Schools

Kevin Phillips wisely includes our “failing schools” on his domestic priority list for rebuilding competitiveness at home (“Troops Must Come Home to Win Economic War,” Opinion, March 4).

As a high school teacher who has watched first hand for 23 years the neglect of our public schools, I say, “Let’s Retool for School.” Let’s pay those experts who brought us space-based military communications and accurate long-range missile hits to bring our schools into the 21st Century.

A few years ago when I was in Washington, I saw a replica of my classroom in the American History Smithsonian Museum. It was labeled “circa 1939.” I’ll happily be retrained to manage a high-tech learning center that might stem the 40% dropout rate in Los Angeles.

For decades we’ve paid for methods of mass destruction. Now at last let’s employ our experts to bring us programs for class instruction instead!

JOAN LEIB

Venice High School