Equality in Education

The Times notes that “without parents who read to them, help with homework and communicate with teachers, children have little chance of succeeding in school” (“Reading Gets the Job Done,” editorial, Sept. 21). This may be true; study after study has shown that children of parents with more education do better in school. But this is unfair: It should be possible to succeed in school without parental help. It is fine to improve parent education, but it should not be the case that only the children of the well-educated do well in school.

Stephen Krashen

USC Professor Emeritus

Rossier School of Education