To the Editor:The title of this letter was updated on December 14 at the author's request, to better reflect the letter's intention.

I read a letter written by a parent to the Board of Education regarding their forthcoming decision related to a possible closure of one of the schools. The concerns that this parent has are similar to others I have heard expressed at public meetings where the general consensus seems to be that their children's educational and psychological well-being will be endangered by such a school closure. Parents continue to be preoccupied about their children's future. The teachers and board members seem to instill this popular "mindset" that continued academic funding for education is a "sacred priority"' that no one dare question.

I have heard this repeated many times and often wanted to ask the question of parents, teachers, administrators, and other individuals, "What are the aims and goals of our school system?" Are they relevant in a fast-changing, competitive world where students need to develop creative and critical thinking skills that were identified in a recent Harvard study as necessary for successful entry in the global workplace? Are parents aware that according to a recent European study on current education that 60 percent of what their students are learning will not be useful for entry in their future work environment and that today 30 percent of the companies do not exist which may employ them if they have the required skills?

Then there is the fact that a majority of students who enter college need remedial preparation in the first year because many professors claim they lack the necessary language skills to attain success. In addition, about 40 percent do not finish college studies because they do not commit to the required work demanded in college.

Is it possible that this failure starts in their elementary grades where there is a failure to convince them that what they do in their 12 years of schooling will impact the rest of their lives? Or is that they do not get the necessary "advanced cognitive training" that foreign students get? Or is it that parents are so protective of their children that they avoid having them face adversity, failure, or any inconvenience as might be the case if we closed one of the schools?

Then consider what the significance we assume when a students asks the question, as many do, "Why do I have to study this content, this story, these facts?" and the response of the teacher that it is part of the curriculum to satisfy the graduation requirements. Is this response reflective of the mediocre thinking in current education that this question is never taken seriously in terms of what it does to a young curious reflective mind that is trying to find meaning and relevancy in what they do in school?

Are our students getting a realistic and productive return on the $16,000-plus investment? Are the students aware of what skills and learning strategies they need that are not part of the required curriculum?

Dr Rudy Magnan

60 Watkins Drive, Newtown         December 5, 2016