Editorial miscast teacher work ethic

This letter is in response to a recent editorial about how much a teacher works compared to an average joe.

My first disagreement is with the statement that teachers work from eight to 10 months while joe works a full year. The fact is, teachers are required by law to work 185 days. There is no way for this to be done in eight months and usually spans closer to 10.

On the other hand, in 52 weeks per year, joe can only work 260 days. Furthermore, there are about 10 paid holidays during the year, which brings the total to 250 days for joe. In the workplace, someone who has worked 20 years most likely has four weeks of paid vacation. This brings joe's total to 230 days.

Another consideration is that teachers are required to take courses in the summer to advance on the salary schedule. This means at least a six-week course, which most often he pays for himself. Six weeks adds another 30 days to the teacher's work schedule bringing total days to 215.

Now, you wind up with a 15-day difference, which is a far cry from the 12-month to eight-month comparison claimed in the editorial.

Also, I would like to address the 37.6-hour average workweek teachers have. As a physics teacher, I spent a great deal of time preparing for classes. Equipment was always a problem. (kids are not inherently kind to equipment). I had to begin preparation for a lab about two weeks in advance making sure that everything worked and repairing items that didn't. Experiments often take most of a week and equipment must be maintained while in use, usually at night.

Most teachers have a similar schedules where they do preparation out of the classroom (either that or marking papers). I hope it is not the case, but it appears the writer of this piece looked at teachers' class schedules and from there decided how much work was done -- not a fair way to examine the matter.

William Kopp

Rolling Meadows