Today’s Youth

Almost every time one picks up a newspaper one reads of today’s schoolchildren as deficient in test scores, as drug addicts or pushers, or as criminals roving in violent gangs. My experiences with children, both in high school and grade school, have been quite different.

I work as a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and sometimes I assist at programs for Design for Sharing, a group that brings schoolchildren to the UCLA campus to see stage performances in a wide range of performing arts. Thousands of children from Southern California participate in these programs. Those of us who volunteer to work with them generally find them courteous, appreciative, responsive, enthusiastic and often eager to learn.

It seems to me that it is about time that we acknowledge the thousands of children who show every indication of growing into responsible and productive citizens.

REGINA FADIMAN

Los Angeles