More Power for School Principals

Give an A-plus to Alfee Enciso (‘Make Teachers Improve, and Pay Them,” Community Essay, October 5). He’s hit the nail right on the head: Just because we know there are good teachers out there doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to what the reports (or even the parents) have to say.

As a young teacher at a high school in Los Angeles, I already know the difficulties education faces in this town. Too many times in my short career I have seen a seasoned instructor who, a few years from retirement, “gives up” and coasts along until the full benefits package becomes available. Fortunately, I have also seen those teachers who hang on well beyond retirement age and fight to do some good in this profession. Even though the former group outweighs the latter, I still have hope that education in Los Angeles can be turned around.

Unions sometimes seem more interested in the welfare of the educator, even at the expense of education. Funding for anything is usually quite scarce. Most of all, apathy among teachers and students is sometimes so high that vital extracurricular programs, like the school newspaper or play productions, fall by the wayside.

JACK CUSICK

Gardena

I vigorously disagree with Enciso. He must be naive if he thinks most principals would not use their powers to reward teachers that do work designed only to make the principal or the administration look good. I have seen principals reward their “special” friends with their choice of rooms, classes and schedules. I have seen teachers afraid to voice their opinions in faculty meetings because they might lose these plums.

Another problem associated with allowing the principal to decided who gets merit pay is that most have been so removed from the classroom for so long that they have little credibility in evaluating teachers. I would support merit pay if the people deciding were a panel of students, parents and peer teachers. Principals deciding? I think not!

In regard to the teachers’ union, if not for the union, many good teachers would have been fired long ago because they failed to follow the “principal’s line.” As for bad teachers, the principal can remove that 7% to 10% Enciso refers to any time they want to do their homework to properly document the bad teacher’s performance.

It seems to me, after reading Enciso’s article, that he wishes to be out of the classroom and into the comfy administration chair. His article directs teachers to do more, while asking little or nothing from the principal or the administation.

As for me, I will take the classroom and the union every time.

DENNIS J. DIRKSEN

Acton