Needed: two-parent homes

The editorial "Choice in Schools," June 30, implies a need for reform in our educational system because of the plight of the inner-city schools.

An article in a recent issue of Scientific American reported on the academic achievement, as a group, of the Indo-Chinese "boat" children. The authors of the article found that these children, many of whom attend inner-city schools in low-income neighborhoods, are above average in math and average in English, despite having learned English as a second language. Most of these children came from two-parent families that placed a high value on education.

I believe it was Pat Moynihan who, 20-some years ago, pointed out that welfare rules would destroy the two-parent, low-income family. Rather than educational reform, I suggest that the inner-city problem will best be addressed by welfare reform and a change in our society's operational values regarding both education and race. Edward Stephenson, Bethlehem, Pa.

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