Writer all wrong on teachers

In response to Ken Grow ("Teachers don't have it bad," Nov. 23): While I know there are those teachers who do whine, just as there are those who do in any job, there are also those egotistical "know-it-alls" who act as though they have been in the classroom and know how one is run. It saddens me to think that someone with an education would make such ignorant remarks such as "any intelligent adult could teach children at the elementary school level, with or without a degree or training."

I urge you to go into an elementary school classroom and try to teach to a diverse group of 20 to 35 students where the standards-driven curriculum is just one piece of the puzzle that a teacher must tend to. The hats we wear as teachers are as diverse as the classrooms we teach in. I truly wish that all parents provided a strong foundation for their children. While many do, many still do not.

Ken, my guess is that you do not work with children, but I hope that one day you find a career that is as intrinsically gratifying as being a teacher. "It takes a village to raise a child." However, step back and take a look at the amount of time students spend in the classroom vs. at home over the years. Now look at the impact that can be made and is made each and every day by those who call themselves teachers.

While responding to the opinions from someone who clearly has not walked in our shoes may be a waste of my time, I write this in hopes of bringing an awareness to those whose eyes are closed and to speak on behalf of the many who give so much each and every day in the classrooms where lives are truly changed one child at a time. Joy Correia Agoura Hills