‘Guarantee’ aspect sets a bad example

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, April 18, 2007

According to an Associated Press story printed in Tuesday’s Herald, the Legislature has created the Washington Guaranteed Scholarship Program. For those of you who may have missed it, ” … the program is to grant scholarships to low income students who are identified in the seventh grade and who pledge to graduate from high school with at least a C average and not have any felony convictions.”

Gee, my wife and I sure feel silly now for making the financial sacrifice by saving for our children’s futures and teaching them right from wrong. In Washington do they stand a better chance of going to college if I tell them that I’m quitting my job, for them to be as mediocre as they can be, and most importantly, to plead their felony beefs down to misdemeanors?

I guess that we’ll just roll the dice around here and encourage our kids to do well in school and to stay out of trouble. I also believe that by allowing someone with a C average into a university they are being set up for failure. I have known straight-A students who have been floored by the academic rigors of college. This program has been poorly thought out, sets a horrible example, and does nobody any favors.

Lee Fowble

Everett