Will Teachers Learn to Quit Bellyaching?

Re “Educators Cut Out Extras in Protest,” May 17:

I am incensed that teachers are shirking their responsibilities and shortchanging our kids in order to extort money from the school districts. Times are tough. Health insurance and workers’ compensation costs are skyrocketing, and our economy is uncertain at best. School districts are scrambling just to cover the automatic pay increases that teachers enjoy every few years regardless of performance. I’m sick of their bellyaching.

Teachers complaining about low pay is akin to surgeons complaining about all the blood during operations. They chose the teaching profession, and they accepted positions in these lower-paying districts. My teacher friends in Santa Ana would love to switch places with teachers in Irvine, Saddleback or Capistrano, where they’d enjoy safe campuses, incredible parental support and well-prepared students.

If teachers think the grass is greener in Garden Grove or Anaheim because the pay is better, then good riddance. But don’t hurt our kids by childishly refusing to spend an extra hour tutoring students, grading papers or preparing for open house. Stand tough, school boards.

Kelly Oberlin

Irvine