Put teachers first

If we wants to improve education, put the teachers at the top of the power pyramid. It is they who do the actual work of school districts. Theirs is the work that really counts. An effective teacher ultimately is the one who decides what kind of a life kids will go on to have. Teachers have the most important jobs, and they get the least pay and respect.

The building engineer should be No. 2 in the hierarchy. Without his very specialized knowledge, there would be no place to hold classes safely. All other positions, including the superintendent of schools, should exist for one reason, and one reason only — to help the teacher be successful at his or her job.

Teachers should be the ones rating those below them on how well or how much easier their jobs are made due to the work of their underlings. It is the teacher who needs the secretarial help the most for all the report writing they must do and the parental contacting that must be done.

On another issue, school districts could save their taxpayers millions of dollars by only sponsoring the participation of kids in sports that can be played for a lifetime (such as golf, tennis, swimming or cross country). No more expensive bills to maintain a football team for an activity that only benefits about 40 boys. If an athletically inclined kid wanted to participate in a full-contact sport, it could be done via a sports club that isn’t connected to the public schools.

Dave Koven Fox Point