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Calm the Waters

I read in the Dec. 16 article “BOE Candidates Look Back on Contest, Forward on Issues” that Noel Petra claims he’s heard from many parents, the majority of whom say they want nothing to do with the five Republican candidates of the past election and that they don’t want those candidates near their schools or—even worse—near their children. For a sitting Board of Education (BOE) member to make this kind of statement to a newspaper is reprehensible.

Petra should be trying to calm the waters after the bitter campaign, not stir the pot of anger with comments such as these. The five Republican candidates aren’t toxic, nor were the ideas and platform on which they ran. They’re concerned parents whose children attend the Guilford schools, caring parents who want the very best educational experience for their children. They simply want children taught in an environment that’s open to disparate opinions, where all the relevant facts of subjects being discussed are presented—both the good and the bad. And they want those facts presented with an acknowledgment of historical context, rather than being judged solely by today’s standards.

What they don’t want are discussions limited to the fact or side that fits the teacher’s preferred narrative. And they don’t want children to be confused or indoctrinated by opinions and conclusions represented as facts.

It’s disappointing that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman or the BOE as a whole didn’t issue any public repudiation of Petra’s statements. It’s true that their side won. There are no opposing voices on the school board. But isn’t it the BOE’s job to listen, with an open mind and respect, to all Guilford parents rather than publicly painting them as pariahs? Countering the vitriol of Petra’s statements would’ve been a good place to start.

Margaret Sills Franco

Guilford