I was impressed that Lewiston Schools Superintendent Bill Webster had the courage to mention the educational elephant in the room — poor parenting (Sun Journal story, Friday, March 13). Not the parents who are reading this letter, but the ones who never attend an open house, musical concert, sporting event, bake sale, or spelling bee.

During 20-plus years in public education, I always stressed that education required three components — teacher, student, parent. If any one of the three is missing, education typically fails.

My heart aches for the students whose parent(s) does not encourage success and excellence, but I am encouraged by Webster’s bravery in stating what many do not want to hear, or are too timid to state.

Rosemary Bunn Laban, Bethel