Always consider both sides of an issue

Fellow teachers, in case you missed it, there was a great timesaving tip in a letter in this space March 19 (D. John Payne letter) that bears repeating. Now, instead of teaching our students to read about and discuss both sides of an issue in order to become well-informed citizens, it appears that all we need do is direct students to look at the sender's address. Letters from a certain area can be skipped over because they are not “true and meaningful.”

What a timesaver! Why didn't they teach us that in college?

The following day in his column, Leonard Pitts reminded us all that we must not “ignore any inconvenient truth, any unsettling information.” Reading and acknowledging only those viewpoints that support what you already believe is narrow-minded and harmful to the open dialogue necessary in our republic.

Bonnie Dodge

Cedar Rapids