Put Education Emphasis Where It Belongs

Re “13 States Call for Raising Standards in High School,� Feb. 28: The truly sad part about all of this so-called education reform from No Child Left Behind (and I’ve never known a teacher to do that) to raising standards is that nowhere are the real issues addressed: the responsibilities of the students and parents in the education process, and legislators who pass reforms yet either underfund or cut education budgets year after year.

Students, parents and legislators are the ones who really need to be held accountable. As soon as that happens, you’ll see more students being successful.

Paul Pruss

Lake Forest

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The National Governors Assn. placed a much-needed focus on improving high schools and national standards. Thankfully, it will not be a high school form of the No Child Left Behind plan because the immense standardized testing and raising scores should not be the main focus of teachers. Some students know that if two answers can be eliminated, guess, but they don’t know the square root of 144.

Reforms in math, science and language requirements are needed for a better education of high school students. As a high school senior, I see how easy it is to just quit after the minimum is fulfilled, but with stricter requirements, students would be forced to achieve more. If a plan like this can be placed into effect in 13 states, why wasn’t California a part of it?

Veronica Navarrete

Chino Hills

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Bill Gates is absolutely right in his article, “What’s Wrong With American High Schools� (Commentary, March 1). But as a high school teacher with more than 35 years’ experience, there is one more factor that must be considered. Our society must make the education of our students a high priority. Parents who do not take an interest in their kids’ schooling, pull students out of class for frivolous trips, do not monitor television watching and other activities, and hinder disciplinary measures need to understand that the schools are very important to the future of this nation.

Our society, especially in California, must insist that our students come to school prepared to learn for the 21st century because we cannot continue to spend enormous amounts of resources on “high maintenance� students. If this nation is to continue its world leadership, our society must be prepared to support the educational establishment both in words and deeds.

John Pawson

Huntington Beach

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Gates was right (“High Schools Are 1.0 in a 5.0 World,� Feb. 27) when he called for a new design for high schools based on [smaller schools with] higher standards for math and language proficiency. But he and almost every other education reformer, including President Bush, overlook the importance of preparing students to govern themselves, both as students and adults. Such preparation must begin at an early age and continue into adulthood. The lack of such preparation is a certain indicator of the low turnouts in elections.

Robert M. Gordon

Irvine