Deukmejian’s Education Budget

How can anyone take a stand against reading? Magazine articles and books decry illiteracy in America. This is the decade in which we are called to become a nation of readers. Yet at this time Deukmejian wants to cut the Miller-Unruh Reading Program in elementary schools.

Does he need to be reminded of the value of reading? It is the survival skill of society. It opens doors for everyone to participate more fully in life. It is the ennobling talent that allows us to rise beyond ourselves and above our circumstances. It is the uniquely human activity that connects us to our past and enables us to face the challenges of the future.

Does Deukmejian know what he is cutting? The Miller-Unruh Program supplements and enriches classroom instruction. Students are helped with basic skills, and they apply those skills in other subject areas. They expand their reading into poetry and plays. They learn that reading can be a lifelong adventure.

PATRICK J. MURPHY

Corona