When are we going to start taking care of students who are not academically gifted?

Our schools are presently geared to favor academically gifted students, but what about others who are overlooked by no fault of their own, who can’t pass the academic requirements and will probably never attend a college or university?

We’re not training them to get jobs when they graduate from high school. I know this because I am a victim.

Yes, we need professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, etc. But we also need tradesmen and tradeswomen, truck drivers, auto mechanics, electricians, etc.

I suggest that American schools, both public and private, test their students, and those who are academically qualified advance to regular high schools. Those who aren’t go to trade schools, so when they graduate they can get jobs.

We need to build trade schools immediately.

This would cut down on dropouts who become problems in society and cost millions of dollars later on. This problem has been going on for over 70 years in America; my uncle had the same problem when he attended school back in the ’30s.

He was failing and my grandfather went to school and asked, “What are you doing to train my son to make a living?” They told him that they give students a taste of different fields and expect them to seek more training in the fields they prefer.

My uncle is now 93. Isn’t it about time we start training young people in junior and senior high schools so they don’t become a burden on society?

I’m calling on everyone, if you have a child who’s not succeeding in school, to voice your discontent and make school systems in America teach children how to make a living in this world.

The only place that I know that will accept an inexperienced, low academically achieving student is in the military. Few people make it through basic training and can handle military life.

And that’s not really a choice that anyone wants to make if he or she doesn’t have to. John J. Holden Newbury Park