Critical thinking belongs in schools
Wow. So many people seem to be hot under the collar about what they call “critical race theory.”
I’m pretty well-educated and well-read, and I don’t have the slightest idea what that means. I’ve tried to educate myself about this, but the popular news media are grossly deficient about helping with this. And public comments are mostly name-calling (“socialist!”).
So, I resorted to a Google search that was helpful.
One of my conclusions is that both (are there only two?) sides in this interaction (doesn’t meet the criteria for a debate) are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Critical analysis is clearly absent.
I’ve also concluded that anything presented in the schools that encourages critical thinking is a great idea. It’s exactly why we have schools — so everyone isn’t a robot or enslaved by someone else.
I imagine that teaching critical thinking skills is exactly what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he proposed a public education system on this continent. Ironically, his ownership of slaves and signing a Constitution that regarded African Americans as less than fully human is now a subject of critical race theory learning and a prime example of why it’s needed. Jefferson recognized that colonists needed critical thinking skills to establish this country.
The genocidal practices of the colonists toward the Native Americans is another worthy subject for examination by students using critical race theory.
It’s not enough to just learn these things happened, but to understand the underlying reasons for why they happened and current application.
Those who oppose teaching critical thinking in the schools have vested interests in maintaining the status quo. One of the outcomes in West Virginia is the southern coal fields where the under-education rate is high.
So, teaching critical thinking skills of all kinds is needed to prepare students for citizenship.
Bob Jones
Morgantown
Dear Harriette mistaken about emancipation
To our detriment, most of us white folks never learned much about African-American U.S. history in our schools.
It is not only past time we did but, when we do, we need to get it right. The Dear Harriette column on June 19 attempted to explain the meaning and significance of Juneteenth.
Unfortunately, the column made one grave error. Nothing in Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation “officially declared the institution of slavery to be abolished nationwide” as the column asserts. No, the proclamation applied only to those enslaved in the states and parts of states “in rebellion against the United States” (in short, the Confederacy) and, to be extra clear, those states and parts were enumerated in the proclamation itself.
In other words, slavery remained intact in other parts of the U.S. until the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December 1865. That is six months after Juneteenth. The Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery nationwide.
There is no doubt we need to know more about our history — all our history — but we should not be perpetuating more myths along the way.
Judy K. Ball
Morgantown
Don’t punish electric car users for trucks’ damage
Republicans, including West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, are pushing a federal infrastructure proposal they claim is “fully paid for.”
But in reality, much of the funding is simply taking back COVID-19 recovery funds that are still needed to boost the economy. The unemployment rate is improving, but it is still a long way from pre-pandemic days.
To add insult to injury, their proposal increases “user fees” on electric vehicles. That is a tax by another name. Some Republicans have called electric vehicle owners such as myself “free riders” because we do not pay gas taxes. But in West Virginia, and the majority of states, electric vehicle owners already pay a surcharge to compensate for lost gas taxes. My 2019 Chevy Bolt costs an extra $200 per year at registration.
No one will argue that West Virginia roads need funds for repairs. But the real damage is done by heavy trucks. Engineers know that road damage is proportional to the fourth power of the weight. If I pay $200 per year, the fair share for an 80,000 pound semi would be over $1.9 million.
Meanwhile Sen. Capito voted for a highway transportation bill that includes a number of the same provisions she claims to object to in President Biden’s infrastructure proposal. It seems she is more interested in scoring political points and protecting tax breaks for the wealthy than in actually fixing the roads, repairing drinking water systems and modernizing our energy infrastructure.
As a Republican, I object to being charged twice to subsidize the real free-loaders on our roads: the big trucks. I hope President Biden sticks with his promise not to raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 per year. If real Republicans want to pay for an infrastructure bill, they should put user fees on the ones causing the road damage!
Jim Kotcon
Morgantown
Leonard Pitts gets his Washingtons confused
Dear Leonard Pitts,
Yes, all American students should be “taught the truth” (DP-06-16-21). Yes, “they need to know.” Yes, there are many books on the required reading list. One of them you failed to mention is Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.
Here in West Virginia we revere our adopted son Booker T. Washington. He rose from childhood slavery to work in Malden, W.Va.’s salt mines to raise himself to become a Harvard graduate renowned as one of this country’s greatest educators and founder of the Tuskegee Institute.
He is not to be confused with George Washington Carver, agriculturalist and developer of the peanut industry. (Were you confused by the name Washington?) Both of these men exemplified a strong work ethic and belief in education. Now there’s a “truth” to be taught to each student, no matter what race.
