Opinion | Grandchildren: ‘Our Joy and Our Job’

A grandmother suggests ways of helping children and families in this difficult time. Also: The lack of diversity at Stuyvesant High School in New York.

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To the Editor:

I have discovered a tool for grandparents and relatives who miss the children in the family.

It’s hard because we cannot be with them, and we cannot hug them. We all feel distanced and lonely. Let’s imagine that being stuck at home with no friends and nothing to do (and having annoying siblings, too) could make the children grumpy — and annoying to their parents.

So call each of them and tell them you’re here to listen to their complaints. Tell them to bring a phone into a quiet room and close the door. They can air all of their miseries to you and be as annoying as they please. Even though it’s long distance, they might feel better. And so will we.

Don’t judge them; just love them. That’s our joy and our job.

Jane Isay
New York
The writer is the author of “Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today.”

Racial Imbalance at Stuyvesant High School

To the Editor:

Re “New York’s Elite Schools Still Admit Few Black Students” (news article, March 20):

I am a 1967 graduate of Stuyvesant High School, one of New York City’s specialized public high schools. I read with disbelief and great dismay that only 10 black and 20 Hispanic students have been offered admission to Stuyvesant this year.

Stuyvesant changed my life. I learned the importance of education, how to study and what it means to be a good teacher.

I have no doubt that there are hundreds of black and Hispanic students in New York City who are capable of succeeding at Stuyvesant and worthy of the opportunity. Not giving more than 30 of them the opportunity to attend Stuyvesant is unfair and immoral. It is time for the system to change.

Ira Sprotzer
Lawrenceville, N.J.
The writer is an associate professor of legal studies at Rider University.

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