The dumbing down of America

Regarding "D's and F's: the new C's and D's?" it should come as no surprise that eventually the Las Virgenes Unified School District would catch up to a large part of the country in the "dumbingdown of America" and that the relatively high quality of education in this district, which is recognized and appreciated, cannot delay for long the under-achievement of our youth, the lowered importance of education as a means of elevating oneself socially and economically, and changes in the parent-child relationship impacting the way poor academic performance is remedied and/or "punished."

There was a time when education was the primary tool by which a child could elevate him/herself from the relatively low socio-economic status of his parents and/or grandparents. There was a time when education was the primary tool by which a child of immigrants could assimilate into the culture and language of their newly adopted country.

Alas, that does not appear to be the case. In this relatively affluent school district with a large proportion of kids living in six-and-more figure residences and driving luxury vehicles, it's no wonder that the importance of education as "boot strap" has been greatly diminished or obsolete.

What's particularly troubling is the lack of participation by sub-performing children in tutorial programs offered by their schools and the lack of parental insistence that their child get the help that they, themselves, cannot provide.

I congratulate teachers for handing out D's and F's rather than just passing these kids through the system. If some kids have difficulty with pre-algebra as high school freshmen, what's the middle school doing to prepare these kids?

The cluelessness of some school officials as to the reason for the amount of D's and F's is troubling. If you want to find out, be proactive and ask the failing students and their parents. And please, don't spend money on hiring another outside consultant because then, you would deserve an F, too. Dan Gersten Agoura Hills