My name is Nia Davis-Morrison and I am a student at Natchez High School. I am writing in response to the letter to the editor “Local teachers are out of options.”

I would like to start by addressing the part of the article that talks about how it is popular to say that teachers are held responsible for low test scores. My question is, how can a man that teaches none of the core academic subjects that students need for testing have an opinion about who is to blame for test scores?

Furthermore, how can a judgment on 90 percent of NASD students be made when it is likely that 10 or less percent are seen by him? He lays out these assumptions as if he is exposed to enough of the student body to do so. I would like to know where he got his percentages and how long he researched before publishing his opinion.

Since I am on academics, let me skip to the portion of the article that states this “… These children lack even basic social skills…”

A social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. How can we lack social skills at a public school? Lack of social skills would mean little to no interaction or communication between teachers and students or students and students. It is not possible, nor is it logical, to be around 200-plus students daily and lack social skills. People are bound to speak to someone.

I would also like to say that I took personal offense to being associated with the words “ignorant,” “defiant” and “criminal.” Those words go against everything that my parents have and are still instilling in me.

I would like to conclude by saying that since you think we are so ignorant, I deduced that you must also have thought that, in a place where African Americans are the majority, no one would have the knowledge to figure out whom you were speaking about.

I am sorry, but you are incorrect.

Nia Davis-Morrison

Natchez resident