Nancy Cain
Westover
Food and social media are all about moderation
Knowledge often appears in layers, as the opinion column “Big Food wants us addicted to junk food” demonstrates (DP-06-14-21). Certainly, Doritos are engineered to make us want more, and sugar appears in far more foods than we might imagine. But the implication that Big Food should somehow tempt us less is troubling.
Just how does a food engineer for a Big Food company make food less tasty and still appeal to consumers? The only way is if the requirements are to make something both tasty and healthful. But realize that sometimes we choose Doritos just because they are so tempting — as a treat.
It might be helpful to look at a timely analogy. When social media first started, there was no “like” button. To interact, you had to think about the post and write a comment. Now there are six ways on Facebook to “like” something.
So the accusation came out that software engineers have been making people addicted to social media by making it enjoyable and engaging to use. It’s the same sort of criticism as that of Big Food: that Big Social Media is pinning us down and forcing us to stay on their sites.
The solution may be some sort of compromise. I have seen the message on Instagram “You are all caught up,” which is a signal to go do something else. For food, companies can communicate the need for health to their consumers by providing products that really are healthful.
But I am not so sure I could even trust Big Food in this case. Remember, Big Food took all the fat out of food and put sugar in so that they could market “zero fat” on their products. Of course, the heart benefits of zero fat are arguable, but everyone agrees that sugar metabolizes in such a way as to make you want more.
So consume Big Food and Big Social Media in modest quantities, and analyze what’s best for yourself!
Steven Knudsen
Morgantown
West Virginia’s COVID guidelines fall short
As of June 17, the CDC’s guidelines concerning COVID-19 vaccinations state fully vaccinated individuals can “resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
On June 20, West Virginia lifted its mask mandate for everyone, irrespective of vaccination status. While many are celebrating a so-called “return to normal,” some question the wisdom of the decision given the state’s current status of vaccination rates.
Whereas earlier in the year West Virginia was praised for its coordinated and well-organized vaccination rollout, as of June 24, only 45% of West Virginia’s population has been fully vaccinated, ahead of only a handful of other states. Unfortunately, West Virginia is nowhere near reaching the vaccination rates needed for herd immunity.
Once a population reaches a point of collective immunity where a disease is no longer likely to spread, it reaches the herd immunity threshold. The estimate for COVID-19 is roughly 70% to 85% of the population would need to be vaccinated to reach the herd immunity threshold. Currently, only 46% of the American population has been fully vaccinated according to the CDC. Further, many who have been infected and recovered believe erroneously they do not need to be vaccinated. While prior COVID infection does provide some level of immunity, scientists are unsure of the duration and efficacy of immunity, so vaccination among those already infected and recovered is strongly encouraged.
Vaccination also provides immunity to the increasing number of variants that are mutating while prior infection does not. Mutations occur when a pathogen cannot be successfully eradicated because not enough of the population has been vaccinated. Currently, the CDC is very concerned about the Delta variant, which is both more contagious and more severe than the original COVID-19 variant.
While the state of West Virginia has lifted its mandate, health care facilities still require face coverings; private businesses and local governments should as well. Anything less is medically and morally misguided.
Andrea Soccorsi
Morgantown
Can’t teach only the ‘comfortable’ history
The column “Allow teachers to teach the truth” (DP-06-16-21) was one of the best published by The Dominion Post.
Everything a teacher has been instructed to do has been thrown in the trash. Our history is important and our children need to know the truth. How will they ever know if we don’t tell them? Hats off to Leonard Pitts for this article. Some things should make us uncomfortable to wake us up.
Bless the teachers who teach what history is, not what we would be comfortable with.
Mary Hendershot
Fairview
‘This great country going down the wrong path’
I am writing in regards to the many members of Congress who are complaining about how stressed they are due to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
If the trauma they experienced was so very bad, why, on the next day, Jan. 7, did they start playing their stupid political games again? These games continue to this day, and the hatred coming from the Democrats and directed toward Republicans in Congress should come to an end.
It would be nice if all 535 members of Congress would stop and think about why the American voters sent them to Washington, D.C., in the first place.
In my view, 35 years is more than enough time to take care of the economy, infrastructure and an immigration policy for the security of this country.
I am fairly certain there are millions of Americans who feel the same as I do.
It is sad to see this great country going down the wrong path, day after day.
“America is back.” What does that mean?
All adults in the United States should turn C-SPAN, which covers the House of Representatives, or C-SPAN 2, which covers the Senate, on TV from time to time, and I think they will understand why our country is so screwed up.
Enough said.
Joe Vickers
Morgantown
