When I graduated from high school, I made the choice to go to college to earn a four year degree and become a teacher. Each day I am happy with my chosen profession.

I also, like most other teachers, make the choice to give my students far more than my contract or pay dictates. Very rarely do I leave school before 4 p.m. when school ends at 2:10. I also take work home every night and continue to create lessons and grade papers so my students can be provided with the best possible education.

This is not in my contract.

At the beginning of each year, it is inevitable that there are more mandates beyond our control that must be met: No Child Left Behind, local assessments, Maine Learning Results, and the list goes on.

In response to Mr. Webber’s letter of March 21, teaching is not “twice as easy as yesteryear.” Besides dealing with the mandates that did not exist until recently, we are dealing with an entirely different generation of kids.

As a taxpayer and parent I want the best possible education for my children; they are our future. It’s not a matter of questioning where our tax money is being spent. Each taxpayer has a right and a responsibility to do so. It’s a matter of educating yourself by coming into the schools and spending time in classrooms, shadowing a teacher, and truly learning and understanding what goes on each and every day in our schools.

Karen Boucher, Auburn