Would we want our schools to go back?

While reading the angry letters from citizens and sometimes defensive letters from teachers about salaries, pensions, referendums, strikes and test results, I began to think that we have had other scenarios for the education of our children.

We had a system where women who worked chose vocation based on very limited options, teaching being one of them. Men who chose to teach had second jobs after school and during the summer to make ends meet.

Competitive sports were for boys only and girls cheered them on. We had a system where children who were impaired in any way could be excluded rather than educated to the best of their abilities. We had a system where non-English speaking students were placed in shop or home economics classes rather than academic courses.

These scenarios are those of my grandmother and I. My grandmother taught with only a high school education. She was 17 when she started to teach and was forced out by marriage. I became a teacher at a time when pensions were not secure, salaries were less than $9,000 a year, insurance was very limited, and special education, English as a second language programs and Title IX (providing equal athletic opportunities for girls in public schools) were in their infancy.

I chose to teach because it was an acceptable field for women. Young teachers can choose this as a career knowing they will make a difference and make a living.

Teaching is now a competitive field for men and women. Education provides opportunities for boys and girls in athletics. All children receive a free and appropriate education. The cost, complexity and focus of education have changed dramatically in the last 30 years. Would we wish to go backward?

Peggy Bayles

Hoffman Estates