Honor teachers of all grades
I loved Scott Maxwell’s column that featured Lake Nona high-school teachers Justin and Gail Chase (“Pay high school coaches more? Yes. But also arts and ag instructors”). My only disappointment with it is that it leaves out teachers who work with primary, elementary and middle school students. Consider how much patience and talent it takes to motivate and nurture society’s youngest minds. I taught music for 27 years to 4- to 7-year-olds, and I had so many high school teachers tell me they would never want my job, or they had started out teaching middle school, but were so happy to move to high school kids.
Let’s recognize teaching for the extremely difficult, vital position it is.
Susan Davis Maitland
Finding hope in human interaction
As I drove around Winter Park, Maitland, and Altamonte Springs last week preparing for Thanksgiving, I visited a few stores and drove in the traffic on State Road 436 and Interstate 4, crossing lanes as necessary and pulling out and pulling in, and parking and leaving.
What I have witnessed and felt has been both gratifying and hopeful.
People have been helpful, courteous, kind, accommodating, joyful, happy, smiling, and laughing, both at situations and themselves. We interacted with one another that reinforces that we all understand, on some level, we are all in this together.
This makes me grateful to live in a country in which, despite the absurdity that is taking place with our elected officials, We The People are still in control and we are good, caring and will ultimately make the choices that will benefit us all.
I am grateful for hope this Thanksgiving.
Denis Keeran Maitland
Renters hurt by property-tax move
The Nov. 25 letter “Careful with property tax reform” is right on target. My main concern, as the writer points out, is that renters will pay a greater portion of their income to cover these lost taxes while homeowners’ lower property taxes will offset these costs. Another concern is that most likely more money will be going to the state government to be distributed rather than staying local where it belongs.
Randy Foster Orlando
Republicans ignoring values
Was I wrong (being taught) to believe that the Republican Party stood for states’ rights and smaller federal government? It appears as the federal government is expanding its power and control over the states with proposals such as: Stopping states from regulating artificial intelligence and usurping local law enforcement authority by deploying the military in many U.S. cities. Executive orders imposing taxes (tariffs) on the American people without the advice and consent of Congress. Increased deficits, reducing earned benefits like Social Security retirement while increasing costs for Medicare. Veterans care falling by the wayside. Are these really the values of the Republican Party? I sure didn’t think so.
S.M. Feiner Orlando
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