I really enjoyed reading “Dropouts In America” [Books, March/ April]. In 1977, I dropped out. I fought to keep my son from leaving school and did a homeschool program just to get the diploma. I now fight again with my 16-year-old to stay in school. “Why? It is such a waste of time”; “They have no idea how to teach”; “I am not learning.” He is right. For 12 years, I fought our broken public school system. My children all have superior to high-average IQs in a broken system of special education that has failed to teach reading, writing, and math.
As their mother, I have no idea how to keep going, knowing my children are not learning. I have boxes and boxes of files, binders, doctor reports. I wonder if [Education Secretary Margaret] Spellings would want to see what a parent goes through.
Katherine Boggs
Phoenix, Arizona
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