Letters: Teachers and their time off

The Expressway essay by teacher Mike Imondi ["A teacher's 'lazy' summer," Aug. 27] rankled me. It's not that I haven't seen dedicated public schoolteachers like his self-description. I have. We had three daughters go through the public school system with good results and many dedicated teachers.

One problem is that there aren't more such teachers, especially for the middle to struggling students. In my district, teacher absenteeism is very high (7 percent). High absenteeism adds needless expense and hurts students' education. Absenteeism is a better measure of dedication than the amusing testimony of a hardworking English teacher.

English and social studies teachers may take more work home than other teachers, but those who don't take work home (or lack dedication) are paid the same as those who do.

A related problem is that the system does not support responsible teacher behavior. Unions demand short hours. That hurts students and makes the system unaffordable. Most successful education reforms include more contact time between teachers and students, more days and more hours per day. It's especially important for students with fewer resources at home to have more time in a school's constructive environment.

I prize the instances when I hear from teachers who criticize the system to stand up for the students, but they are rare because both administrators and unions slam courageous whistle-blowers. If Imondi's piece were a call to responsibility for our less professional teachers, union leaders and administrators, it would have been far more valuable. Students do not need another self-serving defense of the status quo.

Joseph Mirzoeff, Port Washington

Editor's note: The writer was a member of the Port Washington Board of Education from 1995 to 1998.

Teachers don't get it

It's not so much having summers off that provokes envy, nor is it the time to attend personal or professional enrichment conferences. Rather it is the smug, defensive and sometimes overbearing attitude about how teachers do so much work outside of their "normal" work hours that really irritates me.

Hey teachers, guess what? Most other professionals work a longer day, more days per year and still have homework and plenty of work to do outside of the normal workweek.

So, maybe the envy is justified. Everyone but teachers themselves seems to realize just how good they have it.

Peter Haynes, Bayport