LETTER: Clark County school teachers deserve respect

As the husband of a retired high school math teacher and the father of an elementary school teacher, I find myself getting frustrated with letters to the editor that often offer a blanket condemnation of the Clark County School District specifically and public schools in general.

I’ve been a front row observer/participant to much that goes on behind the scenes. Overall, my observations have seen incredibly dedicated men and women who truly want the best for their students. These folks are well-versed in their subjects and want their students to get equally excited. What is generally not seen are the multiple issues that are often present in many classrooms.

There are students who are abused, bullied, hungry and neglected — just to mention a few issues. We have seen elementary students becoming semi-primary caregivers for younger siblings, which is simply exhausting. Unfortunately, many of these students will often lag behind when it comes to measuring standardized performance. Parental/guardian support is critical. Yet when it’s lacking, it often tends to not be addressed. Ultimately, when students do not test well, a campus can get categorized as “failing,” which then leads to the idea that it has poor teachers.

My professional background is accounting, so I’ve never been in the public eye and subject to such criticism. However, I simply cannot imagine having my performance being measured with such an incredibly variable criteria as a student population that changes every single year. I’m not sure I can think of a non-education example that could be comparable.

So I’m asking the community to be slower to judge what transpires in any school building and find ways to support teachers and their students in their classrooms. I’d like to think we may all be in agreement that we want students to succeed. The sad story is that more of them than we would like to admit walk into a school hurting and may never overcome that disadvantage — and the teacher, school and district get blamed for letting them down.