No teacher works only 36.5 hours

Although I am no longer working as a certified teacher, I was rather appalled at your accounting for the hours per day that a teacher spends working. In the Northwest suburban area, teachers have an eight-period day. They teach five periods, have an assigned duty, a lunch period and one preparation period a day. They generally teach three different curriculums among the five classes. They are also expected to be available for parents and students to meet with them to answer questions and resolve classroom and academic issues.

If you honestly believe that a teacher can prepare for three different curriculums and grade the papers of the 150-plus students that they teach every day, you have no concept of the time that it takes to accomplish those tasks. Teachers are expected to leave no child behind and must adjust curriculum for a variety of abilities in the classroom.

The teachers in our classrooms give 150 percent to students all of the time. A majority stay after school two hours after the students have left. They all take home piles of papers and tests to grade.

Additionally, there is no note of the fact that teachers need to continually add to their education in order to keep their certificates current. They all do this on their own time, usually during the summer when they have time to attend classes.

To state that a teacher only works 36.5 hours per week is not the full picture. The Daily Herald has succeeded in fueling the fire of debate based on a shortage of knowledge. I'd like the reporter to spend a week in charge of any school classroom and see if she still believes her statements.

Joanne Meyerhoff

Buffalo Grove