I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Martin (Letters, Dec. 8) that the principle function of a school is education. My children both graduated from Oak Harbor High School and received an outstanding education. Academically they were both very well prepared for college. My children gained much valuable knowledge while working with their dedicated teachers inside their classrooms. In addition though, my children were both lucky enough to have enthusiastic teachers outside of the regular school day whom they addressed as “coach.” These coaches taught my children valuable lessons in a different kind of classroom. These classrooms were the stadium and the swimming pool. While working in these classrooms, my children were taught the value of teamwork; the importance of setting goals; how to solve problems quickly; that winning is fun but that it is wonderful to participate in an activity just for the joy of it; multitudes of math, science and communication skills; and many other worthwhile lessons that they will use throughout their lives.

The new stadium is a fabulous classroom. The first lesson that was learned there was that the voters of Oak Harbor support the students and stand with them as a community. Thanks Oak Harbor for caring enough to teach that lesson!

Kathryn Ridle

Oak Harbor