Proposed legislation sure to muddle choices required to teach, longtime educator says

Bill confuses teaching

I observed a second-grade teacher explain to her students that people sometimes do bad things, but most people are good. A Jewish child in the class responded, “Yes, but Nazis are bad.” The teacher agreed, “Yes, Nazis are bad.”

This week the S.C House of representatives advanced bill H.5183 that calls into question the above teacher’s response. This legislation requires educators to engage in ‘impartial teaching’ when discussing controversial segments of history. This impartiality would apply to the Holocaust, slavery and women’s suffrage, along with other topics.

I am the grandson of Holocaust survivors who endured concentration camps and forced labor. I also have spent 30 years as a South Carolina school administrator, and after careful reading of this bill, I find that rather than clarifying teacher expectations, it adds unneeded confusion and complexity. H.5183 can lead to horrific results as teachers perplexed by the proposed law might steer clear of topics that are crucial for students to learn.

I do not know why any legislator would vote for this bill.

Meir Muller, Columbia

Support girls off court, too

As the father of four daughters and a lifelong South Carolinian, it’s given me such hope to see our state legislators come together to honor our women’s basketball National Champion Gamecocks.

Yet, I cannot help but wonder why so many of our state legislators have cowered in their support of South Carolina women outside of athletic dominance.

Why else would more than 15% of South Carolina women be living in poverty if our State House and Senate have not placed them on the back burner for more politically attractive pursuits? In fact, according to the National Women’s Law Center, our state ranks worse than the national average in eight of nine economic and health factors.

Yet, we don’t see lawmakers coming together in support of legislation that would improve the cost of living and eliminate barriers to health care for women.

I am looking to our current legislators to vote in favor of more affordable, more equal access to healthy lifestyles for women.

While cheering for our female collegiate athletes is a privilege and a duty of being an elected official, so, too, is actively working to ensure their financial and physical well-being off the court.

ReZsaun Lewis, Summerville

Thanks, Tony

I want to thank a former coworker for saving my life on April 8 even though he was probably 100+ miles from me at the time.

Tony Sheppard is a former SCDOT director of traffic engineering. While in this position, his staff suggested that if the trees in the median along Lowcountry stretches of I-26 were removed, deaths would be reduced. After much effort, Tony convinced folks of the need for change.

Deaths dropped when trees were cut, medians were graded and a high tensile barrier was installed.

So how did Tony save my life on April 8?

I was returning from Charleston when, at 70 mph, I was run into the median by a truck aggressively passing a tractor-trailor that was in the right lane. Lucky for me, there were no trees, the median was nicely graded and the cable barrier was in place.

When I got home, I called Tony to thank him for saving my life.

I know the public questions things that the SCDOT does, but the clearing of medians along I-26 and I-95 has saved countless lives, including mine.

I thank Tony Sheppard for his tenacity in pushing for this life-saving effort.

Michael A. Dennis, Gilbert

What’s wrong?

I thought I did everything right. I stayed in school, made good grades and went to college, which I was told would lead to a well-paying job and a nice house.

I am almost 30 with a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and no student loan debt. My fiance and I both have well-paying jobs, and, yet, we have been unable to buy a house.

In February of 2021, I was approved for a housing loan of $160,000 at 3% interest. I thought we would find a decent house in no time. How incredibly naïve I was.

Since then, we have made 10 offers, all at least 10K over asking price with no contingencies for the seller, and we are still no closer to owning our own home.

What have we done wrong?

Obviously, the pandemic and inflation have dramatically affected the housing market, and with rent and housing costs continuing to soar, I see the writing on the wall.

Everything I read offers little solace. Things will continue to be difficult for first-time home buyers. Perhaps if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to buy my first home by the time I am 40.

Kassandra Barbara, Lexington