Letter: Hours are long, but benefits are low for teachers

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 | 9:05 a.m.

This is in regard to the July 24 letter by Greg Lanstyak, where he crows about how the $38,353 salary and benefits package for first-time teachers "is plenty for someone with no experience, working just 39 weeks a year."

What Mr. Lanstyak (and many other people who continue to write letters of this nature) doesn't seem to understand is that teachers work more than 39 weeks of the year. Does anyone really think that all papers get corrected within the working hours of a given school day? Many people may not realize that there is also preparation time, which includes weekends and summers.

As for the great benefits that Lanstyak references, they are cut all the time. Spend one week teaching 150 high school students, and let's see how overpaid you feel, Mr. Lanstyak.

SHARON SCHUMAN

Editor's note: The writer is a part-time resident of Las Vegas and a full-time English teacher in Alhambra, Calif.