I agree with Linda Miller’s “Great Expectations” column totally. I remember those days when essays, biology and chemistry, and a foreign language were required for graduation back in 1965 — and that was at Burglund High School! I was so much smarter than my daughter, who graduated from McComb High in 1996!
When I taught at McComb, I had high expectations for my students. As a matter of fact, several students accused me of teaching on the college level (which I had done on two previous occasions).
I remember some of my sophomore and junior students struggling to pass a functional literacy or mastery test on an eighth grade level. Let’s hope that parents will set expectations and take some responsibility for their children’s education again. Otherwise, dumb will keep getting dumber. We desperately need to reverse this trend for the sake of a functioning democratic society.
Lorraine Gayden, Summit
