Letter-writer Jeanne Snyder (“TEACH grants should be paid back,” Jan. 1, TribLIVE) should be proud of her son’s accomplishment of graduating from Penn State using grants, scholarships and loans. He found a job and started making payments toward the loans. Snyder states that education majors should pay for their education just like her son and repay TEACH grants.
The goal of the TEACH grant program is to get young teachers to work in areas that have a difficult time attracting educators. Recipients must agree to teach in these areas for a certain amount of time, and, if they fulfill this requirement, part of their loans will be converted to grants and paid by the federal government. These students signed up for this program and are fulfilling their obligations. However, their grants were turned into loans. That is bait and switch.
How would you have felt if your son’s grants had been turned into loans? Don’t blame the students. Blame the government.
Bill Wilshire
North Huntingdon