Navarrette on School Reform

* After teaching in one of California’s high schools for over 26 years, I believe that I am qualified to comment on “Reforming Public Education Should Begin in the Classroom” (by Ruben Navarrette Jr., Opinion, May 12). Since 1980, I have been involved in improving education, particularly science education, in our public schools by serving on numerous boards, commissions and giving testimony to numerous state and federal governmental committees. I work every day with highly dedicated members of the teaching profession who put enormous amounts of time into their lesson plans and in their relationships with increasing numbers of students, and it makes me very angry that with a few experiences in public education, Navarrette now has become an “expert” on what teachers in public schools need to do.

In spite of all the problems of overcrowded classrooms, outdated textbooks, poorly designed facilities and noncaring parents and students, many public schools have stayed above the national norms. When taken as a whole the public schools are remarkably successful.

Only when education is placed on a higher priority, not only by our government but also by the voting populace, parents and students, will we see a really dramatic turnaround in the improvement of our “product,” our students.

JOHN PAWSON PhD

Huntington Beach