Editor,

Thinking deeply about the social media hostilities between supporters of Gwendy Gabelein or Ann Johnson — I have a modest proposal. The candidates were honorable, but some parents would rather pull their children out of public school than find a middle ground.

Public school is a public good. At its best it is free and fair. It brings society together. Mom bonds last a lifetime. Children learn subjects, and how to be good sports, and keep friends, and prepare to live in a complex world. It would be a pity if rigid belief silos disrupted this so early in life.

In college, students have a core curriculum and majors. Ideally they graduate knowing how to read, write, do basic math and science and critical thinking. Also, they major in what interests them and prepares them for their life work.

What if high school could be like this? Most of the day, kids learn reading, writing, basic math and science, life-skills — and play sports. The other part they can “major” in what they, and their parents, want to know. That could be social studies, history, trades, literature. Our country, and our world, is now diverse — religions, races, sexual preferences, professions, politics, languages, cultures and belief systems. Rather than fight about who has the one true way (even if you are certain about yours), can school be a time when children continue to learn basic skills together and also “major” in subjects their parents approve of? It’s not a time for indoctrination, in religion or feminism/racial justice, etc., it is a time for young minds to stay open, to be curious, to learn to tolerate differences and to be trained in basic life skills.

Without shared experiences, like going to school together, how will our children — in an ever more fragmented world — grow into adults who solve social and political problems peacefully?

Vicki Robin

Langley