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Show A, Viewpoint s Page 4A South Edition , Lakeside Review Wednesday, September 12, 1984 . Crowded Rooms Hurt Education SYDNEY GOFF Yrv.-uy- v i0n?rr- : 1 - 1 . - .41 who attend the elementary school Review Guest Columnist Last week, I took my three elementary age children to school. I helped them to find their classrooms and made sure they were settled and secure before leaving. My children were really anxious for their new year to begin, filled with childish innocence, they felt sure that they were going to have an excellent experience. 1 left them that first day, freshly scrubbed, dressed in new clothes and filled with optimism. They were in a beautiful, new school. Each had an outstanding teacher and the classrooms were filled with a good variety of educational materials. Everything seemed perfect, but it was not.. In each class, there were 28 other children waiting with high expectations for the teacher to notice them and fulfill their educational, emotional and social needs. I left the school with a heavy feeling of discouragement. Each year, the classrooms seem to be more and more crowded. How can we, the public, expect teachers to handle such large classes and then expect them to give each of our children the time needed for them to fulfill their potential? I am convinced that the single, greatest failure of our school system lies in our districts inability to lower the teacher-studeratio to a workable level. Excellent teachers cannot do a really good job with more than thirty students and poor teachers have disastrous experiences with our children when the class loan is too heavy. Children do not work well together when the group is too large. They not only do not cooperate with the teacher but fail to cooperate with each other. I have been an elementary teacher and for the past two years have worked as a substitute .teacher in the Davis School dis-- . trjct. Here are some things that I have learned: (1) On the whole, we have some fine teachers in oUr district. It amazes me that they are so dedicated and work so hard even though they are overloaded year after year. Many of our teachers are highly educated and use hundreds of dollars from their income each year to contin-- 1 ue their education. They want to be knowledgable and well round-- : ed yet they are not compensated ; fdr their many years of training and experience. In short, they are overworked and underpaid.... I have wondered why the people of Utah, who claim to esteem education have allowed this to hap-- , pen. (2) Most of our schools are very adequate structurally. We buildhhve clean, ings and they are beautifully equipped. I found it interesting that many schools have televisions that are used as part of the curriculum. The children view sbme very educational programs. Many students also have an opportunity to use a computer at a young age and are doing some exciting things with it. The children nt - i : ; well-cared-f- or The in our neighborhood have access to excellent text books and a media center. People are concerned that our school system is failing. Why would bur children fail, when we have dedicated teachers, good principals, adequate buildings, new and updated equipment, good text books and media centers in every school? The answer is obvious to me. Our children are being cheated in our schools because we have not demanded that they be placed in classes with .. less children per, teacher. . I be would much Personally happier if my child were in a classroom less adequately supplied but with a dedicated, happy, well-stock- ed it , r, teacher and twenty classmates who knew they would personally have their teachers undivided attention a portion of each day. As a substitute teacher, I had, some very difficult working days last year. One day I taught a fifth s that was so croweded, the children could not pull their chairs away from their desks to be seated but had to climb into them. There was not room in this classroom for the teacher to take the children into a reading group or to work with any child individually. I know that this particular situation is changing because a it new school is being built-b- ut should never have happened. In another newly built school nearby, there were empty classrooms-no- t being utilized. If classroom loads were smaller, we as parents would notice a difference in our childrens lives. I believe we would find them much less stressed. We would hear less complaints about cross, uncooperative teachers: Our children would have better social experiences at school. Discipline problems would diminish. Gifted children could be stimulated within the regular classroom. There would be less need to remove children with learning difficulties to resource teachers and our average" children would not be overlooked because the teachers would have time for everyone. I believe the time has come for