‘An Embarrassing Report Card’
Those who have earned the most embarrassing report card are parents. Certainly we should support programs to assist families and children. The problems are so severe that we must.
But all of the problems that you address--children living in poverty, low immunization rate, 33% school dropout rate, poor child health care and escalating cases of child abuse and neglect--are the responsibility of parents.
Since so many parents seem unable to “parent,” one solution that would be most effective would be to require that all students complete a course in parenting education before graduating from high school. The best intervention into all of these problems is education.
It is a puzzle why legislators and school boards do not act on this. When math and English scores fall, more of these courses are required. The same logic should apply to parenting education.
LORELLE YOUNG
San Pedro
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