Doesn’t add up
Thursday, November 26, 2009
I have been following the news about the former Topeka Mayor, Doug Wright, in his pursuit of a teaching license. The arguments against it don’t resonate with me, for a couple of reasons:
One reason is Heartland Park. Another is the Westridge Mall. Both of these developments came to Topeka during Wright’s tenure as Mayor. I doubt that Mr. Wright’s critics have done half the things for the Topeka community that he has done. If the man’s past is the basis for the decision, it should be comprehensive and not just focused on the mistakes.
I grew up in Topeka’s public schools. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between schoolyard rumors and reality, but either way we knew our teachers weren’t perfect. And that didn’t keep us from learning and growing from their work with us. In fact, it taught us something about life: In spite of our faults we all have some God-given gifts — and thus we have some things to offer back to the world we live in.
The Rev. Andrew McHenry
Emporia