Dear Editor,
I have read with interest two recent articles on the editorial
page. I believe that it was the correct decision for the Gilroy
High administration to return the
”
Day on the Green
”
to the students because it never should have been tied to the
attendance of the state testing program.
Dear Editor,
I have read with interest two recent articles on the editorial page. I believe that it was the correct decision for the Gilroy High administration to return the “Day on the Green” to the students because it never should have been tied to the attendance of the state testing program. I want to applaud the administration for returning “Day on the Green.” The students have worked hard all year long and deserve an afternoon of fun at school. This day has existed in the past and the students really look forward to this day at the end of the year. It’s the seniors’ last day in high school, and let’s face it, they are done with their finals and school is basically over for them already. Besides, they didn’t participate in the state testing program and had no control over the school’s attendance for the tests. For that matter, no student has control over another student’s attendance. Why should those student who did attend testing be penalized?
If the administration had created a special event specifically to entice the students to keep attendance high for testing, I would have no problem with them removing that special day since it was created specifically as an incentive for students and testing. I do believe that academics should be taken seriously, but this administration made the correct decision to change their minds. It would have been better to have never tied these two events together in the first place.
In regards to Cynthia Walker’s article about the public schools, what does she think we do all day in school? Does she really believe that we never work? That’s basically all our students do throughout the day and some teachers have 34 or more students to deal with. It’s an insult to all teachers when she speaks with such a “better than thou” attitude and her home schooling ideals. I think it’s great that she wants to home school her children, but just because she made that choice doesn’t make people who attend or teach in public schools any less serious about the education of their children.
Cynthia Walker needs to acknowledge that public school children actually have to learn to function with all types of people and learn to live in the “real world.” These children have to learn to live with every type of person and yes, socializing is an important aspect of one’s education. Remember, some day all students must live and work with every type of human being.
She also needs to get her facts straight. Teachers teach 180 days and then have six more days of training, setup time, etc. Let’s not forget to mention that nearly every teacher returns to work a week or more early than they are paid for because they are getting ready for another year. And oh yes, in case you just missed it, they aren’t paid for this time! Home schooling is not the do all and end all of education. You’re insulting those of us who work hard everyday in public education.
Stephanie and Gregg Chisolm, Gilroy
