Editor, The Smithfield Times:

Maybe people missed it, or maybe people these days don’t care or are too busy. Did anyone notice the article tucked in the second section of the Aug. 14 paper, “IWCS eyes attendance clause for exemption from final exams”?

The article points out a measure, unknown to me but already in practice, for middle and high school students who get a B-minus or better. They don’t have to take final exams.

What’s wrong with education in our country? Yet another example of the breakdown of public education crippling our future (our children). Why is the bar set so low? A B-minus, really?!

If you didn’t read the article, it went on further to say the school board wanted to reinstate the additional requirement of five or fewer days of absence. This reinstatement, according to the article, might reduce chronic absenteeism. This is quite the negotiation! If the student is willing to play the absence game, they are still not motivated to earn more than the obligatory B-minus. Wow!

Let’s reinvest in our youth and set that bar higher.

 

Rebecca Quick

Smithfield