Poor criticism

To the editor: This is in response to Deanie Roeder’s letter to the editor, posted in the Friday, Dec. 8 edition of the Pike County Courier. As Ms. Roeder certainly is entitled to her opinion regarding public school matters, I particularly found the conclusion of her letter very disturbing. She voiced intense criticism with regard to Mrs. Cole, the Delaware Valley Elementary School principal’s, decisions concerning bathroom graffiti and the methodology of dismissal of children after the annual Storybook Parade. The conclusion of her letter stated, “Mrs. Cole, you are no longer wanted; you’ve lost respect of both parents and students. It is painful (yet I admit entertaining and satisfying) to see the outpouring of criticism from the community regarding your poor decisions every week, so do us a favor, give it up; retire already. Allow us to show you a ‘proper dismissal.’” Ms. Roeder, have you attempted to contact Mrs. Cole, directly, and discuss your concerns? Have you attended a Parent Teacher Association Meeting and voiced your concerns within that forum? Have you contacted Dr. Finan, our superintendant and Mrs. Cole’s supervisor, regarding your issues? Did you attend a School Board meeting and bring your issues to the attention of our elected members of the Board? Or, did you choose to vilify Mrs. Cole, publicly, using the media? The culture of our school district has changed dramatically in the past ten years, as evidenced by the actual graffiti that was written in elementary school bathrooms. Parents have the greatest influence on children. Children learn what they live. It concerns me that parents harshly criticize and publicly disrespect individuals in authority that our children need to respect in order to maintain a safe environment in the school building. This type of criticism also teaches our children that it is unacceptable to make mistakes. Many of the children that exhibit behavioral problems in school, as many of our educators will attest to, have a blatant disregard of respect for authority. Children also learn to problem solve, modeling their parents. I am not sure what Ms. Roeder’s public criticism of Mrs. Cole has accomplished, other than setting a poor example of how to solve problems productively and effectively for our children. Many of our children do read the newspaper! Mrs. Cole, you are wanted! You have not lost the respect of the parents and children. You have done so much for our children over the past decades and have always had the children’s best intentions at heart. You have been and still are an integral part of my children’s education. Bravo, Mrs. Cole. Theresa Loughney Milford