A retired NC English teacher on the auspicious up-side of book bans

Book bans

As a retired English teacher I know that censorship fosters reading. If a teacher even whispers (slyly) that a book has been banned, you can count on a library stampede. Unfortunately, students in search of shocking material are likely to be disappointed since nothing in any N.C. school library can compete with the violence and vulgarity they have ready access to on social media.

But in reading a censored book students just might have the kind of deep, magical learning experience reading uniquely provides. Such experiences can make students lifelong readers, ensuring they’ll be lifelong learners. So may the censors keep at it. They’ll increase book sales and library circulation stats.

I am halfway through Gender Queer and am loving it, I would never have found it were it not for the condemnation of the censors. Have I been shocked? Indeed I have not. Have I learned something valuable? Indeed I have. Do I wish I had read it in middle school? Indeed I do.

Betty Webb, Raleigh

Masking children

At its Feb. 2 meeting the Wake County school board stopped short of approving a policy to require masks for children ages 2 to 4. I was shocked by comments made by school officials suggesting mask use by these children would prepare them for pre-K.

Let’s be clear: wearing a mask is not a life skill. Tying your shoes is a life skill. Using a fork is a life skill. Getting dressed by yourself is. Masking is an emergency measure intended to stop the spread of a pathogen.

Whether you support masks in school or not, parents deserve transparency from school officials and an explanation of what it will take to transition away from a mask mandate. A proposal to mask 2-year-olds so that it seems normal by the time they reach kindergarten is deeply troubling and signals there is no end in sight.

Matthew Geary, Cary

Free college

I graduated from N.C. State University in 2020, during the pandemic. I wanted to go to NCSU since the sixth grade and obtaining that dream should have felt like an enormous accomplishment. But my degree still sits unframed because putting it on the wall will only be a reminder of the crushing debt that piece of paper represents.

As our politicians rally their voices to warn about China overtaking our powerful global position, they do nothing to help Americans compete better on the international stage. There is no better way to protect and strengthen our nation than breaking financial shackles and providing free education. Doing so would not only instill pride back into education and into our country. My love for America is not gone, that’s why I write this letter. But to truly be proud, more must be done.

Talyah Regusters, Raleigh

Gas tax

Regarding “NC should give serious consideration to this new transportation tax,” (Feb. 3 Forum):

The blinders need to come off when considering replacing the gas tax with a Vehicle Mileage Tax. It is obvious to the least casual observer that a mile driven by an 18-wheeler causes a great deal more wear and tear on the road, not to mention the environment, than say a Prius, which might not even burn any gas for that mile. The gas tax does a better differentiation since the 18-wheeler obviously burns much more gas per mile than the Prius. Any replacement needs to take into account this difference in mileage or weight or both.

Geoff Stephens, Cary

Taxing EVs

Regarding “GOP senator: I see serious potholes in Gov. Cooper’s transportation plans,” (Jan. 31):

Unlike Sen. Vickie Sawyer, I own an electric vehicle. I pre-pay the equivalent of N.C. gasoline taxes in the form of an additional registration fee of $140.25 per year — more than if I were driving an equivalent internal combustion engine car.

The state charges a $0.361 tax on each gallon of motor fuel purchased. Therefore, I am prepaying the equivalent of 388.5 gallons of gas per year. EV owners also pay taxes on the electricity we consume to recharge our EVs.

The most serious problem is not the governor’s plan, but the overt stating of what isn’t so for political gain. Quit trying to divide us. We need to electrify our transportation and you can see that message in the growing number of ads for EVs.

Peter Eckhoff, Durham

Gerrymandering

My proposal for fair voting districts; it springs from the founding principles of no taxation without representation and “one person, one vote”:

If one party creates a gerrymander that elects, say, 10 out of 14 congressional seats reliably for their party, then districts that elect the representatives of that party should pay 10/14 share of the taxes, or around 70%. The other group would pay 4/14 share of the taxes, about 30%. Every two or four years that tax rate would change but so what, taxation would be in proportion to representation.

Gerrymandered district maps tax me unfairly and take away my voice through elected representation.

Lewis Carson, Durham

An anagram

An anagram to ponder... Today’s worrisome virus: OMICRON. Today’s unmasked response: MORONIC — and irresponsible, misinformed, and lethal. We are all in this together and need to respect and protect one another.

John Pharo, Durham