Teaching Profession

This letter is in response to several articles dealing with teacher preparation and the quality of teachers as a whole.

Lately there has been a lot of discussion about the level of education in the LAUSD and the quality of its teachers. Basically, as the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”

California is one of the most expensive places to live in the country. I agree that a teacher must first be committed to his profession and thoroughly enjoy working with children. However, it would be difficult to teach if the teacher is homeless or on the verge of bankruptcy. The starting salaries for teachers and the lower tiers of the salary schedule in the LAUSD would make it not affordable for professionals with a strong academic background such as engineers, business people or scientists to leave their professions to become teachers.

Also, in many schools, students are two or more grade levels behind. Many display severe learning inadequacies. Test scores in some classes are 40 to 50 points below average.

Many children lack basic health care and come to school sick. This means that the teacher becomes sick, too.

Teaching is also becoming a dangerous profession. There is always a chance that a stray bullet may hit you during a drive-by, and students are becoming more prone to violence.

Furthermore, in LAUSD, many special education students will be mainstreamed, with the possibility that many of these students will have severe behavioral disorders.

The trend is to blame the teacher for all of the problems, despite the facts that the poverty level of these children has risen dramatically and many parents spend little quality time with their children because they have two or more jobs.

When a few teachers or administrators act like despots, all teachers are blamed. I often shy away from the question, “What do you do for a living?” If I answer this question, people often ask me why I am doing this job because teachers don’t make any money, or they proceed to tell me something negative about being a teacher.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Huge problems will be placed solely on the teachers to solve without any assistance. They must spend their own money from what little is left from their paychecks, while at the same time they must miraculously skyrocket test scores or face losing their jobs.

This reality would prevent most professionals from even considering becoming a teacher. So you either get teachers who are devout missionaries content with their psychic incomes or individuals who are in it for the salary because it is better pay than working minimum-wage jobs.

ALBERT DALE KING

Valencia

Teacher at Hillary T. Broadous

Elementary School, Pacoima