOB and SUZANNAH CIERNIA
Wilder
Earlier this year the sitting City Council identified four “priority areas”: housing, economic development, infrastructure and tax rate stabilization. I applaud the council for going through the process to identify these areas of focus because, through my conversations with Claremont voters, I know that these are the issues folks are thinking about.
If I’m elected to the City Council, I will continue to work on addressing these issues.
One priority area I am personally invested in is housing. When I worked as a case manager with West Central Behavioral Health, I saw firsthand the struggles folks face in finding safe, affordable housing. Most times, due to Claremont’s lack of housing, I would have to help folks move to a different part of the state.
As part of my plan to address this housing crisis I would promote smart zoning and land-use policies that are resident friendly. In high-opportunity communities like Claremont, we need more housing, and more housing that is affordable.
To achieve this we need to reduce regulatory barriers that limit our housing market.
I also think there is value in working collaboratively with partners in our region. The New Hampshire Association of Regional Planning Commissions recently put out a report that noted regional planning and coordination as being critical in addressing New Hampshire’s housing crisis.
To play our part, the city should form a housing task force to look at our housing policies and work with regional partners to provide recommendations that will address the affordable housing crisis.
I’ve said it many times, but Claremont has made so much progress since I first moved here. I want to build on that progress to harness our full potential.
But if we don’t act now and address issues like housing, that potential could be snatched away from us.
MATT MOOSHIAN
Claremont