Students' own opinions expressed properly

I am writing this letter in opposition to the letter published this date authored by Mr. Gilbert Barbee. Let me begin by informing Mr. Barbee that each senior at Lake Pend Oreille High School is required to complete an exhausting government portfolio containing 17 individual projects, many with more than one part.

Students are given the portfolio assignment at the beginning of the second quarter and are required to turn in the completed portfolio by the end of the third quarter. Projects begin with learning how to read a newspaper, understanding the importance that the editor gives to the front page and the story above the fold.

The last project is to identify a United States Supreme Court case from the archives at the Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, N.Y. (www.law.cornell.edu) Each student chooses their own case and is instructed to write three essays on this case — the history, the court opinion, and the dissent opinion.

Included in this portfolio is the requirement to write two letters, one to an elected official, and the other to the newspaper. Each student chooses the topic from readings of both the Bonner County Daily Bee and the Spokesman Review. In teaching to this project I inform the students that it should always open with a topic sentence, or what the letter is about. In this case it was online learning which both students have had experience with and wanted to inform the people of that experience.

If the opening line was similar it is because the instruction given was to write the first line stating what position they are taking, in favor of or in opposition to. So, yes, Mr. Barbee, I taught them how to write a letter, how to write logically, in complete sentences, using a proper and professional letter format.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion on State Superintendent Tom Luna’ s education reform bill, this project was to get the students involved, letting their voices be heard, letting them discover that they do have a voice. In America, I teach to the freedoms of each individual. Like you, Mr. Barbee, I, too, have opinions, but I don’t teach to them, I teach to the curriculum established by both the local school board and the State Department of Education. Anyone wishing a copy of the portfolio only needs to drop by Lake Pend Oreille High School and a copy will be provided.

I want to thank Mr. Barbee for giving me a chance to teach to my students an example of freedom of speech and thought. To understand that there is always two sides to a coin, but to make sure that when they express their opinion, express it with knowledge and understanding of the issue.

MICHAEL LEFLER

Sandpoint

Teacher

Lake Pend Oreille High School