Dear editor,

I recently read an article published on March 16 in The Fresno Bee by Cynthia Brickey entitled “Let failing students try the working world.” Brickey is an English teacher at Clovis West High School and I agree with her statement that there is apathy in our educational system.

The article brought to my attention the epidemic of underachievement among high school students. It also targeted the students who put very little effort in school, resulting in failing grades in two or more classes.

Ms. Brickey’s solution: take the students who don’t want to be in school and place them in the workforce.

As a student, I often see and experience the apathy plaguing our schools. The daily grind of lectures, tests and homework wears away at the resolutions of many students to finish high school as quickly and successfully as possible.

However, not all students whose grades are less than stellar deserve to be expelled and put into a job for 35 hours a week! David Pohl [’03] touched recently on a similar issue in his April article “Achieve or not to achieve?” published in The Feather online.

I agree that the work ethic established in high school, viewed by many as unimportant, carries on into and affects students success in college.