Viewpoints: Teachers are asked to give more for less
Published: Thursday, Apr. 1, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 11ABy Jill Duman
Special to The Bee
On most days, Jonathan Defty opens his classroom at about 7:45 a.m., a full 45 minutes before school begins. Tall and lean, with a stocking cap, jeans and a khaki-colored jacket, Defty looks more like the Marine that he was than the first-grade teacher he is now, 23 years later. On the walls of his classroom are the expectations for his small-fry students:Be Responsible. Be Productive. Be Kind. Be Your Best.
Defty, a teacher for 17 years, is at his post early for the handful of kids needing help on their way to reading fluently. At the end of the day, he'll stay an hour after school to supervise the running club he started at Marguerite Montgomery Elementary. When he's done, he'll head over to the new Davis High School track where Defty, a former school athlete, is coaching DHS track and field runners over the hurdles.
"It's all about making progress," he tells the runners who slow their pace on the approach. "Think about going through the hurdle."
The obstacle course is a perfect metaphor for
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/01/2647802/teachers-are-asked-to-give-more.html#ixzz0jrZZxEXe