A Teacher Defends California Schools; Hers Is Safe, Quiet, Full of Good Kids

My dentist has no school-age children. “Tell me, “ he said when I was in liftoff position in his chair, “why are the schools so bad in California?”

I’m a middle-school teacher. “They’re not! “ I retorted, saddened once again that yet another person has accepted the prevailing rhetoric as truth.

My colleagues and I work nine- to 10-hour days. I have six computers in my room (I’m unusual but the trend is making this more of the norm) making it possible for each student to spend about 40 minutes a week at the keyboard. My school is safe, quiet, and full of kids who do things that kids do--run when they should walk, gossip, spend too much time in the bathroom. For that there are consequences and they pay them. As in any school there are some repeat offenders, but the majority of the kids manage to remain “detentionless.”

My students are reading, writing, working on projects, turning in homework (or claiming the dog ate it) as are the other students in the school. I have two children in the public school system but in a different school district from mine. My eighth-grade son just turned in a short story to his English teacher. His algebra teacher is very particular, so he must learn to follow her procedures as well as learn algebra. My daughter became Diane Feinstein for a project in her humanities class the week before the election. In the spring she will travel to New York City with her school’s chamber choir to sing in Carnegie Hall.

While I am proud of my children and my students, what they do in school is a result of the opportunities the school has made available to them. As a parent and a teacher I know improvements can be made, but it is untrue that public education is not working.

MARGARET BRUMMEL

Mission Viejo