In Defense of Life Skills - Akron Beacon Journal
After seeing all of the negative material printed in the Akron Beacon Journal regarding Life Skills and White Hat Management, an employee of the Life Skills of Akron sent in a Letter to the Editor to show support for the program. The Akron Beacon Journal, to their credit, ran the letter. It is as follows:
A last chance for students
As a social worker, and a lifelong bleeding-heart liberal, I have been very upset by the articles condemning Life Skills Centers.
I may not always agree with all of the policies of their management company, White Hat Management; however, I think the Life Skills Centers offer a last chance for many students in the Akron area.
Presenting casual data, using informal interviews with students and pitting Life Skills' performance against schools like Firestone and Barberton is not fair to the community and the potential students who may need a school such as a Life Skills Center.
I work as a family advocate at Life Skills Center of Akron, and I watch our students fighting to keep going from day to day.
Some of these students have come from situations that present such a degree of difficulty that in many cases would be overwhelming to students in the Akron Public Schools.
The teachers and staff are committed to the fullest and must pull rabbits out of hats to keep the students attending and motivated.
Using an interview from a student about how the perception of teachers' attitudes in our schools does not reflect what truly goes on during most days.
I am confident that you would be able to find students who attend the nation's best schools who have negative comments to make about their teachers. In order to teach in this environment, one has to be highly invested in the students and their success, because the job is twice as difficult as teaching in a mainstream school.
Our students have a right to finish their education. They have the right to work toward completing their diploma in the school of their choosing.
They want to be proud to attend a school that provides them the opportunity to do this. It is so disheartening to hear them have to deal with what seems to be an endless barrage of unwarranted criticism.
Let the students and their families continue to have a choice for their futures. It's time to stop focusing on the politics behind the issues, and come together to provide options to all families to ensure that students who do not succeed in traditional school settings have an opportunity to learn in the environment that best fits their needs and life challenges.
Dianna Garson-White
Akron
- Posted: 06-27-2011