Instead of snow days, rethink school holidays
Lindenhurst, L.I.: Prof. David Bloomfield has written about education with insight over the years. His op-ed (“Mamdani must bring back our snow days!” Feb. 2) on how schools meet their number of mandated days of instruction when considering closing schools during winter storms is on target and will probably cause controversy.
As a retired educator, I’ve always believed that to guarantee students know nothing about the meaning of a holiday, give them a day off. Veterans Day and Columbus Day are not opportunities for coat or appliance sales. Memorial Day is not a celebration for barbecues and the beginning of summer. Juneteenth became a holiday at a most inconvenient time in the school year — at the end of the instructional year and during Regents exams. Yet, most students and even adults had no idea about the holiday’s meaning. What should be taught in the curriculum as when studying the Civil War had been largely ignored.
Some have suggested making Sept. 11 a holiday, but with children in school, they can observe moments of silence and hear from their teachers about the events of that day. Observance of religious holidays is important, but not for the entire school population. Students who observe these holidays should be given an excused absence. We now have an array of holidays, and as Bloomfield suggests, it may be necessary to start the school year before Labor Day if we are to maintain this calendar. More importantly, our students need to understand the meaning of these holidays and why they’re observed. Paula Magdalena Vidal
Complicit officials
Mayfield, Ohio: Support your local pedophile. Vote Republican in November. Clarence Rutherford
Favored violence
Cincinnati: The video shows a Border Patrol agent pushing a lady to the ground as hard as he could. He tried to hurt that lady. He then started pepper-spraying. Big tough guy while he’s surrounded by six other agents. The Trumpers are OK with these actions. As long as it’s a Democrat being murdered, that’s OK with them. The man was clearly murdered. Mark Jessee
Right to defend
Lackawaxen, Pa.: Voicer Charles T. Compton may be misinterpreting Minnesota’s “duty to retreat” law when assisting another person (as the multiple videos suggest). Essentially, the person intervening assumes the “self-defense” rights of the third party. Risky, because the facts leading up to the incident aren’t always obvious. John A. MacKinnon
Veered to violence
Richmond Hill: What Voicer Tom Ascher wrote was offensive. His statement that 56 people were killed under Barack Obama’s eight years of presidency is wrong. Those immigrants were not killed; they died due to poor medical care. None were killed by ICE or kidnapped; all had trials and were sent back under the law. In the past year under Trump’s dictatorship, 40 people either died or were killed, three of them American citizens. This is the highest annual toll of immigration agency-related deaths, and Trump’s term has only just begun. There were no violent encounters during Obama’s presidency. Under Trump, it’s all violence and death. ICE agents act like street gangs. Mr. Ascher, you wonder why there’s hatred for this president and why people are displaying anger? Please look at exactly what has been taking place. No other president has resorted to this kind of behavior, causing so much death and pain. Ene Kelly
Unrestrained
Dover, Del.: Apparently, Voicer Tom Ascher is a member of the MAGA cult who is willing to believe President Felon and his minions when they continue to lie to the American people! When did you ever see an ICE agent under Obama execute a mother in her car or shoot a protester who wasn’t armed, since his holstered firearm was removed by one of the murderers, several times in the back? Any well-trained officer knows enough not to stand in front of a vehicle. Is the Kool-Aid that intoxicating? Chalky White
Mistakes on repeat
Bronx: In Trump’s America, we see news of how people, some of them American citizens, are detained and then disappear into prison camps administered under horrific and inhumane conditions. It reminds me of stories I’ve read and heard regarding the detainment camps where Japanese-Americans were unjustly held against their will during World War II. Don’t our leaders ever learn from our past mistakes? If a person aspires to have a career in national politics in this country, unlike our current president, they should at least endeavor to educate themselves and learn about its history. That’s the only way to avoid repeating past mistakes. Carlos B. Martinez
Well put
Jamaica: To Voicer Leo Crowley on the historical pattern of popular uprisings and the collapse of states: Thank you very much! ‘Nuff said! Terri Gilbert
Scuttled public service
Pelham, N.Y.: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s dissolution has largely been framed as a political dispute. But there’s a more straightforward way to understand the fallout: microeconomics. A business reaches its “shutdown point” when it can no longer cover its basic operating costs. Over the past year, federal rescissions removed the funding structure that kept many local public media stations above that threshold. It was a policy-induced supply shock to a market already marked by classic market failure. Local information behaves like a public good — its benefits spill far beyond individual users, and private markets consistently under-provide it, particularly in rural areas. When federal support accounted for 30-40% of a station’s operating budget, its sudden disappearance did not lead to “efficiency.” It pushed stations past the point of rational operation. Information, like roads or electricity, is infrastructure. Once dismantled, it is far more expensive to rebuild than it is to maintain. Brian MacColl
Unvetted viewing
Glasgow, Scotland: I have a difficult decision to make. Should I attend the premiere of “Melania” the movie or head down to my regular local pub for a few pints with my mates? Looks like I’ll have a couple of restless, sleepless nights trying to decide. Wish me luck. Joseph Kay
His stats stand
Brooklyn: Many people don’t like Bill Belichick. However, when you’re on a committee — in this case, the NFL Hall of Fame committee — you must put your personal feelings aside. You’re there to vote who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Belichick won six Super Bowls and appeared in nine. He won 333 games as a coach, which is second only to Don Shula. Yes, he had some bumps in his career, one being stealing signs from the Jets. However, he was fined, and that was his penalty. That shouldn’t take away from his accomplishments as a coach. What he does in his personal life is his business. On the field, he built championship teams. John De Angelo
Keep the classics
Lyndhurst, N.J.: I don’t care who buys Warner Bros., but they better not mess with Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner, lest they end up like Elmer Fudd and the coyote! Mark DeFrino
