Letter: Why not highlight American heroines?
"The Librarian of Basra" and "Nasreen's Secret School," by Jeanette Winter, are optional texts on the Common Core reading list for third-graders.
As part of the Common Core curriculum, the Sachem school district has acquired a third-grade reading book, "The Librarian of Basra" ["Fear of agendas in the Common Core," Opinion, Dec. 19]. The book begins with a quote from the Quran about God encouraging Muhammad to read.
This children's book makes reference to the Quran, to Muhammad, to warfare and a brave, real-life female librarian in Iraq. Just asking: Would the Common Core allow a quote from the Bible?
Also, why not a little something about an American female hero? Say Frances Cabrini or Clara Barton? Cabrini was an Italian immigrant who founded roughly 70 orphanages, schools and hospitals. Barton, a teacher and nurse, was known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" as the founder of the American Red Cross. She drove wagon loads of medical supplies directly into the line of fire in the American Civil War. She provided loving care and comfort to an untold number of wounded servicemen during that terrible conflict. Why not a story book about her?
Peter Kelly, Medford
