Student shouldn’t belittle ‘highly commended’ award

Concerning Miss Molly Zussman’s column about the PTA Reflections program, I do not agree with her comment that being awarded “highly commended” is (being named) a loser.

In Lang Ranch we received 185 entries from our students; only 27 of them proceeded to the council level.

Of the 27, only 16 were awarded either “excellence,” “merit” or “highly commended.”

Although only those with excellence or merit can move on to the district level, getting a highly commended award is something everyone should be proud of.

Young people need to gather some, if not all, of the facts first before they make a comment, especially if it is a negative one.

Molly’s is very insulting to the PTA Reflections program (whose goal is to promote art and creativity but not competition) and to all the students who received the highly commended award, as well as to all the esteemed judges who generously devoted their time and expertise to assess the council level entries. Puffin Law Lang Ranch Elementary Reflections committee chair Thousand Oaks