A letter-writing campaign has taken aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom, questioning his leadership on education. The writers argue that Newsom's policies have failed to improve the state's schools, with 5.8 million K-12 students trailing national averages in reading and math scores. A staggering half of these students are reading below grade level.
Critics suggest that incentivizing excellence and merit in educational policy could help address this issue. "It's beyond pathetic" that such a significant number of children are struggling, says Chris Kniel of Orinda. The writer questions whether voters will ever wake up to the consequences of Newsom's policies, which they believe have led to California's continued educational downfall.
Newsom's handling of immigration issues also came under scrutiny from Sharon Brown of Walnut Creek. She disputes the notion that most ICE protests are peaceful, pointing out instances of brutality and racial profiling against protesters who are simply advocating for democracy. "If you're not Native American, your forebears were immigrants... they likely came to this country to build a better life for themselves," she writes.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's recent behavior has raised concerns about his fitness for office. Douglas Mcclelland of Brentwood cites an example where Trump made false claims about the US ceding rights to Greenland over 100 years ago. This "one more piece of evidence" that Trump is unfit for office, according to Mcclelland.
The writers also expressed frustration with USAID cuts that disproportionately affect Americans. Winifred and Gerald Thompson of Castro Valley argue that these cuts undermine public health efforts, weaken vaccination programs, and harm American farmers by canceling purchases. They urge Congress to restore funding now, or risk more Americans suffering the consequences.
Lastly, Patty Cochran of Concord laments the lack of coverage on a positive story about Buddhist monks' Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington D.C. The event is a beautiful expression of peace and unity, according to Cochran, but it seems to have been overlooked by local news outlets.
Critics suggest that incentivizing excellence and merit in educational policy could help address this issue. "It's beyond pathetic" that such a significant number of children are struggling, says Chris Kniel of Orinda. The writer questions whether voters will ever wake up to the consequences of Newsom's policies, which they believe have led to California's continued educational downfall.
Newsom's handling of immigration issues also came under scrutiny from Sharon Brown of Walnut Creek. She disputes the notion that most ICE protests are peaceful, pointing out instances of brutality and racial profiling against protesters who are simply advocating for democracy. "If you're not Native American, your forebears were immigrants... they likely came to this country to build a better life for themselves," she writes.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's recent behavior has raised concerns about his fitness for office. Douglas Mcclelland of Brentwood cites an example where Trump made false claims about the US ceding rights to Greenland over 100 years ago. This "one more piece of evidence" that Trump is unfit for office, according to Mcclelland.
The writers also expressed frustration with USAID cuts that disproportionately affect Americans. Winifred and Gerald Thompson of Castro Valley argue that these cuts undermine public health efforts, weaken vaccination programs, and harm American farmers by canceling purchases. They urge Congress to restore funding now, or risk more Americans suffering the consequences.
Lastly, Patty Cochran of Concord laments the lack of coverage on a positive story about Buddhist monks' Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington D.C. The event is a beautiful expression of peace and unity, according to Cochran, but it seems to have been overlooked by local news outlets.
and now I'm thinking, what if they tried a different approach? Like incentivizing excellence in schools instead of just throwing more money at the problem 
. Chris Kniel makes a point about it being pathetic that so many kids are struggling, but maybe we're looking at this from the wrong angle 
. What if they focused on getting those 5.8 million students caught up with the rest of the country instead of just leaving them behind? 
. Sharon Brown is right that most ICE protests are peaceful, but at the same time, I've heard some crazy stories about police brutality towards protesters too 
. It's like we need to find a way to balance those two things.
. That Greenland thing is wild and it just goes to show that he's not taking this office seriously. Donald Mcclelland makes a solid point about it.
. Winifred and Gerald Thompson are right on target about public health, vaccination programs, and farmers being hit hard by these cuts. We need Congress to step up and restore funding ASAP 
.
. A Walk for Peace from Texas to DC? That's something we should be celebrating, not ignoring 
.
like what's going on in california schools gotta step up their game 5.8 million kids struggling to read below grade level that's just not right 
and dont even get me started on immigration protests ICE has to do better than brutalize protesters and racial profiling is never ok 
need to fact check before opening mouth and congress needs to restore USAID funding ASAP public health and vaccination programs are suffering big time 
What can be done to support these kids and bring them up to speed? 
Maybe incentivizing excellence in educational policy could be the answer? 
Let's focus on giving teachers more resources and autonomy to innovate their teaching methods 
? It's not fair that 5.8 million kids in California are struggling in school - shouldn't our gov be doing more to help those kids out? 
Making false claims about the US ceding rights to Greenland is just one example of his questionable fitness for office. It's concerning that he's still spreading misinformation and putting people's trust at risk.
. It's heartening to see people coming together for a common cause – we could use more of that positivity in our media landscape.
. I mean, come on, folks! We need constructive solutions, not just a bunch of snide attacks. And can we please focus on something other than the Gov for once? I'm tired of hearing about Trump's antics... 
Can't we just be kind to each other? And yeah, Trump's behavior is sketchy - who makes up stuff about historical events like that? 
I wish it would get more coverage - maybe it could inspire us all to be kinder and more peaceful 
.
Imagine this:
. Trump's behavior is also super concerning - making false claims like that Greenland thing is just crazy 
. I mean, Patty Cochran's right, the Buddhist monks' Walk for Peace is an amazing thing! Can't we just give some love to the good vibes instead of just focusing on the drama? 
