Letter: Teachers need more incentives

Monday, June 13, 2005 | 8:57 a.m.

America is wasting its greatest resource -- the young, vibrant and creative minds of this nation's youth. Without great and dedicated teachers instructing the younger generation, we cannot continue to have a great nation. This country seems to have forgotten that good teachers are the backbone of our educational system.

There seems to be an absence of urgency to fill our classrooms with creative teaching minds. Teachers don't really seem to matter anymore as they are now pawns of a corrupt and malfunctioning national system of education that is rotting from the lack of public concern and care.

Many people continue to regard teaching as a second-class profession by refusing to admit the need for salary levels comparable to other professions.

The health sciences, engineering, technology and legal professions all have entry salaries far above that currently considered adequate for teachers. Talented individuals who enter these careers do so because of availability of jobs with high salaries, benefits, opportunity and prestige.

Raising professional standards and increasing and testing subject-matter knowledge of teachers are essential. But these and proposed merit-pay programs will never alone be sufficient to encourage talented individuals to enter and remain in the profession. Only high-paying salaries, benefits and increased career opportunities for all levels of expertise and experience will truly solve the teacher shortage problem.

I wonder how many of today's young teachers will make a career out of their current profession. With the current dropout rates of those with less than five years of classroom experience, I venture to say that the future will find few around who will say, "I am a 30-year veteran teacher.

VIRGIL A. SESTINI Editor's note: The writer is retired from the Clark County School District, where he taught science for 30 years.