RESPONSE: Schools hurt most at home

In response to Mr. Hollingsworth’s letter about our schools, your argument doesn’t make any sense. Why would the teacher’s union be opposed to “more highly paid teachers”? And, if there are more teachers, then presumably there would be more classrooms for the publishers to fill with books. Not only that, you missed the real point.

In many cases, the underlying problem with under-performing students is a societal one. Parents, assuming there are two of them in the household, are not spending enough time with their children to develop a love of reading. There are many factors for this — single parent households, low wages causing parents to work multiple jobs, parents using electronic media as a baby sitter, electronic distractions that parents find more important that their primary job of raising a child, etc.

Did you notice that I use the word parent in each of my examples? It is the parents’ job, albeit an extremely difficult one, to provide a fundamental educational foundation for their children BEFORE they enter school. Once a child enters school, then the parents must continue to work with their child to ensure that the educational process continues outside of the classroom. Failure to do so results in that all too familiar label being placed on Idaho schools. Of course that label is determined by a standardized test, but don’t get me started there.

I would encourage anyone who is concerned about the quality of our schools to spend a great deal of time volunteering at a local elementary school before you espouse a position on education that is not based in current reality.

RICK JONES

Rathdrum