Newsday Letters - One Insightful, One Angry

[originally transmitted on 9/2 to Elwood Community Network]

In today's Newsday, on page A35, there are two letters written in response to an Op-Ed published on Aug 27th which was authored by an obviously dedicated Lynbrook teacher, regarding how he spent his summer vacation.

If you would like to read Mike Imondi's original Op-Ed, you can access it on the Newsday website:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/expressway-a-teacher-s-lazy-summer-1.3124601

Additionally, if you would like to read the somewhat angry response by Peter Haynes of Bayport, which has many elements of truth to consider, you may read that on a different Newsday web page:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-teachers-and-their-time-off-1.3138796

But, I feel that the following letter (also found on the immediately-above web page citation), from a former member of the BOE of Port Washington, provides a more comprehensive perspective which challenges not only the absurd notion of some people that "all teachers are lazy whiners", but also the absurd notion that "all teachers are equal, and all teachers try really hard, and all teachers deserve the same compensation."

That latter attitude merely depresses the prospects for the very best teachers while protecting all but the very worst teachers, as if each deserves nothing more, or nothing less, than the others.

Jerry Hannon

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Letters: Teachers and their time off

Published: September 1, 2011 7:37 PM

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

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