Watch what people do, not just what they say

I have debated with myself for several days over sending this letter. I try to live my life in such a way that my Christian values will reflect favorably on my Lord and Savior. I do not put down the beliefs of any religious group because God has given us a free will to make our own choices and decisions. I do pray that all people will come to know the Lord, Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior, but again that is a free-will choice.

My letter concerns the open pronouncements on TV and other platforms by our present administration and those who aspire to be the leaders of this great nation. These pronouncements of their Christianity and how often they pray seem to always come at times when it is a politically expedient. Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 1 through 7, gives an excellent explanation, in my opinion, of proclaiming your righteousness before men. The words in the reference are my Lord's and not mine.

My point in this letter is to say that we need to look closely at the actions of our leaders at all times, not just what they say and do on the street corner in front of the TV cameras.

Stay alert, look at the issues, where each person stands on the issues and then vote with the knowledge that you have done your own homework, not what someone else tells you to do.

Alex Y. Bishop

Lt. Col. USAF (Retired)

Rock Hill

People need to do their own homework

Steve Lewis recently advised in his letter to "do your homework," don't be lazy! It seems Mr. Lewis is confused about the meaning of homework and being lazy.

Doing your homework means more than looking at some chain emails, and being lazy means more than copying and pasting those emails to a newspaper opinion article. I would like Mr. Lewis to cite each of his claims. In other words, where specifically did he get his information?

President Obama never said, "Navy Seal Team 6 is Cheney's private assassination team," as Mr. Lewis stated. He never said, "I put together Seal Team 6 to take out Bin Laden," as Mr. Lewis stated.

He never said, "Bin Laden is innocent until proven guilty, and must be captured alive and given a fair trial," as Mr. Lewis stated. He never said, "Vital intelligence was obtained from Guantanamo detainees that led to our locating Bin Laden." All of these rebuttals to Mr. Lewis came from Politifact.com.

"If we have Bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out," President Obama said this during a 2008 debate. This also came from Politifact.com.

President Obama did exactly what he said he would do in this instance. This is something that the yahoos of the right would be whooping and hollering about if it was their man who did it. Tell the truth? Never mind, your "truth" comes in chain emails.

Larry Little

Rock Hill

Teachers make good use of available technology

As a professor of educational technology in the College of Education at Winthrop University, the recent article on "flipped" classes at Dutchman Creek Middle School and Rock Hill High School was a delight to read. Flipping a class, where students may listen to or watch a lecture before coming to class to work on real problems, is a great example of how teachers can use technology to advance student learning.

Kudos to Chris Odom and Lynn Bogan for not only using the technology, but also for sticking with it and working outside of their comfort zones. And kudos to the administrators and other teachers who supported them in trying something new.

Flipping classes is a strategy that is taught in our educational technology classes at Winthrop University as well. Our educational technology masters students are taught not only how to use technology, but also how it can be applied to problems of student learning.

I know that there are other teachers in our area schools, from kindergarten through higher education, who are doing equally interesting projects, and I look forward to reading about them in the future.

Anybody who is interested in learning more about educational technology opportunities should feel free to visit www.coe.winthrop.edu/edtech.

Marshall G. Jones

Rock Hill