As a child of the 1960s, the anti-war Woodstock generation, I am crushed and saddened by the hate and gun violence in our country, the latest atrocity being the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The District 15 diversity pilot approved by the mayor and the chancellor in September is a valiant project! I do have some questions though:

To the people who think New York State is literally the worst, well, it does have its flaws for teachers, but we don’t have nearly as many issues as our colleagues around the nation.

To become a licensed teacher, one must take a battery of tests, earn a master’s degree and demonstrate teaching proficiency. However, anyone can grow up to be president of the United States!

As educators, we are more than aware of the impact words have on how we see things and how we frame our responses to things culturally (e.g., a particular racial term).

Regarding the story “Temperatures rising” [Oct. 4] — in September my class was so hot and humid my eyeglasses fogged up!