As a community member, as a mother and as a teacher, I feel compelled to respond to the Facebook commentary regarding the Adirondack Daily Enterprise article titled “Students plan walkout March 14.”

The role a community plays in raising our children cannot be underestimated. I feel especially lucky to have watched my children flourish and grow up as Saranac Lakers. Most of the time, our small town has a special sense of camaraderie and in-it-togetherness that makes us feel we belong here. Every once in a while, however, divisive issues arise, and that sense of togetherness can be shattered. A community is meant to be a safe place for our children to grow, explore and come into their own. It is our duty to support our youth and encourage their engagement in the larger world, whether we agree with their opinions or not.

As a mother of two teenagers, I have tried to instill in my children important values. I want them to know that they must always follow their hearts, that they must believe in themselves, that they are capable of making a difference in this world, and that they should bravely face obstacles that are bound to obstruct their paths. These are traits that will help them find happiness and overcome difficulties when they leave the safety of our community.

But as a teacher in our school who is honored to have day-to-day encounters with our local youth, the lack of understanding regarding who our teens are today disheartens me. While I am certain that the majority of people in our community do not agree, the most vocal of the Facebook comments perpetuated overwhelmingly negative stereotypes about our teens. As a teacher who works with teenagers every day and makes it my mission to get to know these students, I can assure you that those negative misconceptions are wrong! Teens today are engaged. They are passionate. They are caring. They are knowledgeable. They are critical thinkers. They are what we want our future to be! Our students are not mindless followers. They have minds of their own and the wherewithal to express their opinions respectfully.

Let me assure those outspoken few who so aggressively ranted below a picture of two students (who are in the top 10 percent of their class, no less) that school is NOT a place where students are expected to “sit their asses in class” as one commenter so vulgarly put it, but rather a place that encourages dialogue, critical thinking and respect! A brief example may illustrate this best. Just recently in our 10th-grade classrooms, students studied the Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Along with this task, we delved into current events in our country and in our world to become more informed on these issues. For the culminating activity, the classes held Socratic seminars in which students led discussions to explore many of these controversial issues that are so prominent in our world today. I swell with pride when I recall the ability of my students to have these difficult conversations openly and respectfully. Yes, there was intense disagreement, but there was also an open-mindedness and acceptance of differing opinions that are essential to a thriving society.

This type of activity is not the exception in our schools but rather the norm. Please, before you post more degrading statements about our teenagers, and their passions and desires and goals, make sure YOU are knowledgeable about the issues and activities you are so profusely denigrating.

Kathy Latour lives in Saranac Lake and teaches English and psychology at Saranac Lake High School.