Teachers’ Sign Sends Children Wrong Message

There is a sign on the east side of Oxnard Boulevard, near Gonzales Road, which has a “cracked” schoolhouse along with the words: “Oxnard--the home of unhappy teachers.” I see this sign several times throughout the week. Each time I see it, I get a very distasteful, discouraged feeling for the message it is delivering to our children.

We as adults understand that the teachers are unhappy with their paychecks. If this is the case, then I think the teachers should do something in their classrooms that causes the district, the board and the parents to have complete knowledge and confidence that they deserve the pay hike that is being asked for.

There needs to be improvement. We, along with many other parents, have had to move our daughter out of the Oxnard Elementary School District into a more excelling district. I know there are good teachers there, but I also know that there are some who do not deserve a raise.

Our children are suffering through this. What does a picture of a “broken” schoolhouse bring to a child’s mind? The Oxnard Education Assn. and all the teachers involved have made a drastic mistake in sending that message to thousands of our children who pass by that sign daily.

NAOMI A. KNOX

Oxnard