Conditions in L.A. Schools

I am a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District and I want readers to be aware of some of the real conditions in our schools. I teach mathematics at one of the six senior high schools that operates on a multitrack schedule.

I have classes with 41, 33, 39, 44 and 40 students. About 15% of the students lack the prerequisites for the class, but my supervisors say, “There is no place else to put them.” My room is on the south side of the building with no air conditioning. No fans are available either. The street is 15 feet from my windows, so with the windows open every truck, every crying baby, every lawn mower and every idiot with four wheels and a radio interrupt my class. I am allowed less than two photocopies per student per week. The pencil sharpener doesn’t work, and no more are available, so I bought my own along with my own fan, and I pay for my own photocopies.

So what’s the point? Simply that if you are thinking about teaching, my advice is think again. Make sure that you truly want to teach. Otherwise, it’s not worth it. Simply that if you are sending your children to LAUSD schools, do not naively assume that the school administrators (or the teachers) are doing their jobs. Get involved in the schools. And simply that we, as a society, had better start paying more attention to our schools and investing in the education of our children.

TOM HUTTON

Pasadena