Teachers not baby-sitters

This letter is in response to Sept. 28 Luis Rivera's letter ("Too few people to watch kids") about not enough supervision before school.
 
First, I have to agree with Rivera about not having enough supervision in most cases. However, why is it always the teachers' fault? Where are the parents?
 
I am sick and tired of always hearing that it is my or my fellow teachers' fault if something isn't going just right, especially concerning students' grades. We're always told, "We are the ones that can change a student," or "We are the ones who have the power to teach our students."
 
Bull, I see a student 10 percent of any given year, while a parent has control of their child for the other 90 percent. Yet, it's my fault that he is failing at school. Let's see, in the Crane School District if a student does absolutely nothing in class and never turns in any homework the lowest grade they can receive is a 60 percent and it's still my fault that they fail. Give me a break!
 
Secondly, if a parent is so concerned about the supervision at their child's school maybe they should do something about it, like maybe volunteer! I have been teaching for 9 years with a total number of over 1,000 students and I have had a grand total of 15 parents volunteer to do anything for the school and five of them just wanted to write a check. A check can't supervise on the playground!
 
Thirdly, Crane District policy states that no child should be on school property until 1/2 hour before school, yet when I arrive an hour before school, as do 80  percent of my fellow teachers, I see parents already dropping off their children. It was even worse when school started at 8:55 a.m., and we had students being dropped off before 7:30 a.m. Where are the parents!
 
Lastly, I would bet a good number of teachers who have the extra (unpaid) duty of supervising children in the mornings are most likely thinking of their upcoming school day and how are they going to be teaching your child how to read, write and do math, then watching children.
 
We are professionals, not baby-sitters, and If I was a baby-sitter I would charge the school district only $3 per student per hour. Let's see, since I have an average of 22 students that would only be $66 per hour. Since I only teach for 6 hours I would only charge the district $396 per day. Since I only teach 180 days a year I would only charge $71,280 per year.
  
Hey wait a minute, I am only being paid $39,000 per year as a highly qualified teacher! Maybe we get the supervision we pay for, parents!


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MICHAEL MARQUETTE
Yuma