Texas deals with another school shooting. Let’s start listening to the kids

Build on Cat Stevens’ words

Leonard Pitts Jr.’s Oct. 3 column, “Goodbye, and good riddance,” was spot-on. (5C) It is one of the best arguments for vaccinations I have seen. His quoting of Cat Stevens’ lyrics was almost perfect. I might tweak it a bit to say: “If you want to leave, take good care/Hope you don’t hurt a lot of friends out there.”

Please keep Pitts’ columns in your rotation. He’s excellent.

- Gary Strong, Fort Worth

Let the students lead us here

Wednesday was a sad day in Texas, with another school shooting. (Oct. 8, 1A, “Timberview High shooting suspect released from jail”) Thank goodness no one was killed. As a result, adults will do their best to develop more safety measures, but they will miss out on their absolute best resource: the students.

Students know what works and what doesn’t. They know when problems are brewing. It’s time we start asking them for direction, or else the clock will tick away until the next incident happens.

When school resumes at Mansfield ISD’s Timberview High School, every teacher could ask students: How do we want our school to be as we move into the future? What would be better, safer ways to solve problems with each other? What can we, as teachers and students, do to start making that happen?

- Linda Metcalf, Fort Worth

Ways to keep teenagers safe

We need stringent requirements for school security. I’m a freshman in college, and when I was in high school, I could get in and out of my school basically undetected. It’s not hard to hide a weapon in a backpack or to tuck it into your waistband.

Security should include metal detectors and more workers to watch who enters and leaves schools. And it shouldn’t be so easy for teenagers to get weapons.

- Braylon Jeffrey, Fort Worth

Opportunities for swimming

Do you recall watching your children or grandchildren learn to swim, dive and tread water in local pools? Unfortunately, that great experience is not shared by many Fort Worth families today.

Since the 1980s, Fort Worth has closed eight neighborhood pools, leaving just Forest Park Pool and Marine Park Aquatic Center. The city has budgeted more than $14 million in the upcoming bond election to replace Forest Park with a small lap pool and a play pool and to construct a new facility in the Stop Six neighborhood.

There is room at Forest Park for a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, with bulkheads to accommodate swim lessons, water aerobics, drowning prevention, lifeguard training and more.

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death among children in Tarrant County. Fort Worth should offer more, not fewer, opportunities to learn to swim in public pools.

- Richard Sybesma, North Richland Hills

Enjoying the sound of silence

I read in the Star-Telegram that Donald Trump was dropped from the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans. (Oct. 6, 13A, “Trump drops off Forbes 400 list for first time in 25 years”) Looks like his money is dwindling as fast as his influence.

For many of us, it has been an elated relief to no longer see, hear or read about this megalomaniac. Banned from his favorite social media sites, the once powerful and prolific orator has lost his platforms to create support. Once he lost his ability to move the American people by his oratory, he lost the very thing that brought him to power.

Perhaps silence really is golden.

- Patrick Jenkins, Arlington

Let’s start Keystone back

Gas prices are high, and a good place to start bringing them down would be reauthorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Shutting it down cost jobs and a major success for the oil industry. The pipeline would be a much less expensive way to transport oil, ultimately reducing fuel prices. It wouldn’t be a big, permanent solution to our economic troubles, but it’s a good start.

- Collin Frank, Lewisville

Have to pay the piper some day

Is the stimulus check what it seems? During the pandemic, the government sent out payments to help Americans, but it may have been a bad idea. There is no such thing as free money. We will have to pay off the debt with trillions of dollars in taxes later. It’s a huge number, and we will see an increase in taxes. We should cut spending in other areas that aren’t priorities.

- Jonathan Gutierrez, Pickton

This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Texas deals with another school shooting. Let’s start listening to the kids."