Teachers earning every dollar they get

I wholeheartedly agree with the teacher from Bensenville: based on the total number of hours that teachers put in, whether it's before school, after school or at home, their hourly wage becomes way less than that determined by the authors of the article on salary figures.

I was also slightly taken aback by the impression that the profession of teaching may not be of the same caliber as other "common white collar occupations" and that their pay should not be commensurate.

Teachers are specialists in their chosen profession-education. They are graduates of strong college programs and are required to pass certification exams in the state of Illinois. Teachers in grades 6-12 are expected to be extremely knowledgeable in their specific field, such as history or science, as well as fluent in all the other subjects. All this for a starting salary that most business majors would laugh at.

As a parent of a "new" teacher, I have seen firsthand the amount of time that it takes for a teacher to be prepared for class, as well as the extra amount of time that it takes to make the class exciting, challenging and fun for the students. It is definitely not a 9-to-5, Monday through Friday, type of job.

In addition to time actually spent in the classroom, there's the evenings and weekends that are spent grading tests and projects, and preparing class material … always looking for that something extra that will help draw the kids into the subject matter.

The success of our children and the future depends on these teachers, and teachers need to be treated as the professionals that they are, and should be compensated appropriately for the work that they do.

Dalia Kern

Itasca