When driving to the Auburn Middle School recently, I noticed that a group of teachers had decided that it would be a proper time to protest their contract problems while in view of students, who had to walk through them to get into the school.

To do that in view of impressionable 12- and 13-year-olds showed an absolute lack of integrity and professionalism. If they want to protest, they should go to Auburn City Hall and stand out front, just as the firefighters did when they had issues. They didn’t protest while responding to a house fire.

A teacher I knew when I was younger once told me something that has stayed with me 30 years after: He didn’t teach for the money but for the love of teaching and the feeling of accomplishment to know he was making a difference in a young person’s life.

I am sure there are still teachers who believe in that statement, but some, like the ones out front of the Middle School, obviously do not.

Jamie Pelletier, Auburn