Letters: Less pay for teachers

Re “Teachers, L.A. district reach pact,” June 9

The article states that “teachers would lose pay for five instructional days plus four holidays and one training day.” As a teacher, I think it’s important for the public to know that we receive an annual salary based on 180 days of instruction, which do not include holidays.

What is actually happening is that our workload will be cut to 175 days, but we will only be paid for 170 of those days. Every teacher will be volunteering a week of their time (in addition to the countless hours most of us already volunteer).

So while the Los Angeles Unified School District maintains its bloated administration and useless television station, it’s the teachers who are willing to make the sacrifice. Give credit where credit is due.

Noah Flaxenburg

Los Angeles

Around the world, there is one proven way of improving student performance: through increased student-teacher face time in class. So while schools in the U.S. and in L.A. Unified in particular seek to improve education, they reduce the number of days in the school year and, within those limited days, through mandates and fiats, reduce the time a teacher can be in front of a class to educate.

Even if the focus on teacher evaluation succeeds and the teachers are all wonderful, there will be no real student improvement, as even a great teacher needs the time to teach.

Think of the present system as a car that won’t start, with the attempted solution being to check if the tires are properly inflated.

Laurie Pane

Burbank

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