Place your hand on the Constitution

Curt Hancock’s quandary — about what book, if any, a school board member should place his/her hand on when swearing an “oath” upon taking a seat at the table — is easily resolved. (Thursday, Nov. 6, Page 6A, “Oath of Office - who do you swear to?”)

A book-sized copy of the state and federal Constitutions is both sufficient and appropriate. Should the board member be a director of a private religious school, the sacred book of that religion would be OK, but not my business. But, if the school is accredited by the state, its constitution should be under, around, or over the sacred book. The first mission of a public school is to educate youngsters to ably participate in a civil, democratic, American society, not to be faithful practitioners of a religious faith. That Hancock would find this a difficult question is curious.

Gerald Ott

Ankeny