Friday, January 1, 2010

Glendale News Press > Columns


Glendale News Press > Columns:

"For my annual year-end contribution, I’ve separated my hopes into five categories, moving from more-familiar surroundings to the world at large.

I hope the Glendale Unified School District’s replacement of 60 to 70 veteran teachers (myself included) coaxed into early retirement next June will help save about 150 younger teachers from being discharged the next year. That is the district’s plan, and I believe it is a good one. Perhaps our schools will also be able to cap class size at 40 instead of edging up toward 50, as other districts seem to be doing to the great detriment of what and how our children learn.

I hope also that if class offerings were limited to save money, the process begins with technology classes and not with the arts, which are usually the first to go when educational budgets get slashed. Far better to lose some of that “cutting edge” in computer training than to sacrifice the heart and soul of our curricula."