Education must be main priority

That's like saying the Titanic needed a better orchestra. Projected class sizes of 40-plus students per class next year in L.A. Unified make ideas such as merit pay, reconstituting "failing" schools and "small learning communities" to be spectacularly beside the point.

Laying off thousands of teachers will render permanent damage to education in California. Public education must be fully funded with the classroom as the focus. Everything else is secondary.

Brad Jones

Santa Monica

The writer is an English teacher.

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Your reporter says Duncan was in California on a "15-state listening tour."

Yet I discover from reading the article that Duncan warned, challenged, said, repeatedly told, said, said, told and warned.

Then a superintendent raised a gnawing concern. So Duncan demurred, and another official said he feared.

So Duncan challenged, said, assessed, slammed, also said, said, then met privately with state officials to discuss.

We are then told that Duncan called for, said, noted and also spoke.

So when does his listening begin?

Richard K. Moore

Huntington Beach

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Duncan finds it mind-boggling that the state is reluctant to use student achievement to evaluate teacher effectiveness.

What I find mind-blowing is that the person in charge of education is so uninformed about the dynamics of how teachers teach and how children learn.

Let me explain it in terms Duncan may be able to get his mind around: basketball.

Imagine if we decided to pay basketball players according to how many points they scored per game; those high-scoring players would get the biggest paychecks, and those who failed to make baskets would be fired.

Suddenly the whole dynamics of the game change; it's every man for himself; the court has become a ruthless place.

We already have middle-school kids who get only math and English for their entire day -- no art, no music, no computers, no social studies, just basic English and math to get through that test hoop at the end of the year.

We are compromising the quality of our educational curriculum by becoming obsessed with test scores.

Mary Silva

Hemet

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Am I alone is sensing the sad irony of the answer given by Duncan, when asked by a San Francisco second-grader if he played basketball with President Obama?

"We usually play on the same team. We do pretty good." As a retired teacher, I am beginning to wonder seriously if we're just shoveling against the tide.

Edward D. Toland

Indian Wells