Quality Teachers

President Clinton is correct to specify that funding for education should only be used for hiring teachers to reduce class size (“President, GOP Will Hold Budget Summit,” Oct. 19). Second only to a parent, a teacher is the most influential person in the life of a child. After third grade, many of our children attend overcrowded classrooms, with numbers ranging upward to 38 children per classroom. In a six-hour school day, a child in a classroom of 38 would receive less than 10 minutes per day individual attention. Smaller classes are one of the factors linked with academic success.

Unless this funding is set aside for hiring new teachers, much of the actual money will be used for the salaries of administrators. This should be of great concern to responsible citizens, since we are shaping the future of our nation in the classrooms of America.

CRISTY SCOVILLE

Pasadena