After spending my one hour a week working with two second-graders who have difficulty reading, this thought struck me.

I suggest our legislators suspend the discussion of trying to determine what is the best way to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at very good teachers with the hope of turning them into great teachers and decide to make life less difficult for administrators by agreeing to a 4 percent allowable growth for their budgets.

When they get home in early May, they should schedule themselves for one hour a day working with one or two second- or third-graders who are having difficulty reading. Next fall, they should do the same thing until returning to Des Moines in January.

This would give our legislators a more thorough understanding of the real problems facing our educational system and better qualify them to solve the problems.

Tom Martin

Iowa City