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   To the Editor:

   It took a lot of courage for Bob Herbert to write about black street
   culture in these days of restrictive political correctness.

   I taught in a district that was predominantly African-American for 22
   years. I was determined to foster literacy in our public schools, and
   I became a reading specialist. What was very disheartening was the
   predominance of street culture and how it dominated the attitude of
   too many black children and their parents.

   Most of the remedial kids I worked with in predominantly black
   neighborhoods did not value book learning, and neither did their
   parents. The reading at home required as part of the program was
   rarely done. Most of these children did learn to read, but they may
   never catch up to peers whose parents started reading to them in
   infancy and later made sure that there was homework time.

   Yes, values make more of a difference than money. My parents didn=E2t
   get past the sixth grade but they valued books and an education and I
   am so grateful to them.

   Janet Robinson
   Mahopac, N.Y., Aug. 24, 2006