Free Labor by Trade Students
* Re “Free Labor by Students Questioned,” Nov. 21: Several important facts were omitted from your article.
Landscape Occupation Instructor Joshua Siskin wanted to initiate a tomato-growing project at Cleveland High School. Because West Valley Occupational Center (WVOC) and Cleveland High School did not have any financial account to purchase the necessary tomato plants and related instructional materials, I volunteered to donate (pay for) the supplies and materials out of my own pocket. The $387 donation that I made allowed WVOC and Cleveland High School to earn $700 from the growing and sale of the tomatoes. The students also acquired hands-on entrepreneurial skills. In addition, the landscape class took cuttings from cacti on my property. These cuttings have been sold by our students at monthly WVOC garden sales. Our landscaping students have earned over $1,000 from this effort.
WVOC takes pride in being an employment preparation center of quality. Siskin is an exemplary instructor who maintains high instructional standards for the course he teaches. The landscape sprinkler project at my residence met the instructional criteria established by Siskin.
Your article indicates that there is a thick covering of red apple ground cover and that the WVOC students spent two months at my residence. The plants were purchased as cuttings. After six months of growth, many of the plants have merged together, forming the ground cover. I personally planted all of the red apple on the east side of my residence fence. The project did take approximately two months to complete. However, the work was performed in one-to-two-hour time blocks, usually once or twice a week.
HARLAN BARBANELL, Principal
West Valley Occupational Center
Woodland Hills
* It’s unfortunate that The Times is questioning some of the best teaching going on in the LAUSD. For years, vocational teachers have worked to make learning as realistic as possible. As the automotive technology teacher at Marshall High School, I can attest that we routinely work on the cars of both students and staff. The work we do supports the education that goes on in the classroom. We are not an auto repair shop. Our goal here is not to repair cars but to teach students how to repair cars.
At Marshall High School we are collaborating with private industry and the city to put kids to work in internships that support what they learn in class. Some of these internships are paid, some are not. Is The Times going to say that the free labor of these students should be questioned?
TOM MARSHALL
Los Angeles
