Busing Proposal in Garden Grove

The busing proposal put forth by the Garden Grove Unified School District (Feb. 3) is extremely helpful in two ways.

First, it solves an intradistrict overcrowding problem by moving students from crowded areas to underutilized district facilities. This is the most efficient and logical solution to the problem.

Second, and more important, it provides all of the children with a special learning experience--exposure and interaction with other children from different backgrounds. Such an experience, if handled correctly, can only enrich all of the children.

I am saddened by the vigorous uproar of the district’s Anglo parents. These parents want their children to attend the “best” schools. According to their mentality, however, the “best” schools are the white schools, with a limited number of students that they perceive as “outsiders.”

I attended all-white schools through elementary and high school. That experience limited my education because I was sheltered and never had the chance to interact with people from different neighborhoods and cultural backgrounds. It was not until attending college that I experienced this enriching opportunity. I feel that any perceived “drop” in academic standards is more than made up for by the chance to attend school in a diversified setting.

It seems that the protesting parents want their children to become socially isolated yuppies like themselves. I call on everyone to recognize the value a diversified setting has in opening the minds and experiences of the children, in addition to the damage caused by social isolation and lack of cultural interaction.

DANIEL PAYNE

Huntington Beach