I'm curious to know what qualifies Pete Dexter to write a column on education (Sunday, Nov. 8). He is obviously out of touch with the reality of teaching with his suggestion that teachers would "go on strike forever before they'd put in an extra two hours at the end of the day."
As a high school teacher, I often spend two to three hours each evening and on weekends correcting papers, planning lessons and supervising school activities. Further, I'm not the exception - most, if not all, of my colleagues do the same.To equate busywork with homework is another fallacy in his column. With the expansion of knowledge and the necessity for kids to acquire basic skills, homework serves as practice and exploration time.
We don't complain when kids are required to practice three hours in the afternoon so that our schools can have champion football teams or marching bands, but to require a kid to do even half an hour of math practice to improve individual skills and knowledge prompts a cry of "busywork." Then we wonder why kids graduate without marketable skills in communication and mathematics.
I hope that my schoolkids experience the joy of accomplishment, the satisfaction of completing a difficult task and the rewards that come from self-discipline. We need more of that kind of "fun" in our schools.
Louise Hilton
West Jordan