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Regarding "Trump is stoking the fires of Waco (Editorial)," (March 23): I am so disgusted by Republicans who seem to be interested only in power and not in the rule of law. This old white guy will probably never again vote for anyone with an "R" after their name.

Alan Jackson, Houston

Regarding "TEA needs to get its own house in order (Opinion)," (March 24): I taught many students from HISD at a local community college for many years.

I had a 30-year career as an English teacher. A large number of my first-year students were clearly unprepared.

Many were not used to reading anything they did not have to read. Administrators pushed large classes on teachers in areas like English, where there was great need for individual tutoring and basic literacy work. There were simply too many students and not enough time.

At the root are two related problems: What, or who, we value and thus are willing to spend money on. Everyone values their own children and wants them to do well. We must value other children and help them, too. There is only one race, and that is the human race.

Another article cites a successful takeover in Massachusetts, a state that seems to value the common good more than the state of Texas. There the students of low-income families improved in math and reading. A key reform was increasing classroom learning time and targeted small-group instruction.

Ruth N. Lpez Turley, who directs the Kinder Institute at Rice, points out that increased funding is central. As she indicates, and anyone who has read much of the research knows, learning success is highly correlated with economic status. Parents have more leisure and energy at higher economic levels to give personal help to their children, as well as more school knowledge themselves. Turley notes that HISD comprises mostly poor children, not the well-off.

We must have a revolution of values, for the good of all.

Paul L. Rowe, Houston

From school shootings to school district takeovers, it seems that parenting is the real key. Here are my thoughts and advice to parents after 67 years.

Mark Brooker, Houston

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This old white guy won't vote for a Republican any time soon (Opinion) - Houston Chronicle