Dear Editor,

In her recent letter to the editor (“CCS not taking the proper actions,” January 27, 2021, Clarkston News), Melissa Sanders chastises the leadership of Clarkston Community Schools for what she views as its failure to speak out against the early January assault against the U.S. Capitol.
Ms. Sanders cites the absence of outrage and the district’s failure to counsel and educate students about the insurrection, to support what she either implies or alleges is ongoing racial indifference or discrimination.
I believe Ms. Sanders’ concerns/conclusions are misplaced, or even mistaken.
At a minimum, she is barking up the wrong tree.
Is it reasonable or logical to criticize local school leadership for a perceived absence of strong, public condemnation of the insurrection in Washington, D. C.? Even decent citizens who are appalled and grieving at the attack on our democracy would not expect our local school officials to exacerbate matters by too formally or openly condemning the treason.
Would it have been wise or patriotic, or even effective or possible in this climate – where many parents, business “leaders” and government officials at every local, state and federal level have encouraged, excused and even incited the insurrection – for school officials already struggling to educate kids with limited resources and unsteady public support, in the midst of a nationally mismanaged pandemic with parents and politicians alike whining and resisting masking and social distancing as they criticize every innovative attempt to deliver educational services and maintain student and staff morale – to speak out forcefully against the insurrection?
Probably – definitely – not.
Many politicians and parents would have pushed back forcefully, seeing the schools’ condemnation as some kind of implied criticism of the parents’ moral compass and pre-election enabling of political leaders – all exposed and promoted during dinner table conversation—who incited the seditious violence.
Suddenly now, these same parents and leaders mouth concern for peace and “reconciliation” and seek to distance themselves from the calamity they created. But they are not remorseful enough to hold the former “president” accountable for his treason and criminality but will tolerate some penalties for more minor perpetrators duped into the sedition by political big wigs.
These politicians opposed impeachment and delayed the start of a Senate trial so they could argue that justice by conviction is now moot. They continue to undermine the expressed will of the American people by opposing and questioning the election results.
Yet, it is the local school leadership that has failed us. Really?
Would it have been an exercise or lesson in good judgment for the school superintendent to have confronted this seditious insurrection too publicly, in this environment?
It would have created a major learning distraction, for naught. In any event, every forthright Clarkston Community Schools district student would admit they already know from the instruction and leadership they’ve received at any school in this district that school leaders and staff are saddened by and would never condone the atrocities resulting from the climate created by other adults.
No further public condemnation or counseling by school officials is necessary.
The students already know this is all wrong. Their worries and distractions are about where this is all taking us, and they are rightfully concerned. But the schools don’t have the answers, for these problems arose outside school and can only be solved by parents and politicians – the same flawed folks who formerly preached right from wrong but now recognize neither. The current social climate problems and failures arose in our homes, state houses, congress and political offices, not at the school superintendent’s desk or teachers’ lounges.
But the parents and politicians who created the toxic environment will be the first to criticize school leaders and teachers when learning is distracted, test scores fall, and academic achievement declines.

Sincerely,
Mike Fetzer
Clarkston