Letter: Ten years may be too much to ask teachers

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

So I read in the April 17 Las Vegas Sun that the Las Vegas City Council has no takers in its program to provide housing assistance to math/science/special education teachers. I expect that it will stay that way as long as it maintains the requirement that a teacher would have to repay if they don't teach in the district for 10 years. With the teaching environment as it is today, many (if not most) teachers are leery of a 10-year commitment.

Student behavior is largely out of control, and it's more likely to get worse than to get better. From building administrators to central administration and the School Board, none of those who need to take charge seem willing to do so, so teachers can only look forward to a classroom situation where they have little or no support in matters of discipline.

At the same time, those same groups - administrators and the School Board - blithely continue to hold the teachers responsible for student achievement.

This is a recipe for driving teachers out of the classroom, and many of the better ones are actively looking for viable alternatives. Signing on to a 10-year commitment simply won't appeal to many teachers in this climate.

Owen Nelson, Las Vegas