Trade-offs

Re “Mom! Dad! What a day on Wall St.!” Dec. 15

Thank you for the informative article. However, the subject -- teenagers conditioned to become short-term stock traders -- is alarming.

Why are the students more interested in short-term trading than long-term investing? Are stock brokerage firms, whose existence is based on commission income, sponsoring the activities? Do any of the teachers have any real-world experience as investors? Where is any mention that investors should only play the stock market with funds they can afford to lose?

Teachers should start with the basics -- financial statement analysis -- rather than encouraging greed.

Les Greenberg

Culver City