Taking Bill Gates to School

Re “What’s Wrong With American High Schools,” Commentary, March 1: It is interesting that Bill Gates thinks the job of American high schools is to prepare all students for college -- since he did not finish Harvard himself.

As a retired high school educator with more than 30 years’ experience, I can tell you that all students are not college material. Relevance is more important than rigor in the curriculum: If they are not interested, they will not learn. For some students, high school will be the end of formal education. Graduates should be prepared to join the real world, not just the next step on a seemingly never-ending educational ladder.

By the way, Bill, all students need to know something about balancing their checkbooks.

Charles W. Buckman

Palm Springs

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The crisis in U.S. education is far worse than described in Gates’ excellent commentary.

The U.S. is losing the race for science supremacy in the world to countries such as China, whose youngsters score miles above the U.S. on international science achievement tests. We are in a Sputnik-type crisis that demands crisis-level action.

One cannot produce brilliant scientists if the teachers of these scientists are not the best college majors in science and math.

We need to change the culture of career prestige in this nation. We must put the exquisitely expert teacher as No. 1, far above physicians, dentists, etc. There is only one way of doing that. Scrap the disastrous “no new taxes” philosophy and pay teachers with distinguished training in science and math $100,000 per year. If we do this, you’ll see the most dramatic turnaround in science/math achievement of our youngsters in the history of this great nation.

Steven B. Oppenheimer

Trustees Outstanding

Professor, California

State University system

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Gates has called for experts to restructure our high schools to meet the needs of today’s students and businesses. The solution to the problem needs to start earlier, in elementary school, where the children slowly lose their desire for school studies. It is also one most experts will miss.

One definition of science is organized, structured learning and testing. By replacing the programs that are currently called “science” with an integrated, thematic, hands-on science program that meets that definition, and making it the context of all education with the “core” curriculum subjects wrapped around it, success is assured.

The students in all grade levels will be studying how to learn more effectively while they are receiving an education that meets the needs of the future. Such a program could easily be made more sophisticated as the students go up in grade level to the point that much of what is now taught in college could be incorporated in high school. They will also enjoy learning how studying science is relevant to solving their everyday problems.

Larry Severson

Fountain Valley

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Gates addressed some of the problems in high schools, primarily a lack of rigorous academic preparation. However, he neglected an important alternative to college prep courses. Back when California had the best public education in the country, students were able to take wood shop, metal shop, auto repair, music and art. Not everyone can go to college. How about preparing everyone else for places in the job market?

Roxane Winkler

Sherman Oaks

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Gates fails to see the folly of educating more engineers when companies are looking for cheaper labor. Why hire American engineers wanting American salaries when you can outsource jobs to India, Russia or China, which are churning out six times as many engineers? The problem is not solely education; it is the globalization of our economy. Patching education or tax codes does not address the fundamental problem. Sure, we can whip out more engineers, but to what end? If only to benefit Gates and Microsoft, then this is very self-serving.

If Gates truly has concern for the high school students, then his effort to improve education must also garner rewards. That’s not the path the global economy is leading American workers.

Robert Cohen

Santa Barbara