Dear Editor, Thank you Live Oak High School. After a long and
bitter struggle in a very affluent school district with higher paid
but much less competent teachers and administrators, a series of
events resulted in my relocation back to Morgan Hill. My son was
forced to accompany me and attend my old alma mater. I had heard
many horror stories from family members and friends concerning
drugs, violence, gangs and incompetent, uncaring teachers at Live
Oak and was very apprehensive. I settled in for a continuing
battle.
Dear Editor,
Thank you Live Oak High School.
After a long and bitter struggle in a very affluent school district with higher paid but much less competent teachers and administrators, a series of events resulted in my relocation back to Morgan Hill. My son was forced to accompany me and attend my old alma mater. I had heard many horror stories from family members and friends concerning drugs, violence, gangs and incompetent, uncaring teachers at Live Oak and was very apprehensive. I settled in for a continuing battle.
My son, who had been excluded, isolated and targeted at his old school was also very apprehensive. He and I were both armed for bear as he began his classes. Being prepared to enter battle, I asked him each day how things were going. His answer was always, “fine.” As the days went by, he began to laugh smile, and share stories of amusing incidents at school and tell me about the support he was receiving from his teachers.
The report cards I received in the mail were all well above what I expected. Instead of being bullied and degraded, as he was at his old school, he was being encouraged and supported by his teachers. I had become used to weekly meetings and battles. Except for an incident with someone who was out of his element and not associated with the school, I did not have to visit Live Oak one single time to challenge the school’s treatment of or unwillingness to educate my son.
This is a time when legislators tell the public that they are going to cut spending on education, which translates into “I am going to hurt your children,” and still get elected. Pay rates are not high enough to attract enough good teachers and good teachers are not provided with the resources they need to do their jobs which makes them look bad.
Educators are asked to be construction supervisors and then fired when they fail. In a time when sex, drugs, gangs and violence have become required subjects in the public school system, Live Oak, thanks to its administrators, has much less than its share of these viruses. Live Oak is a good school and its teachers and administration are great. I am amazed at the sentiment that I hear expressed by other parents that it is not and the criticism felt by many of its teachers.
The only thing that I can think is that parents who feel that Live Oak is not a good public high school have never tried to get their children through school in a truly bad school district.
Unfortunately, my son is finished at Live Oak and registered in college. He is happy and proud. I am grateful.
Emmett Smith, Morgan Hill
