Wow! I think I have heard it all. The idea that salmon and forests are interdependent is somehow controversial seems beyond bizarre. Couple this with the idea that school board members can dictate daily presentations and you have a recipe for censorship and provincialism. The very idea that this is coming from the school board, the very organization responsible for developing thinking global citizens, is even more extraordinary.
Haines is located in the best salmon-producing area in Southeast Alaska and any discussion of trees and salmon is anathema? Unfathomable.
Carol Kelly claims she is a capitalist. So what. Judging by our lifestyles, so are most Americans. Does that preclude the inclusion of science in the curriculum? Are only chosen precepts acceptable? What will be fostered next? Flat earth? Alchemy? Intelligent design? Legitimate rape? Some other pseudo-science?
Amy Gulick made a wonderful presentation here on Prince of Wales Island. Imagine that, Prince of Wales, the home of many active and retired loggers and miners (and capitalists), yet she was not considered controversial here.
Is it Haines school board policy to shut down anything that one or two parents might have feelings about? That isn’t going to leave much. How about just keeping your child home if the day’s activities offend you?
Shame on school board president Kelly. Haven’t we heard enough innuendoes, lies, half-truths, and exaggerations in this overextended election season? Does the school really have to follow suit?
Bob Andrews
Prince of Wales Island