Nine-year-old William Keiley of Littleton awaits the start of the Rockies’ home opener last Friday. William, who skipped his third-grade class at Schafer Elementary School, attended the game with his father, John. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Re: “Missing school to go to opening day at Coors Field,” April 15 letter to the editor.
Letter-writer Patricia P. Freeburg takes The Denver Post to task for portraying a “bad message” with the photo of a youngster who skipped school and went to the home opener for the Colorado Rockies last Friday. She ends with counseling the child to not miss another day of school, even if his dad were to “entice” him. Such sentiment is built on the idea that learning only happens at school. The human species is hard-wired to learn all the time. Narrowing the human imperative of learning to going to school is, at once, to elevate the school experience and denigrate the rest of the time we are on Earth doing stuff. There’s lots to learn from a day at the ballpark with Dad.
Rocky Hill,Denver
This letter was published in the April 17 edition.More than 50 years ago in the spring, before the Rockies came to town, major league teams came to Denver for exhibition games. I relish memories today of my dad taking me from school to 16th Street, before the mall, to view a parade welcoming them to town. Things turned out OK for me later on, I guess, as I became a public school teacher and then an elementary school principal for 21 years. Itap all about keeping things in perspective. Go Rockies!
Colin Conway,Centennial
This letter was published in the April 17 edition.If a child has good attendance, good grades, is honest and accepts gracefully reasonable penalties, I see no problem with skipping a day of school. In my school days, I skipped one day to go fishing with my dad. I confessed my crime to my teachers and took my zeroes.
Of course education is more important than athletics, but is one day making a special memory with a parent more important than one day of school? I know my answer. I had few special memories with my dad.
Being too rigid can have unintended consequences such as causing or increasing negative feelings toward school.
Robert E. Hussey,Denver
This letter was published in the April 17 edition.
Submit a letter to the editor via this form or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
