Learning experiences
As I read The Times’ recent four-part series on dropouts (“The Vanishing Class,” Jan. 29 and 30, Feb. 3 and 4), I kept looking for any parental involvement. It seemed to be a theme in the four articles that those most at risk to drop out had little or no parental support for their education.
The editorial recommending parent accountability is something that we at the school site have been advocating for years. When we call parents offering after-school or Saturday help for their children, too few take advantage of this service.
If the Los Angeles Unified School District is serious about attacking the dropout problem, it must start with true parent accountability. Will the district ever get the backbone to do this? Based on my 25 years in the district, the answer is no.
RICK PRIZANT
Math Department Chairman
Birmingham High School, Van Nuys
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As a high school teacher of 40 years, I have read each article with great interest. The Feb. 3 article about the group who wanted to, but did not, graduate together has made me a bit angry. Several of the young men blamed the teacher when they decided not to go to class. Why is it the teacher’s fault? If they are old enough to make choices, they must be old enough to accept the consequences of those choices. If they want someone to blame, I suggest they look in the mirror.
JIM LACASSE
Bakersfield
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I was dismayed to see the negative portrayal of the Halls’ charter schools (Feb. 4). After failing at two high schools, adult school and a continuation school, my daughter graduated from the Options for Youth Learning Center in La Crescenta. There she succeeded because she found a caring teacher and a safe and structured environment where she was able to focus on one subject at a time. I would much rather have young people in the Options for Youth environment than in the school described in your dropout series. From my perspective, the Halls earned whatever salary they made.
JUDETH DAVIS
Glendale
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Re “Try Adding Real-World Math to the Equation,” column, Feb. 3
Steve Lopez almost hit the nail. The real-world problem stems from the no-child-left-behind philosophy that presumes all young people are destined for college-level academics. The high school curriculum has been retailored to fit this presumption. Vocational courses are nonexistent. This is utterly unrealistic. Many young people are manual-arts focused and do not operate successfully in an academic realm.
Myriad types of trade, craft and technical work do not correlate with the college preparatory curricula extant in the middle and high schools today. Let’s get back to a real-world program that embraces both vocational and college preparatory curricula.
EARL H. HYGH
Mission Viejo
