To the Editor:

As Tom Hanks said in the movie “Forrest Gump,” “Stupid is as stupid does.”

That is an excellent description of the decision made Thursday, Jan. 13, (“IOW lowers grading bar,” Jan. 16) by the Isle of Wight County School Board to lower its grading standards thereby making it easier for students to get A’s on their report cards. In the past, you worked for your A’s, and 70 was passing, not 65!

This is another example of the “dumbing down of America” by the local, state and federal governments. And you wonder why our children can’t compete in the “real” world.

The real world is a tough place, and it is not interested in those who have just gotten by because the standards were lowered, and they would not have made it otherwise.

My daughter hosted a French exchange student several years ago, who attended Nansemond River High School in Suffolk. When this young lady returned to France and was tested for advancement to her senior class, she had to repeat her junior year over! Know why?

She failed because of the poor curriculum, lower standards and teachers that had overstayed their welcome in the system.

Think I’m being too hard? Well, when your child graduates with report cards full of A’s because of your new grading system and ends up with a minimum wage job, you tell me!

Richard R. Harris
Courtland