Public education

Dear Editor: Talk about sour grapes!

So, first Pierre Dauphin claims that his son’s high school and university diploma are “worthless”, placing no blame on his own son’s inefficiency at securing employment and inferring that it is all due to a subpar education received from inefficient public school educators. (“University Admissions,” Letters to the Editor, 3/19/15)

Then, he suggests that the “650” illegal aliens are to blame for his son’s inability to register for classes at Cal State Long Beach. All this begs many questions:

One, if he and his son, who I presume is an adult and should speak for himself, are so disillusioned with the education poor Pierre Junior received, then why does he choose to return to a public school anyway?

Second, where does his son’s responsibility come into play? Is he simply going to go through life blaming others for his inadequacies? So Pierre teaches him to blame the teachers, blame the school system, blame the immigrants, what a pleasure person he is creating. I wonder if this could be the reason he can’t hold a job.

Maybe a move to Arizona is in order, or perhaps, as his name implies, a study of his own historical roots. I doubt Pierre Dauphin is of Native American origin, and they are technically the only non-immigrants to this land anyways.

Marisela Padilla

Downey

Dear Editor:

In response to Pierre Dauphin’s letter, I find it amusing how he blames the “illegal aliens/invaders” as the reason to why his son cannot be admitted into CSULB. Is he aware that CSULB received over 83,000 applications in the fall of 2014? They must be selective because they cannot be accepting all those 83,000 applicants.

Also, is he aware that many of these Dreamers were brought into the U.S. as children? They were raised here, received an American education and speak English, but yet he wants them deported to a country that is foreign to them. We cannot punish these Dreamers for something their parents did; it would be like punishing the children of convicted criminals for crimes they had no part in. I am proud to see that these Dreamers are striving for a higher education in order to improve their lives and live the American dream.

I am glad that CSULB has opened up a center to assist the Dreamers in furthering their education and assisting them financially instead of rejecting them when they clearly lack resources. When it comes to his statement “free tuition for invaders, but no access for native students,” he is mistaken. I am American born and attended CSULB, and I had access to financial aid. The two years I was there when I transferred from Cerritos College, most of my tuition was paid for through financial aid. All I had to pay for were my textbooks and the parking permit.

As for his son, I wish him the best of luck on continuing his education. Be glad that he was able to be accepted into CSULB the first time and earned a degree. Even though his degree is in education, he has to look for jobs outside his field. I have my degree in history, but currently work in the medical field.

There are other options as well for anyone with an undergrad degree, such as grad school or even looking outside the state for career opportunities.

Guillermo Vazquez

Downey

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Published: March 26, 2015 - Volume 13 - Issue 50