The Herald published Kathleen Parker's essay on the "dumbing down" of the SAT exams on March 9. While I understand many of her concerns, I was drawn to a single sentence that said: "It starts with schools and teachers and everybody knows it."

I respectfully and heartily disagree with this statement. Education of children first begins with the commitment of parents. Parents need to be involved in the learning of their children from birth forward. If more parents were involved in the education process, perhaps the education process would progress faster.

CAROL HATTEMER, Kennewick