Middle school becomes a student danger zone

Re “The neglected middle classes,” editorial, July 26

I couldn’t agree with you more. I have two sons who were well on their way to great educations, and something happened in middle school. That something, I’m beginning to realize, was me! This was when I decided it was their time to push themselves and their responsibility to maintain their grades and homework. Now that it is too late for them, I can see this is when the wheels to their education fell off.

Do the middle schools want the parents involved? Sure, I signed their agendas, got them there on time and went to the obligatory back-to-school nights and open houses, but was this enough? I didn’t want to be pushy or demanding. Now that I have another one to get through this with, I will definitely take a different approach and make sure I don’t slack off. I know I am not to blame, but I certainly didn’t do enough. The older two are not losers by any means, but they are not winners yet either. They had so much potential....

Nancy Bjerno

Chino Hills

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There’s much more to the problem than simple lack of money and manpower. It’s called puberty. Revamping the whole middle school system to produce better test scores will surely fail without ensuring special attention is paid to the changing minds and bodies of the students. Bullying, truancy, depression and other factors all significantly contribute to poor test scores and even worse morale.

Outfitting the schools with a brand-new look, separating each grade into its own set of mini-communities and making the school a technological wonderland alone won’t cut it. Letting the pupils know that the school cares about the students, not the scores, and following through with this claim will.

Kristin Anderson

Diamond Bar