Kudos in Order for a Tough Ex-Teacher in Mission Viejo

Perhaps at least as significant as the winning of a $250,000 sexual harassment suit by a former Mission Viejo high school teacher (“O.C. Teacher Wins $250,000 for Harassment,” Feb. 22) were some of the comments of the defense attorney for the Saddleback Unified School District. In defending why the teacher had been involuntarily transferred, the attorney maintained “that more students dropped out of her (chemistry) classes than from other teachers’ and she consistently gave out lower grades, indicating that she didn’t properly motivate her pupils.”

The logic totally escapes me. Recently, American students in international competition in science ranked 13th out of 15, ahead of only Ireland and Jordan. Frankly, it seems to me that granting good grades for inferior work has far more to do with the decline of American education than having standards that are too high.

This former Mission Viejo high school chemistry teacher ought to be applauded for insisting that her students aggressively study rather than take the lazy route. Certainly, it would have been much easier for her to assign good grades for little effort. This is the route to popularity with the administration and students--the route taken by so many of our teachers. No wonder that American education has declined and thus America itself.

CARL CHRISTENSEN, Laguna Niguel