Burgess Owens: “Since we are paying tribute to teachers today, I just want to make certain that that point does not get lost. That is…”

“Since we are paying tribute to teachers today, I just want to make certain that that point does not get lost. That is that many teachers who are now employed as teachers, as well as many students who are considering teaching, they point to the abominable working conditions in the schools. And one of the abominable working conditions that they cite is the physical infrastructure, the fact that schools are in disrepair. Schools have, in the case of New York, furnaces that still burn coal and, therefore, they pollute the air. Respiratory illnesses not only are there to be contracted by the children, but also by the teachers. Schools are overcrowded, and that creates an atmosphere which exacerbates the discipline problem. Schools are overcrowded, so they force the kids to eat lunch in three or four cycles, so they have to eat lunch very early. Mr. Speaker, if we care about teachers... we ought to give them better working conditions and I think we should not overlook the fact that we have better working conditions in many plants and industrial offices than we have in our schools for teachers.”