That’s right. Blame the teachers. According to William Scherer’s December 2 letter, poverty has nothing to do with California’s fourth graders’ poor test results. Is Mr. Scherer aware of any teachers who are producing high scoring students in spite of their coming to school sleepy, ill clothed, ill fed, from severely dysfunctional home conditions, in poorly maintained school buildings, short of supplies, with none of the luxuries and backup enjoyed by teachers in more affluent districts? There are such superhuman individuals who produce outstanding students from low income families. These dedicated teachers come to work every day and do their best with what they have, and yes, they belong to a union, which, among other things, protects them from the political machinations of school administrators and “reformers”.