Parents who encourage unprepared or unmotivated students to attend Boston Latin School have not advised wisely. To succeed at BLS students must be prepared to spend five hours every evening to complete their homework assignments. A child unwilling to do that is not a failure. He or she may have other commitments that prevent such single-minded attention to academic demands.
BLS has a challenging curriculum that has produced several productive and creative alumni. In fact, some of those who were unable to stay the course have had outstanding achievements, such as Benjamin Franklin and Louis Walcott, who later became know as Minister Farrakhan. Clearly neither left because of a lack of competence.
An accommodation has been made to admit some Blacks and Latino applicants whose academic grades and admission test scores might not otherwise warrant. The Banner wishes them success. But they cannot be heard to complain somewhere down the road if the academic demands are too great. Under no circumstances will the academic demand be modified.
Bonne chance!
