To the Editor:

Re “High School Doesn’t Have to Be Boring” (Sunday Review, March 31):

Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine illuminate a simple yet sad truth about most American high schools. When we merely ask our students to be passive recipients of test-driven content, we should expect boredom as the dominant result.

On the other hand, when young people are active participants in lively classrooms, where relevant content is brought to life by meaningful problem solving, their minds and bodies are alive with curiosity and creative energy.

Peter Schmidt
Phillipsburg, N.J.
The writer is a retired high school teacher and principal.

To the Editor:

I taught math in high school for many years, and, yes, it can be tedious.

But when chess club met on Wednesday afternoons or when I arranged for the math team to go to a competition on a Saturday, the enthusiasm of students and teachers was evident.

The best part of these activities is that students are with people like themselves, and they have a sense of belonging. Seeing that made me happy.

Paula Scales
Anderson, S.C.

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