Dear Editor,
I’d like to respond to Karen Mountz’s recent letter about the
math program at Gilroy High School. Our experience in the math
department was absolutely the opposite of her experience with her
child’s math teacher. Our son had Mrs. Silva for Trig/Pre-Calc and
she was absolutely fabulous. She tutored at 7am, at lunch, and
after school.
Dear Editor,
I’d like to respond to Karen Mountz’s recent letter about the math program at Gilroy High School. Our experience in the math department was absolutely the opposite of her experience with her child’s math teacher. Our son had Mrs. Silva for Trig/Pre-Calc and she was absolutely fabulous. She tutored at 7am, at lunch, and after school.
Did we EXPECT her to give up her lunch? NO! Did we appreciate it? YES!
We appreciated the fact that she made herself available, but even teachers deserve to eat and take a break from their busy day. Now, does that fit into Mrs. Mountz’s opinion that the teacher’s day starts at 8 and ends at 3? One time I asked Mrs. Silva when she would get all of those tests graded and she said, “This weekend and during the night. I have to check each problem one at a time to be sure that my students are understanding the process. I give partial credit if I can see where the error was made, but overall I can tell the student understands the concept.”
Does that mean her day ends at 3pm? When does Mrs. Mountz think that Mrs. Silva did her lesson plans, corrected papers, and tutored the students? Oh yes, that’s right, it was before and after her “contracted time.”
It is very naive for Mrs. Mountz to believe that a teacher’s day begins at 8 and ends at 3. She obviously has never been a teacher or else she would know that her statement is absolutely false.
It’s totally unfair for Mrs. Mountz to continue to perpetuate the myth that a teacher’s day begins at 8 and ends at 3. That’s only the contracted time. It doesn’t include planning, correcting papers, and tutoring students. If a high school teacher has 150 students, how many papers does that mean he or she must grade each week? When does this occur? It’s obviously not while they are teaching.
It’s time to begin looking at the reality of teaching today. It’s far different than the simplistic views stated by Mrs. Mountz. Remember, there are always two sides to every coin. This is a letter of appreciation to a teacher who really cares.
Gregg Chisolm, Gilroy
