Too Many Slackers? - NYTimes.com Andrew Ho Readers respond to a column that said many students today don't make the effort to excel. Re "Obama's Homework Assignment," by Thomas L. Friedman (column, Jan. 19): Mr. Friedman proposes that too many students don't take their education seriously enough and don't put in the work needed to succeed. While many teachers (including me) will quickly agree, has our profession inadvertently been part of the problem? In professional development, the subject of student responsibility has been mentioned only rarely at best. Best practices purport to be student-centered, but they put the full responsibility in the hands of the instructor. The profession requires much in time and energy; it is not for the faint of heart. And all of the noble sentiments that we espouse are real. But are we enamored of our own nobility? If so, then it's easy to see how we take on the brunt of the learning encounter. Assistance can become enablement. And compassion can become co-dependence. Thomas L. Friedman writes that apathetic parents and students may not be the "key cause of income inequality and persistent poverty," but that parental involvement and student work habits are "surely part of their solutions." As a teacher who formerly worked in New York City public schools, I can attest that the cause-effect link between income inequality and parental involvement and student work habits flows in the other direction. The parents of my students wanted a rigorous education for their children, but nearly all of them worked at least two jobs, and many spoke English as a second language. My high school students were already shouldering adult responsibilities, taking care of younger siblings and helping non-English-speaking grandparents and relatives navigate the city. For parents to be involved, they must be available. This is simply not possible when many of them are forced to work 80-plus-hour workweeks to make ends meet. SALLY WHITE Forest Hills, Queens, Jan. 20, 2014 While I applaud Thomas L. Friedman's call for parental accountability in our nation's schools, I am surprised by his use of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as a spokesman. Mr. Duncan's own record has helped to create and perpetuate the very situation decried by the educators whom Mr. Friedman cites, in which teachers are "interrogated" and, ultimately, blamed, when students fail to succeed. Mr. Duncan's "Race to the Top," by tying teacher evaluation to student academic performance, reinforces that climate. The secretary is an adherent of the "outcomes-based model" that also gave us No Child Left Behind. Supporters of this model don't want any student written off as "unteachable," but err in assuming that teachers, provided a big enough stick (merit-based pay reductions, threat of dismissal), can turn around any student's achievement, no matter the mitigating circumstances. Schools and families need to work together, sharing responsibility for getting reluctant or disengaged kids to buckle down and commit to learning. If President Obama - and Secretary Duncan - want to start singing that tune, I, too, would welcome it. The writer is a high school English teacher and an adjunct professor of education at Lesley University. Thank you, Thomas L. Friedman and Arne Duncan, for finally stating what should be an obvious truth regarding what ails public education in our country today: Students don't work hard enough because nobody compels them to do so. Having worked as a volunteer tutor at a public elementary school in Wisconsin for the past 12 years, I've been amazed at the prevailing culture of permissiveness and tolerance for mediocre levels of academic achievement among too many students. Certainly, early childhood interventions, including prekindergarten for 4-year-olds, and better teachers with better salaries are needed. But, so long as the near universal practice of social promotion continues, students will lack incentives to work harder, and poorly educated graduates will remain the norm. There is no quarreling with Thomas L. Friedman's observations about the frustrating failure of parents and children to take education seriously enough to put in the work needed to excel. The problem for teachers, however, is that they don't have the luxury of waiting for the miraculous change in attitude to occur. They have no choice but to commit to helping their students find success despite the obstacles. If students do not do their homework (for whatever reason), then teachers need to work with them during class, or before school, or after school or during lunch. If they do not understand the lesson, reteach it another way - and then yet another way. Do not strive to make learning "fun"; strive to make it rewarding, and show the students repeatedly and consistently that their efforts do pay off in progress and ultimate success. Be their reliable helping hand and cheerleader through thick and thin without watering down expectations of high quality. And, finally, communicate in a positive way with parents and caregivers, and let them know that you care very much about their child's well-being as well as their academic success. These actions will make a huge difference for students while the rest of the world stands back and criticizes. The writer is chairman of the department of secondary education at Mercy College. Thomas L. Friedman may be right that students are not working hard enough, but I fear there is an even more pernicious problem: the growing percentage of top students who are doing nothing but work. They are taking five honors or Advanced Placement classes each semester of high school, and rarely have time for a dinner with their families or a relaxed afternoon with their friends. Hard work can be beneficial in the service of a real interest, but not simply to eke out a few more points on an SAT or to have another honors class to impress a college admissions officer. Part of the reason for this studying frenzy is an obsession to gain a spot in one of the handful of Ivy League colleges these kids believe are necessary for them to have a satisfying life; part is parental pressure to achieve Ivy League status. I recently read a comment by the president of Barnard, Debora Spar, who described the entering freshmen as exhausted after years of high school pressure. What are we doing to these kids and why are we doing it?