I read Mr. Riviello’s letter to the editor (July 31 edition) and would like to make a few points. First, I agree with Mr. Riviello that we need to make equality of opportunity available to all people — regardless of their background, social class, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, etc. However, I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Riviello on some issues.
All in To The Editor
As a Swarthmore resident for 15 years, the mother of two children in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, a former school board member, and a public health professional, I am writing to applaud the enormous courage of our school board members who voted to do the right thing and keep education virtual till October 2 (or longer) in an effort to protect the health and well-being of our children, teachers, and larger community.
The publishers of the Swarthmorean promote magical thinking in their recent commentary regarding the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District reopening plan. As a high school teacher with over 20 years of experience and a master of public health degree, I am working through my second major pandemic. I previously worked in healthcare with drug-using pregnant women during the AIDS epidemic.
The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District comprises extraordinary and resourceful people – teachers and residents alike. We encourage our community to have open dialogue that allows for genuine communication between parents, teachers, and the administration. Working together, we should be able to find a way to reopen our schools in a way that’s safe for both students and teachers.
Have every student attend school, in whatever way is available this year, then repeat the same grade next year. All of them.
Whose woods are these?
Although we were in full support of Swarthmore College’s decision to close its campus to visitors, my husband and I were also saddened, especially since a piece of the Crum Woods lies just behind our home. Imagine my surprise to learn recently that this beloved patch of earth is no longer a part of the Crum Woods! A check of the Delaware County website shows that the property was sold by the college in March of this year.
Personally, I’m disappointed that I will not be able to send my two children to SRS to learn in person with their wonderful teachers this fall. In the end, while my partner and I will both be at work, our children will be at home receiving what we all know will be a far from adequate education. But our kids will be fine. We’ll find an expensive qualified tutor and pay them thousands of dollars to walk our children through this online education, even as I go to work to teach classes in person. Make no mistake, this letter is not about my kids, or even about most of our kids. We’ll be fine. This statement is about the families that have no options. 1) Low- to middle-income families who didn’t get lucky enough to find or pay for a tutor. 2) Single parents who have to show up to work. 3) Essential employees who can’t work from home all while keeping the rest of us safe.
Stomp them
Last month I was dismayed to see spotted lanternfly nymphs crawling all over my grape vines. So I relented and bought fly tape. The next day, I checked on the pieces of tape and saw bird feathers stuck in them. So now I wonder if the treatment isn’t worse than the disease.
All-renewable energy now
In response to Ken Derow’s letter in the August 7 Swarthmorean, “Future generations will curse us,” everything he says there is correct. We are out of time. Climate change is upon us and some tipping points have already been reached. And our state is one of the biggest polluters in the U.S. Meanwhile, Swarthmore’s citizens are concerned enough that our borough council last year adopted a resolution to transition the entire community to 100% renewable energy. I invite Mr. Derow to attend the next Swarthmore Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) meeting, scheduled for August 25 at 7:30 pm. For a Zoom link, write to one of the email addresses found on the swarthmorepa.org page for the EAC. We are formulating a concrete plan for our energy transition. It’s easier said than done, so we need all hands on deck.
Remembering craftsman and artist Leslie Keighton
All artists have visions, objectives, whether conscious or not. I believe Leslie had them. He didn’t talk about them, at least to us. He was both open and private. But meticulous care and attention, the love given to the work itself, is common to all artists. Thank you, Leslie, for giving us the gifts of your vision.
In the “Philosophy of Right” (1821), the philosopher Hegel famously wrote, “The owl of Minerva takes flight only with the falling of dusk.” Dusk has fallen; there is little time left for wisdom to show itself before a dark night engulfs us.
Mask up, Swarthmore
Inconsistent planning, and states with lax measures, have recently allowed COVID-19 infections and deaths to reach levels equal to or surpassing the worst period in April and May. Continued unwillingness by the federal government to develop a systematic approach to this pandemic has led scientific and professional organizations to produce roadmaps for the containment of the viral spread. We will need to wear masks until a vaccine becomes available.
Make history classes more inclusive
Should there be an effort to make general American history classes more inclusive, so that the people who take them can learn that there is more to the history of America than the doings of white heterosexual male Protestants? If we did that, we could still offer the more focused courses, for those of us who want to delve more deeply into various areas, but students who take only the required courses could still gain a basic knowledge of who participated in weaving the tapestry of this country.
I am writing regarding Miss Ruth Abbott, who was my second-grade teacher. It was long ago, but I have always remembered her New England accent and marveled at her telling us about sledding down snow-covered hills. Once, years later, when I was in medical school and riding the train into Philadelphia, Miss Abbott and I chanced to board at the same time. We sat and talked together. I wish that I had had more contact with her. I always wanted to learn more, but the busy years went by and I never had the opportunity to talk to her again. Sadly, the only information after that came from reading her obituary in the Swarthmorean.
Pay local workers better
The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is kept afloat – economically and socially – by the casual workers who come into town every single day to serve the community. Many of the casual workers are paid by the hour, at a wage that is probably barely above the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, if that, and do not receive health care benefits. While we are in a pandemic, we have the chance to reconsider what the community can do to support the workers who keep the district and its businesses operational.
Future generations will curse us
The world is in the midst of an existential health crisis from the COVID-19 virus that threatens our health, safety, and even our lives. It is understandable that this crisis is absorbing our time, our attention, and our resources. Yet, simultaneously, the Earth is headed toward a longer-term challenge that threatens to change the habitability of the planet and cause misery and suffering, even death, to many millions of the world’s inhabitants. Global climate change is unfolding. While its effects sometimes seem to advance at a glacial pace, they are actually accelerating.
While reading an article in the July 17 issue of the Swarthmorean, “Panel Wrestles With Racism and Inclusion,” I began to feel my heart rate rise. I knew that, as a 26-year resident of Swarthmore, I needed to share a few thoughts.
Supportive and caring Swarthmore police
So much is happening in our country right now. We are deeply moved to see the growing awareness of the historical injustice to people of color. Much is written about police brutality, and it reminds us of how fortunate we are to have our wonderful Swarthmore police department.
July Fourth parade: respecting both
I felt the Fourth of July parade through the borough was a morale booster, given all the restrictions of COVID-19. We can support both the Black Lives Matter movement and our first responders.
The idea of reparations expressed in a letter to the editor in the July 17 edition of the Swarthmorean is terrible. This is an expression of the bigotry of low expectations from some of our fellow Americans by telling some of our other fellow Americans they cannot compete because of the false narrative of “systemic racism.” These types of attitudes are destroying the promise of the civil rights era.