I am a recently retired educator responding to letters sent to the editor in response to the frazzled kindergarten teacher in “36 kindergartners, 1 frazzled teacher; Crowded West Side classroom is just one example of a problem found in many city schools” (Page 1, Jan. 25). To compare this teacher to any teacher of the 1940s or ’50s is very much like comparing apples and oranges. While it is true that classrooms were very large at those times, the classroom population was much different. Often children were part of a two-parent family. Moms usually stayed at home. Even if children were not part of a two-parent family, there were other adults in the neighborhood who kept an eye on those who had working mothers.
I would love to see many of these critics take over a classroom of children today and see how quickly their opinions might change.
