Education Views Stated

(_ - A bilí which would créate 50,000 teacher jobs by adding to the federal Teacher Corps program will be introduced by Congressman Marvin L. Esch, R-Second District. If passed, the bilí would provide íunds for the hiring of teachers to be used in those schools which have a high concentration of disadvantaged students. "These teachers paid with federal will not replace teachers already in the school system, but will supplement them in providing badly needed services to disadvantaged students," state Esch. "They will be totally under the control of local school systems; Ithere will be a minimum of I bureaucratie involvement on Ithe federal level. "The r a s h of teachers' I strikes around the nation this lyear once again underlined Ithe difficult problems which Ithe educational system is Tng," cofitinued Esch. "M many cases the issues over which the strikes were called had little to do with salary; they were centered around pupil-teacher ratios. In many schools, particularly in poor schools, o n e teacher m a y have to deal with 40 or even 50 students at once - an impossible task. "Irionically, at the same time there are more than 250,000 qualified, but unemployed teachers in the nation today. These trained educators are forced into other jobs unrelated to their expertise while thousands of children are receiving inadequate education s i m p 1 y because their classrooms are overcrowded and their teachers have so many students that they cannot give anyone individual attention. "Good teachers are the key to children's learning. provement in the quality of I education for all students I must be founded on the expertise and experience of qualified teachers. The over-supply of qualified teachers therefore offers us a unique opportunity to take major steps to relieve overcrowdingiin the c 1 a s room, improve the quality of education for the disadvantaged, increase individualized instruction and generally to improve education." ''Many of our school systems have stretched their budgets to the limit. Many desperately need additional staff but do not have adequate funds to hire them. My proposal will help to solve this paradox of needs and resources. "Our nation has sufficient resources both in terms of personnel and fund to provide every student with a quality education. There is no excuse for our failure to do so."