Residents should be proud of schools

Letter to the editor

To the editor:
   I take exception to Terry Wintroub’s letter of April 24. It seems that, to him, a perfect world is one is which all citizens are mediocre. As a sophomore at Lawrence High School, I am proud to say I go to a school that produces exceptional students who become exceptional adults. I am also proud to know that the majority of Lawrence Township residents share in my pride to fund such an excellent school.
   Public schools, contrary to what Mr. Wintroub says, are to serve the students first and foremost. He is correct in stating that schools are a government service; however, they are the most important government service that any local government has to offer. Schools are even more important than the "garbage collection" that he compares them to.
   I do agree that parents of students share a huge burden in helping children reach their potential. However, no matter how well my parents do their job, they cannot teach me to play the drums like Eric Haltmeier can. They cannot expose me to other peoples’ ideas like my history class does. They cannot expose me to another culture like my Spanish class does. A country filled with average human beings is not average at all; it is sub par.
   In several years, I will be able to vote for a public school-educated presidential candidate. I am glad I will feel confident that, since he or she was exposed to the things I am exposed to, he or she can be just as good a leader as one educated at a prestigious private school. Coming in to the high school, I saw too many of my friends go to private schools because of the average reputation Lawrence High School had. I see improvements in my school all the time and am happy to call it home in front of my friends who are $20,000 poorer each year.
   Thank you, voters, for continuing to allow the administration of Lawrence High School, and the Board of Education, to improve our schools.
Alan Freedman
Easton Court
Lawrence