Teachers serve in trenches of their own

Regarding Mr. Kitzing’s letter that appeared July 23, I don’t know what started this debate, but I need to address some of the issues. We all have our jobs to do. Some of us work in offices while others work in machine shops. Some toil in coal mines and some on the stock exchange floor. Each job has its own stresses.

Teachers are no different. These everyday heroes work in a variety of conditions that the average person would not tolerate. Aside from actually teaching they concern themselves with gang activities at school, thievery, pregnancies and a variety of activities that we don’t realize exist in schools.

Oh yes, the veterans may have put their lives on the line so our teachers may teach, but it’s our teachers who continue working long after the soldier, Marine, or sailor has finished his or her service. You served, Mr. Kitzing, in the military for, what, between two and six years? Then you were done, came home found a good job and proudly call yourself a veteran. I salute you for that sir, and I mean it. But these teachers are at these jobs for 20-plus years, and some of them work in the most horrid of conditions. Remember the teacher in Elgin who was stabbed in the eye with a pencil?

We all have jobs to do, so let’s do them well and take pride in our work. Lets also respect the work that others do, especially when we have no idea the conditions under which they work.

One more thing. I am not a teacher. I do have one daughter who is, though, and another who is majoring in education. And so you won’t wonder any further, I served in Vietnam from December 1968 to December 1969. God bless America.

Paul M. Lyczak

Schaumburg