To the Editor,
I prefer not to fight my battles in the press, however when the press is the conduit for harming a child, it is time to weigh in and set the record straight.
Last week, an editorial was printed in the El Dorado Times and the author supported his complaint about a jeopardized quality of education with a copy of a thank you note from a child. The note, along with the child’s full name was printed in the paper. I immediately recognized the name as one of our students and contacted the family.
They are devastated and embarrassed for their child, not because of the quality of his writing, because I can tell you based upon the age of the child when this was written, it is absolutely developmentally and academically age-appropriate, if not somewhat advanced. But readers didn’t know this.
As superintendent of our schools, know this: it is an example and a good one from a very young child who did the right thing. He wrote a thank you note and he wrote it well for his age. He demonstrated academic competency and excellent character. This is exactly what we strive for in the quality of education in our schools. And as a mother and grandmother, I am appalled that more thought and wisdom were not applied before this innocent child was subjected to such a callous act in the name of free speech.
Sue Givens
El Dorado Public Schools Superintendent
