Locksmiths and Teachers

Barney’s letter defending locksmiths’ pay in the L.A. school system continues the common perception that teachers begin work when they enter the classroom and stop working when they leave it.

My husband teaches the 5th grade. He gets to school at 7 a.m. to prepare the blackboards and get everything in order in the classroom. He leaves school at 3:30 p.m., usually, unless he has a teachers’ meeting or some sort of committee meeting.

Monday through Thursday evenings he is in his study preparing lesson plans and correcting papers from 7 to 9 p.m. On Sunday afternoons he prepares bulletin boards and works on school records for the children. State requirements in this area are extensive. Many evenings before dinner he calls parents regarding children’s learning problems or behavior problems. On the average he works a 55-hour week. In addition, the classroom is never off his mind. He worries about his students.

When people like Barney state that teachers work a 6-hour day, when and how to they think that all other associated work gets done? Do they want teachers to keep the children waiting while they do planning, paper correcting, clerical work, preparations, etc., in class? Do they want teachers who never attend an updating workshop, never work on committees to better the educational program, never take an interest in an individual child’s problems?

My husband will retire in 5 years. I guess it’s society’s problem to find intelligent, caring and dedicated teachers to educate the next generation of children.

JANET GALLUP

Garden Grove