Thoughts on Closson's article

After reading Robert Closson's piece on the Catalina Island trip I felt compelled to write to point out some facts conveniently left out of his article and counter some of his assertions.

Mr. Closson states "All those left behind share a singularly common experience: They are all offered their first institutionalized taste of segregation." This is simply untrue. From the first grade on, children are grouped or "segregated" by their abilities. Those who read well are given advanced assignments and those who cannot are given remedial help. He is criticizing the school for doing something that every school in the nation does.

He then has the gall to compare the racism Lodi Unified President Ken Davis experienced to the "hurt and disillusionment" of those children left behind on the Catalina trip. Of course, he also fails to mention that those children who did not go to Catalina had a field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium instead.

Mr. Closson implies that some substitute teachers may not be qualified, in violation of the law. I suppose he has never heard the California Teacher's Association, a vigorous defender of the quality of education? If substitute teachers were unqualified, the teacher's union would put a stop to it.

Mr. Closson would have us teach our children that the world is not competitive, that everyone should get the same treatment whether or not they work hard and that there are no consequences for misbehaving. By his logic, the school should not hand out letter grades, because those who get an "A" will have an advantage over those who get a "C" when applying to college. I wonder if he thinks the GATE school should be closed because it is "separate and unequal." I'm sure all the employees of Robert Closson and Associates receive the same pay regardless of their performance or behavior.

The Catalina trip should not be abolished as Mr. Closson suggests. It is an incentive, a goal for students to shoot for, not a punishment for those who don't go on the trip. It is also a learning opportunity for those who are not invited to go because of their behavior. Unfortunately, in this case, the opportunity has been lost.

Wes Hallmark
Lodi

Reader Feedback

Brokenl wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:09 PM:

" I had my son (who went on the trip last year) read the original article. He actually got mad at this man for saying that he should not have been allowed to go. My son worked his tail off to get the grades (4.0) and raised the money himself by fundraising.His sister is now working towards it and has started her fundraising.Should I tell her that she can't go because some other kids are sitting on the couch while she is hitting the books, but it wouldn't be fair to them? "

Report Abuse

JACKMAX wrote on Feb 22, 2008 4:55 PM:

" When people work hard they are rewarded,generaly speaking.People that have achieved remarkable things are driven idividuals,I don't care how good the teacher is if they don't have it ,they probably wont find it anytime soon.These kids have worked hard at thier job as students and should be rewarded just as in real life.I think that anyone that has become a teacher has done it for other reasons than money.They are theirself's remarkable people. "

Report Abuse

nylodian wrote on Feb 22, 2008 12:33 PM:

" I agree with Wes's letter. Deiter: unless things have changed drastically, Galt, Linden, and others paid less than Lodi Unified when I subbed. By the way, all subs have to hold at least an emergency credential (the state doesn't just hand those out, you do have to meet certain requirements). "

Report Abuse

deiter wrote on Feb 22, 2008 11:06 AM:

" FYI Wes
Students were allowed to go to Monterey Bay BECAUSE Dr. Closson organized the trip. The school district had no intention of sending those students that did not qualify anywhere.
Obviously you have not been in a classroom with a substitute in LUSD lately. Because LUSD pays their subs the lowest wages in the area, there is a daily shortage which translates into video watching and little learning. Get your facts straight. "

Report Abuse

Cogito wrote on Feb 21, 2008 8:20 PM:

" Some in the education profession believe in equal outcome for all students. So, according to their line of thinking, if one kid cant learn that 1+1=2, then no kid should learn it. "

Report Abuse

wtf wrote on Feb 21, 2008 2:10 PM:

" Thanks, sam. ;) "

Report Abuse

max stanfield wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:25 AM:

" Success, achievement, rewards, are hardly cursewords. "Salary commensurate with ability" is a regular phrase in the world of employment. Scholarships are given to those who excell. Closson and followers were certainly way off base on this topic. Good job Hallmark. "

Report Abuse

OTH wrote on Feb 21, 2008 8:40 AM:

" Smaller class sizes cost money and with the budget cuts it's just not going to happen. "

Report Abuse

danielh wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:59 AM:

" I am glad that people are writing letters to oppose the original assertion of unfair discrimination. When I read the original letter, it appeared that LUSD had a set of criteria that were related to academics, and they were consistent in selecting students according to these criteria.

However, I did think there was an unfair ALLEGATION to screen students who were recently transferred into the district. "

Report Abuse

sam wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:57 AM:

" Nice comments, wtf. I agree. "

Report Abuse

wtf wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:18 AM:

" But a lot of kids see no reason to learn; they have their social groups thanks to the "socialization" efforts of the schools, they have their ipods and cell phones, they have TV and all the other little goodies.

A child who is truly interested in learning and not just "getting by" is a rarity and teachers enjoy these children; they don't care what color they are, the teachers are overjoyed at the fact the young ones want to learn. "

Report Abuse

wtf wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:16 AM:

" Maybe the focus should be on SMALLER class sizes. This way, there are less kids who can work on their own and the teachers would be freed up to help those who are having difficulty.

As someone else said on another blog on this subject, cut out all the unnecessary time and money wasted on a bunch of BS "feel good" programs and stick to the basics: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, History, and Science.

Teachers would give their eye teeth for students who love to learn whatever color, religion or race they are. "

Report Abuse

wtf wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:13 AM:

" Great letter, Wes! I particularly liked your use of reading as an example:

"Those who read well are given advanced assignments and those who cannot are given remedial help."

It would seem that Closson and his camp are taking a *good* thing and twisting into something else.

"

Report Abuse

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes

Thoughts on Closson's article

Reader Feedback

Special Sections

Photo Reprints

Find Ads

Weather

Services

Contact Us

Office

Newsroom

Subscriptions

Advertising

Classifieds