the public to become concerned and to contact school administrators and our legislators about our concerns. Of course growth ,in Davis county is a problem--O- f course it costs money. But our children are worth it? We are fooling ourselves if we believe our children are having a good experience in an overloaded classroom. If you doubt this, why not observe the situation first hand. We are also kidding ourselves if we believe that extra programs, changes in the curriculum, merit pay systems, newly designed buildings and volunteer help will compensate for it. I believe that the greatest educational gift to any child, on any level, would be a caring, happy teacher who has time for him. i , ,Vt " ' ' i y m , - grade-clas- - V Problem Was With People Not Building Review Editor: It should be made clear that the recent investigation of animal control in Davis County dealt with some of the employees, not the structure, a. . !iv ' ", Any shortcomings of the building itself had absolutely nothing to do with the allegations. We, and most taxpayers in Davis " County, are not looking for or scapegoats easy answers to complicated questions. We do expect responsible, conscientious behavior from county employees. If they consistently cannot or will not live up to those expectations we have no qualms about calling for punitive action. . The sheriffs department and the county commission have now spent more than two months investigating the situation. Their conclusions certainly were not reached in haste, nor has their disciplinary action been ill con- up the sad and frustrating messes left by irresponsible pet owners who allow their animals to wander and to breed without control. The accountability for the appalling animal death rate in this area and many others belongs to those who allow the animal population to skyrocket by not and otherwise tak spay-ingneuteri- i ; , Improvements have been made over the last few months at the Davis County Animal Shelter, largely because public attention has been drawn to a county service that many prefer to ignore. The job of animal control is a difficult and thankless one. We have great respect for those employees who do their jobs humanely and honestly. They clean 2 Pat. Jones, Rape Crisis Qoordinatorfor the' Ogden Area 4 & 2 year year degrees. The 9 or and will - de- daughters or anyone concerned with this growing problem. September 15th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Green Auditorium at gradu- programmer and analyst in a variety of fields. YWCA, include 'discussions on susceptibility, rape prevention and common myths .surrounding rape. This is an excellent workshop for professional women mothers and ate Is prepared to work as a scientific programmer, and systems analyst or as support 626-792- g, be taught by This, workshop will 626-630- 3. & smooth-runnin- On September 15th, the Dee Hospital Women's Center offers a free workshop on rape awareness. grees. The graduate is prepared to serve industry in design, test and development related jobs. Call Computer New ordinances for that department are under study. Strict guidelines and policies for animal control operations have been submitted. Interim director Glen Taylor is an efficient and experienced organizer. Davis County has the potential for a progressive and, above all, humane department of animal control. Some first steps have been taken toward that goal. r L. Bradak Chairman, Citizens Advisory Committee on Animal Control f HIGH TECH Enoineerina Technoloav-- or Commissioner Tippetts has shown concern by appointing and working with a citizens advisory committee on animal control. sidered. The SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY at WEBER STATE COLLEGE has initiated FOUR NEW HIGH TECH programs. Science-- 4 ing proper care of their animals.. , WEBER STATE COLLEGE 2 last step in a long series of flood control measures by the city and county. Letter Policy PROGRAMS AT 626-690- Photo by Robert Regan BRIGHT AND NEW chain link fencing has been installed along all of the concrete-line- d creeks to to access limited the waterway. This is the provide Gutting Tzdcje? Mechanical !V.' McKay-De- e charge. Call Hospital Center. No 626-630- 3. Comnuter Maintenance Technoloav-- 2 year degree. The graduate is prepared to install, service and repair computers and computer peripheral devices such as terminals, printers, readers, and storage devices. Call 626-689- 8 or 626-630- 3. year degree. The graduate is preand repair mechanical failures Mechanical Maintenance Technolonv-- 2 pared to install, service, trouble-shooor equipment and tooling. Call t, 626-630- 5 or 626-630- 3939 Harrison Blvd. 3. Training available autumn quarter at the' School of Technology, Weber State College Prepare today for HIGH TECH JOBS, call WEBER STATE COLLEGE or come to see us at 3750 Harrison Blvd., Ogden. Ogden, Utah A 625-221- 0 member of Intermountain Health Care " h |