This week in L.A. 30,000 public-school teachers plan to go on strike. Many teachers across California are teaching classes anywhere from 20-40 students, and don’t feel that they make enough money for the class size. The strike has affected over 500,000 students and 900 schools across California.
Morro Bay High School Math teacher Barbara Sulaitis “The biggest issue with the school system for me is not having enough support for the students, especially in the counseling department. I know that our district cut down a lot on counseling and support staff, and with all the issues students struggle with today we really need to provide more help. I also feel that with the growing class sizes I can’t teach the students the way I want. If I had fewer students than I could spend more time focusing on individual students and helping them better understand the material.”
Another Morro Bay High School teacher, Ryan Mammarella also expressed his concerns, “The class sizes are too big. Typically class sizes in L.A. unified can have 30+ students, generally leaning closer to the forties, which is just too big. It makes it extremely difficult for the teachers to individualize education, which makes it a justified concern. Also, they have not gotten a pay raise in a while, making the personal lives of teachers very difficult.”
In Morro Bay, we have laws preventing class sizes over 35 students, but the concern for teachers in L.A. is a relevant issue for teachers rights.
