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Schools should focus
on teaching English
Re: “Want to improve our schools? Expand bilingual education” (Page A6, June 20).
I agree that speaking two languages is a benefit to the individual and to the community. We should all be bilingual.
Unfortunately, there are not enough bilingual teachers out there to accommodate the children whose family primarily speaks Spanish, Chinese, Indian or any other language that is spoken in California. Learning English first should be the primary goal in the early years for these children. Poverty is reduced and there are more opportunities for upward mobility for people who speak, read and write English.
If a child is taught by a bilingual teacher, he and his family benefit because the student is fluent in two languages and the parents understand the curriculum. Until there are more bilingual teachers, English should be the priority in class.
Patricia Marquez Rutt
Redwood City
Solar firm HQ in S.J.
is a win for everyone
Re: “Solar window company moves HQ to the Bay Area” (Page B3, June 19).
This article is good news for several reasons:
San Jose is still attracting new businesses into the Bay Area despite all the talk of people leaving.
It’s refreshing to hear new technology success stories to help with renewable energy adoption — a change from the ever-present negative stories of heat waves and wildfires.
Most importantly, it highlights the truism that the more you decentralize energy production the less you need to upgrade the grid. At the same time, commercial and residential building owners with solar become smarter energy consumers and will find even more ways to improve efficiency.
Tom Calderwood
Los Gatos
Give illegal sideshows
a designated space
Re: “Sideshows in San Jose, Peninsula draw crowds and police” (Page B2, June 18).
Like driving fast and taking chances, sideshows will occur whether or not society wants them. We accommodate speeders; we gave them Nevada. We need to do the same for sideshow enthusiasts.
Give them a site where they can explore the limits of tire traction and the cost of replacing said tires. It’ll solve a lot of problems, and the occasional accidents will be a boon to local body shops.
James Thurber
Half Moon Bay
Louisiana indoctrinating
students in Christianity
Re: “Public schools ordered to display religious text” (Page A3, June 20).
Louisiana just enthusiastically passed a law designed to convert every schoolchild in the state to Christianity.
I wonder how people there would feel if the Quran was required to be posted in large font in every classroom, or if state law mandated that only kosher food could be served in school cafeterias? This is not very different.
I also find it pretty rich that these same people dare to use the word “indoctrination” to describe the simple acceptance and fair treatment of the gay community.
David Herlich
Morgan Hill
Stop describing
Trump as pro-life
Many well-meaning people identify as “pro-life” and believe in the sanctity of life. Donald Trump, although claiming to be pro-life, is not one of them. Consider these facts:
Millions of Americans receive life-saving health care through the Affordable Care Act. Donald Trump tried to end their coverage.
Millions of Americans, including children, rely on subsidies to afford the food necessary for survival. Donald Trump’s policies would significantly curtail their access to those food subsidies.
Last year, more than 40,000 Americans died from gun violence, and the number of mass shootings in 2024 continues at a high level. Donald Trump opposes gun control legislation, even opposing restrictions on the purchase of high-capacity weapons.
For these and many other harmful policies, commentators should refrain from referring to Donald Trump as pro-life.
Samuel Knapp
Sunnyvale
Project 2025 deserves
greater media coverage
There has been little coverage of an important updated document that lays out goals if Donald Trump is elected.
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The blueprint, called Project 2025 and produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation, is one of several think-tank proposals for Trump’s platform.
Over more than 900 pages, it calls for sacking thousands of civil servants, expanding the power of the president, dismantling the Department of Education and other federal agencies, and sweeping tax cuts.
Check out the BBC analysis of Project 2025, which Heritage says was written by several former Trump appointees and reflects input from more than 100 conservative organizations.
Bob Pedretti
San Jose