Students’ Poor Performance

I was agreeing with every word of Lance Takeo Izumi’s Column Right (“Lack of Money Isn’t Why Janie Can’t Read,” Jan. 26) until the final paragraph. At that point, the author places blame for California’s “education fiasco” squarely on the shoulders of “government education officials.”

Since not one word was mentioned about parents’ roles in the education of their children, permit me to cite the evidence. Last June, the U.S. Department of Education reported that parental involvement in a fourth-grade child’s reading studies could produce reading test scores that are as much as 28 points above the national average. By contrast, no involvement was not neutral but had an effect which could produce scores up to 46 points below the national average.

The conclusion is that too many parents must, but do not, take an active role in their child’s education. The television must be turned off, younger kids must be read to and with, a time and place for homework must be established and homework must be viewed as a family affair, not a lonesome chore to be completed as though it were the laundry.

STEVE SMITH

Costa Mesa

Izumi’s column hit the nail squarely. I would propose one suggestion about how to prevent future failures in instruction. If after seven years a program does not produce measurable results, all administrators and other promoters of such failed programs should have their credentials revoked for a period of one year and should be fined $1,000 each. This ought to curtail some of the typical enthusiasm for wacky educational experimentation.

DAVE MARESH

Yucca Valley