In response to the letter (i.e., attack) on Dr. John DeCotis by Delta pilot Ron Baran, and as someone that has worked with Dr.DeCotis for the past 20 years, I would like to point out some untruths that were printed.

If Mr. Baran truly understood Integrated Thematic Instruction he would know that it is not a "curriculum" but a teaching technique like the thousands of others that teachers use on a daily basis. If he were truly knowledgeable about out school system he would also understand that the book "Tribes" is not a "textbook" but only a resource, like hundreds of other books you will find in teachers' classrooms.

And is there really a fear that emphasizing life skills such as integrity, perseverance, effort, cooperation, initiative, responsibility, etc., are concepts that will harm children?

Our state legislature must not have thought so, since they have mandated character education in every school system in Georgia.

In reference to the pamphlet Dr. DeCotis authored in 1989, does he not have a right to predict what future schools might become? Also, there is a major difference in the word "advocate" and "predict." I defy anyone to show that Dr.DeCotis was doing anything other than speculating on the future. I'm sure he never thought that his words would be so misinterpreted.

Unfortunately, Mr.Baran is one of the many parents in our nation, our state, and our community that have personal agendas as to what schools should and should not teach. Perhaps in Fayette County we should find out what the parents of the other 18,000 students would like us to change.

Parental input in this county is given much more credence than in most counties because of educators like Dr.DeCotis who believe that parents,like teachers, want the best for all the children. He constantly strives to make sure that parental input is considered; however, that does not mean that any small group of parents can dictate teaching methods and materials to the total school population.

Other than Mr. Baran's multitude of inaccuracies in his letter, what I really take exception to is some of the adjectives which he used to describe Dr. DeCotis. For all of us who know John DeCotis, to use the word "radical" and "deceiving" would be laughable if it were not so hurtful in describing an educator of the highest character and integrity.

In closing, my advice to you, Mr.Baran, is to talk to the people who have worked with Dr. DeCotis, gone to church with him and worked in the community with him and his wife for the past 20 years. You might find that, while you have your First Amendment rights, you have certainly misused them in your diatribe recently printed in the local newspaper.

Juliette O. Babb
Fayetteville