Project Self-Esteem and Orange County’s Public Schools

Regarding the Project Self-Esteem letter from Jay Kearney (Nov. 17):

As both a resident and an employee of two different school districts that use Project Self-Esteem, I take issue with Kearney’s use of the term “psychological experiment” when, in fact, the stress-reduction technique referred to has been used by many people for many years and could be considered in “the public domain.”

Rather than being a crutch, it is an important tool in helping people deal with their problems. As a school nurse I used this technique with asthma attacks and students in pain long before Project Self-Esteem was around.

One of the things most teachers are so impressed with about this program is the increase in basic learning. No longer do the teachers have to spend precious teaching time in discipline, re-teaching or repeating things.

It is too bad if students at the Castille school lost math hours, but I’ll bet that, as in other districts, the time was taken from a variety of subjects over the course of the project.

One of the things that most of us have observed is that critics of the program have rarely taken the time to come to school and see what it is all about. We want to see parents concerned and involved in what is happening at school. That’s one of the benefits of Project Self-Esteem.

TRINA WILLIAMS

Fountain Valley