Letters to the editor

Good history

I don’t live in Minnesota, but I appreciate good political reporting and history. Your article [“How the Range was Lost”] was excellent.

Mark Pulliam

Teacher pay

I just read Catrin Wigfall’s article “Up, Up, and Away” in Thinking Minnesota’s Summer 2025 issue. The data she submitted is very sad and disappointing! I was a teacher right out of college in 1974, graduating with honors from the University of Minnesota. I was able to get a teaching job right away in a small farming community with the Randolph Public Schools. My wife taught first grade in Cannon Falls, Minn. for 41 years (and won the Teacher of the Year Award), then was a substitute teacher until COVID-19 hit. Most people do not go into teaching for the money (obviously) but for the joy of teaching our youth, not only basic skills like reading and math, but also life skills.

Wigfall’s article points to the school boards and administration on the disparity in staffing and salaries. I also want to blame the federal Department of Education, which was started in 1972 by Pres. Jimmy Carter. The concept sounds good, but why are America’s students ranked 40th among developed countries being tested?

This happens due to misguided ideology such as Critical Race Theory and the teachers’ unions.

There are 3.8 million teachers (from 2020-21 school year) in public schools and charter schools in America. I would guess that most are excellent, dedicated teachers with the goal of helping each and every student. Time to pay them what they are worth.

Chuck Bracken
Cannon Falls, Minn.