Two recent articles, “Forum targets school suspension inequity” (CHN, Feb. 6) and “Zero tolerance and the school-to-prison pipeline” (CHN, Jan. 29) reminded me of the work Of James Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at The University of Chicago, a Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics, and an expert in the economics of human development.

His groundbreaking work with a consortium of economists, developmental psychologists, sociologists, statisticians and neuroscientists has proven that the quality of early childhood development heavily influences health, economic and social outcomes for individuals and society at large.

Mr. Heckman has proven that there are great economic/social gains to be had by investing in early childhood development. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of “soft-skills” development. I recommend the following sites for further explanation of Mr. Heckman’s positions: bit.ly/WEIBui and bit.ly/13HHjR.

George Kelly

Chapel Hill

Parental responsibility

With regard to Ms. Fedders’ attempt to find a correlation between “school discipline and race,” (CHN, Jan. 29, bit.ly/VrhgeY) my child (white, as if it matters) got in trouble a few times and was punished and suspended once. After hearing the reasons I fully agreed with the administration, and reminded my child never to do that again. And she didn’t. Ms. Fedder’s completely overlooked parental responsibility.

Why are there no Asians or Indians in the statistics for detention/suspension? Because they are raised to respect authority, and to value the rewards of a great education, which our school most definitely provides. It is why East, Chapel Hill, and Woods are all nationally ranked. Talent and good behavior are not inherited by whites only, they are learned – at home.

In school, all students have the same opportunities, and are aware of the rules. Our educators are not in charge of rearing our children, you, the parents are. Behavioral norms are not based on white middle-class culture but on basic human values of respect and decency in and outside the classroom. Their behavior reflects their parental upbringing. Teachers are overburdened with responsibilities towards all the students, and should not be held responsible for rearing our children.

Solutions to Ms. Feddders issue: Keep law enforcement out of the school system; they have enough to do with rapes and murders, and real crime. Two, make high school graduation a requirement. Three, stress to the parent that they are responsible for teaching proper behavior both inside and outside of school.

Rene Paul de la Varre

Chapel Hill

Only the prelude

We are poisoning Jordan Lake, the supply of drinking water for more than 300,000 Carolinians. The delay in the implementation of the Jordan Lake rules sought by Greensboro, and now by Durham, is only the prelude to overturning the rules entirely.

If the actions of the last Republican legislature – for example, banning North Carolina from considering sea-level rise in coastal policy – are any indication, the Jordan Lake rules will be gone in a heartbeat. There isn’t much that the Republicans in Raleigh could do to surprise me, but I am dismayed that Durham has jumped on the bandwagon.

If we don’t care about the water we drink, what DO we care about?

Steve Bocckino

Durham

Off the mark

Elaine Chiosso, Haw Riverkeeper of the Haw River Assembly, was off the mark in her commentary last Sunday (DN, bit.ly/WOIY3I) when she suggested that reform of the Jordan Lake rules has been driven by Republican leadership in the General Assembly.

She cites legislative changes adopted in 2010 – when the General Assembly had a Democrat majority. Then she cites Greensboro’s seeking further changes in 2011 – while Greensboro has a Democrat majority on its City Council. Then she cites Burlington – which also has an elected Democrat majority.

Finally, she says that Durham will join them in seeking changes. Durham hasn’t had a GOP officeholder since 2007.

Both Democrats and Republicans believe that reforms to protect Jordan Lake are in order. So why does Ms. Chiosso present protecting our clean water as a partisan issue? Haw River Assembly is a tax-free 501(c)3 non-profit per NC state records. Aren’t they non-partisan??

How can we be certain that her facts about Jordan Lake are any more accurate than her political “facts”? To borrow Sen. Pat Moynihan’s phrase, Ms. Chiosso is entitled to her own opinions, but not her own facts.

Our opportunity to protect Jordan Lake and all our drinking water supplies is far too important to be politicized. If Ms. Chiosso can’t correctly represent easily ascertainable facts in support of her opinions, then those opinions should be discounted.

Dick Ford

Research chairman

Durham Republican Party

Wildlife meeting today

As someone who has worked with the Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, I was saddened to read about the clinic’s closing (CHN, Jan. 30, bit.ly/UucKiY).

I hope that a suitable space is found before too long, since spring and its babies will be here soon. It will be a big loss to the community and, more importantly, for the animals if there is no place to take injured wildlife. The article also mentioned that the clinic suffered from a lack of money and volunteers. I would hope that people would contribute money or their time to help such a worthy cause.

For anyone interested, there will be a planning meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. today, Feb. 10, at Parkwood United Methodist Church, 5123 Revere Road.

Martha Petty

Chapel Hill

Safe school access

Thank you, Jack, for that eloquent letter that is to the point (CHN, Feb. 6, bit.ly/XTOhQs). I wrote some very similar letters to the town and N.C. Department of Transportation 23 years ago about this very issue, when my children were walking a bicycling to these same schools, about providing safe access to Phillips and Estes Hills schools.

I hope that we adults can get our priorities straight and get this safe access to school as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, please be very careful riding to school. My sons eventually opted for walking as the safer alternative because you don’t have to be on the road. They are now 28 and 30 years old and they still like walking to school: this time to teach college students. When you ride your bike, always wear a helmet.

I am going to remind all the adults driving on Estes Drive that not only do we have two schools located inside a blind curve, but the posted speed of 35 mph, 25 mph in a school zone, is very rarely observed. Estes Drive is a residential street, what is called, in transportation terms, even though houses are set back from the road, this road is a, “thickly settled district,” and SHOULD be posted 25 mph for the entire section between Franklin Street and MLK, not just in the school zone between certain hours.

Here in North Carolina, the priority has been higher for expeditious travel by motor vehicle at the expense of pedestrian and bicycle safety. This has trained drivers to feel entitled to go faster than they should in town. This is why North Carolina has some of the highest pedestrian and cyclist death rates in the United States of America. I urge all of you, PLEASE, when in town and off the highway, drive well under the posted speed limit on this badly marked and weakly speed enforced road.

Sarah K. McIntee

Chapel Hill