LETTER: Students should be taught to know facts and be empathetic

To Ozaukee Press:

I teach at the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee, have two children in the Mequon-Thiensville School District, stand fully behind our elected school board, and don’t understand where the campaign to recall members of the board is coming from.

 Is it really about students’ test scores? If so, those focused on prioritizing high scores are setting the bar too low. Higher education is changing, and this year alone more than 800 universities admitted students without SAT or ACT scores.

What is becoming crystal clear in our world is that actions speak and words matter. We need to teach so that our students can be smart and empathetic; to know facts but also how to care. They need to bravely see.

In our homes, we are individuals. We have the freedom and liberty to do what is best for us under our own roofs. But in the classroom, it is about community, because when we come together, we are responsible for each other.

It’s as simple as that, and from what I have seen over the past year, this is exactly how our elected school board members have led our school school district. And I thank them.

Kathryn E. Martin-Meurer
Mequon