LIVE AND LEARN
I usually look forward to and read your magazine. I must say I found your article on public vs. private school choice (September 2004) to be irresponsible. Such an ill-thought out and poorly researched piece ought to require a change in the name of your magazine to “Only Part of Lakewood Advocate.”
All parents must make the decision as to what is the best choice for the education of their child. My husband is a graduate of Lakewood, Long and Woodrow. Our family has respect for both public and private institutions.
Two parents state their children were behind in math after transferring to DISD, one from St. Thomas. Why? We don’t know, but you were more than willing to leave the reader with the impression that it was the fault of the training he received at St. Thomas. That is one alternative, but only one of several alternatives, and it would have been responsible to have mentioned this rather than leave a misleading impression.
Another parent makes the statement that all the schools in the area have the “exact same curriculum.” Where does she get this “fact?” Is it true? Did she look at every curriculum? Did the reporter check out it out? Ms. Williams has very strong, seemingly negative opinions about private schools. Shouldn’t you have found out why?
The article ends with the suggestion that private schools are a haven for blonde, blue-eyed, white children. That’s irresponsible. It’s offensive and one I take issue with personally. Certainly we are not as diverse as I would like, but we are not lily white as Ms. Williams thinks. Our students do not all make straight A’s but struggle like all children and we work hard to help them meet those challenges like all teachers.
Ms. Williams states that she doesn’t “understand putting your kid in a private school…” You two are guilty of the sin you would place on others — making sweeping judgments about schools and basing decisions on incomplete information.
— Beth and Scott Storm, St. Thomas parents; Beth Storm, St. Thomas teacher
My wife and I have numerous debates on the DISD issue and public versus private. I believe that my tax dollars should be put to use, and I want my future children to benefit from those dollars. I do not want to double dip and pay for private school on top of that. To me that is ignoring a problem and not a good alternative. If we choose that private school is the only way that we can get a good education, then I would just prefer to move to the ’burbs.
So with that I found your article very good, and it does open up what I believe to be the biggest problem, lack of information and involvement. Parents and future homebuyers asking the right questions and doing research is what is needed. Most people just follow the party line that DISD is bad, but if you asked them why, they cannot really tell you.
I also believe that with the amount of wealth in the Lakewood area, and with parent involvement in the system, that there is no reason why the schools cannot be excellent. Parents are the constituents of the schools and if there is enough interaction, success should prevail.
— T.J. Van Bemmel
Now that you have written an article about public school and telling how great it is and the best way to go for your child’s education, when do we, the Lakewood area parents of private school children get to retort back to your accusations of private school being rigid, negative and uncreative.
Our teachers are qualified. We are Private and Proud. I do not appreciate our neighborhood magazine writing such a biased article. I believe you have probably made quite a few neighbors mad with your article and you should rectify it.
—Nikki Ramos
I was so pleased to receive my latest issue of the Advocate and see an article about public schools in DISD. As a parent who has chosen to educate her two children in a DISD elementary school, I feel like I am constantly having to defend my position. My husband and I both feel we have made an educated and informed choice and have not relied on the opinions of others. Until parents truly obtain all the facts on their local public school, they have not made an informed decision. I am an educator as well, and I couldn’t be happier with the local elementary school here in East Dallas. Our children attend Martha T. Reilly and kudos to the faculty and staff there — my kids are receiving a wonderful education.
— Caroline Finstein
I’ve “picked up” the pencil three times now from the cover of this month’s Advocate (September, “Right Answer”) in my efforts to clean up the desk. Mighty realistic — and so was your article suggesting reasons for giving public schools another try. Working together as a community doesn’t only mean picking up trash at our beautiful lake, but also supporting the diversity of our neighborhood schools. Thank you for opening our eyes
— Ralphana Barnes
We have lived in Dallas for 23 years and have always chosen to live in Lakewood for its charm, location and sense of community.
Over the years, I have noticed quite a bias in the Advocate favoring the public school system. The “Right Answer” cover story, once again, confirmed the journalistic slant I’ve seen before in the publication. Implying that the public school route is, after all, the “right answer” overlooks the large number of Lakewood families who choose to send their children to private schools and have excellent experiences.
We all pay taxes to support the DISD, regardless of where our children attend school.
Your unequal and prejudiced representation of the public vs. private schools reinforces animosity and an “us and them” mentality towards families who choose not to use the public schools. Perhaps one of your upcoming cover stories could feature three families who also had the “right answer” and found that, for them, private school was the better choice.
Upon further thought, maybe there really isn’t a “right answer” at all, but more a matter of which school best suits the individual needs of the student and their family as a whole.
— Heather Murphy
BLESSED ARE THE BOOKS
I just finished reading your wonderful article in the Advocate. Thank you for expressing so eloquently in words what I have thought about for years! My son and I were just at the Skillman library today. I always leave with the same thought — how lucky we are to have these facilities, but they should be given more attention. I see the countless children, some reading in a corner alone or others with their mothers looking for books. That is the wonderful part of community. A library is, in my opinion, a sacred place
—Margaret Hayes
WANTED: PANHANDLER PATROL
I was glad to see an article on the prevalence of panhandlers in the Lakewood Shopping Center. However, I wish the merchants would hire some “rent-a-cops.” One of the reasons I do not shop more often over there is I don’t feel safe in that parking lot. The last two times I’ve gone to the Compass ATM, I have been approached by someone and have been afraid for the safety of myself and my 19-month-old son. The last time, I didn’t even get out of my car, and the person came up to my window asking if I could help him figure out how the ATM works! I would feel much better if I saw an officer patrolling the area. I know our community is a great place to live, and I want to be able to shop in it too!
— Robyn Wilkinson
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