Letters: The reasons for adult education Re "Snuffing democracy's light," Column, June 1 Hector Tobar's story about Hollywood High's adult education classes brought to mind some volunteer work I did there some years back. Every Friday evening the adult school offered its students the opportunity to sit around tables and just chat with a native English speaker. Some nights I had people from as many as half a dozen different nationalities at my table. It was rewarding for everyone. I can't imagine how future generations of immigrants will fare in L.A. without the Los Angeles Unified School District's adult education program, to say nothing of the thousands of kids who dropped out of high school and now, in their 20s or 30s, want to come back and get their degrees. That's adult education in L.A. too. David Reskin Tobar commingles the terms "immigrant" and "illegals" as if there were no distinction between the two. He speaks of the benefits to our nation of newly naturalized Yelena Mun studying at night school, a point well taken. He then alludes to the rather unfortunate term, "flea," given to illegal immigrants by a reader, the subtext being that we should bear the cost of night school for all comers, legal or illegal. It is immigrants who made our country into the power it became. Our country thrived on the basis of controlled immigration; we are not doing so well lately. Diane McDowell Letters: Pro-women Letters: Made in the U.S.A. Letters: Done in by the war on drugs