Teaching about freedom

I am responding to a recent viewpoint expressed by instructor and civics club sponsor Erica Bray-Parker of Glenbard North High School on May 26. She expresses dismay that students with opinions other than her own attended a meeting with Rep. Peter Roskam that she and her students also attended.

The subject of the meeting was gun control. Those who educate the children in our community, and in particular in the subject of civics, should be responsible for teaching their students that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects the free speech of all Americans and that the Second Amendment protects the rights of individuals "to keep and bear arms." Their political biases should never influence their educational responsibilities.

The school board has a responsibility to the community to evaluate the performance of all educators in its employ and to hold them to the highest standards of professional conduct, both in and out of the classroom.

Chuck Smith

Wheaton