Bicycle helmets are a necessity at all times

I can’t believe how many adults and kids ride bicycles without helmets. Years ago, I was just as guilty and let my kids ride without helmets, too.

Then, one day, my then-12-year-old son had a terrible bike accident without a helmet, about two blocks from our home. Something got caught in the front spokes of his bike causing him to be thrown headfirst onto the curb, causing a compound skull fracture. He was in pediatric intensive care for more than a week at Stony Brook University Hospital with about 60 stitches in his scalp.

The doctor told us he might not make it if his brain swelled the first night. My wife stayed with him, sleeping in a chair next to him every night he was there.

That all happened about 48 years ago. Fortunately, he got over it. But his parents haven’t! Please, everyone, wear helmets when biking! Make sure your kids do, too!

Charles Funk,

Mount Sinai

Step up to help our schools get past this

At Farmingdale High School, where I teach science, educators exemplify the saying, “Not all superheroes wear capes.” Not only have teachers worked to grasp digital learning platforms, we also have participated in a community car parade to connect with our students, raised funds for personal protective equipment, donated to a local food bank, and helped to make the class of 2020 feel special.

Though we’ve come together to lift up our students, parents and each other during this pandemic, my fear is that our safety net is about to be cut from underneath us. Proposed cuts to public education in Farmingdale and across the state would be devastating. Let’s not forget that we faced challenges before this crisis after years of chronic underfunding.

Federal stimulus funding for our schools is one piece of the puzzle.

We also need state policymakers to ask the billionaires and the ultra-millionaires living in this state to step up and pay their fair share toward public education.

Cordelia Anthony,

Central Islip