Monday, March 24, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Don't reward failure
I'm responding to the SUN article on dropouts in the Clark County School District and what should be done about it. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance at something if they tried hard the first time and failed.
But, when it comes to education, most of the students who are in alternative educational programs or trying to get a GED made bad decisions, never showed up for school or failed to do any work. I think the school district is spending more time and money on alternative education than anything else.
These students shouldn't be given second and third chances and be patted on the back for doing absolutely nothing. If these students really wanted an education, they would have taken advantage of the opportunity the first time it was offered.
Education starts in the home at an early age. If that educational reinforcement is not taught by the parent or guardian, you can't expect the child to want to learn anything.
I think that the district should try to reach into the home and try to educate the parent/guardian while the child is young, so that a problem doesn't develop later.
Hyon Herbert
Forget the computers
This letter concerns the March 10 SUN article, "Dropout decline met with caution." I disagree with Clark County School Superintendent Brian Cram, that the new budget will help the schools so they can buy more computers. I don't think this will help the dropout problem.
If a person doesn't apply him or herself and cuts class, a computer won't help at all. The money should be used for fixing up older schools or, perhaps, it could be used for making up new classes, for example, more language classes such as French or German.
Also, I think that the 22-1/2 credits needed to graduate should not be lowered. what kind of country would this be if it were lowered? I'll tell you: a country of morons.
Come on now, all you have to do to graduate is show up on time, pay attention and do your assignments. Not hard, now, is it! America should not have to lower its standards.
Daniel Malo
Pay up next time
My feelings are that, if a student gets a chance to have a free education but chooses not to take this offer, they shouldn't have another chance unless they pay for it with their own money.
The state is wasting a lot of money on kids who drop out when they could be spending that money on students who try to get their education and stay in school.
Another thing is, if you put more computers in a classroom, that won't make student start going to school. Big deal, it's a computer. Computers are just tools. It's not going to make students any smarter.
Diana Smith
High-tech bombs
What the district is doing for dropouts is great: Helping dropouts get a GED is a great way to help them out. The only thing I don't agree with is the budget Gov. Bob Miller has made.
Spending $3 million on computers is not going to help kids in school. A computer is not going to teach kids values and help them get a good education. A computer is a tool to help kids learn, no teach them.
Thus, I think the $3 million that is going to be spent on computers should be spent on fixing schools and on teachers who care about students. If you get teachers who care, the dropout rate might diminish.
Itzel Cardenas
One strike...
I feel that students only have one chance to go to school. If they blow that chance, they should pay for whatever they missed. It is only right that they should pay, because it is their fault.
I also think that supplying computers is no good. Supplying computers will not get kids back in school. The only thing that will is self motivation and people telling them how much they will need a good education.
Mike Schencke
No easy ride
A specific part of the SUN article on dropouts especially troubled me. It was about lowering the number of credits needed for graduation in order to lower the number of students dropping out.
This upset me because I, for one, am interested in successfully graduating high school, and lowering the number of credits needed to graduate would not make the students who wanted to go to college look very interested in their studies.
Also, it is not hard to accomplish the needed 22-1/2 credits during high school. You would exceed the limit by taking just six classes every year. I personally believe that, if someone chooses to fail a class, it should not reflect on or affect the other students.
Plus, there are alternative education programs available to students who need it.
So my suggestion is that, while students dropping out may be a problem, we should keep our emphasis on the students who choose to stay in school.
Kelly Orr
Waste of money
First of all, about putting a computer in each classroom: I think it's a waste of money, because I don't think it will keep students from dropping out.
I also think money shouldn't be wasted for people who aren't making it to try again later. I believe if they mess up now, they shouldn't have a second chance.
Julio Mendez
It's up to students
I disagree with having computers in the classroom to reduce the dropout rate. Life is what you make it, and I believe deep in my heart that, with a little help, they'll do their best.
Fatima Clark
No second chance
I'm glad to hear that the number of kids dropping out is declining. My opinion, on the other hand, is people should get only one shot at making the grade. If they choose not to come to school and they choose to fail, why should the state choose to pay for them? They had their chance, and they chose not to take it.
Amanda Moore
Tax dollars wasted
The way I see it is why do we have to let our parents pay more taxes on kids who blow their first chance at a free public education to get another? Why don't we put that money on more important stuff?
I would also like to know why, if we do support the program, we have to spend millions of dollars on computers.
Jonas Marques
Too much growth
I think the rate of high school dropouts is too high. I think the reason high school kids drop out so much is because of their lifestyle, how they've grown up and how their parents are about life. The reason I think it is so high in Nevada is because Las Vegas is the No. 1 growing city in the nation. The reason most people are coming to Nevada is for jobs, which means the children might have come from poor families; that is why they're here.
The way I think we can keep kids in school is by keeping them interested in school, by having a friend in school, someone who would make him or her want to stay in school, introducing them to new programs, who have a positive attitude about school, and taking classes like Tools for Success that teach you about the consequences of life, having speakers come in telling them about their lives and how they lived it to get where they are. That is a proposal to help the high school dropout rating.
Jotham Thomassen
What a joke
Every single suggestion in the article was laughable, like you can solve the dropout situation by adding money or computers. The problem doesn't really lie in the classroom environment or the attitude of the teacher. It all starts with motivation.
If a student is unmotivated, you can give him all the computers you want and it wouldn't matter to him or her. A lot of times, the problem starts at home. The parents need to tell and show their children how essential school is.
Although I don't have a plan that can change everything overnight, I can tell you, as an average student turned honor student, that those millions of dollars are, for the most part, going to waste.
Jacob Landeros
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