Shouldn’t teachers and boards of education try harder to settle contract disputes before school begins? Is enough thought being given to whether a strike is necessary and justified? Do the rights of the upils receive enough conslderation? Today more than 300,000 students across the nation are out of the classroom because of teacher strikes in at least three states. The latest walkout involves 11,000 Detroit teachers. The president of the teachers federation predicted a long strike. The superintendent of the financially-strapped school district indicated only a “small pebble of di ference” separated the two sides and claimed the strike was unnecessary. Teacher strikes in Pennsylvania and Illinois also are keeping many students away from school. A news dispatch said about 3,300 teachers were on strike in 17 Pennsylvania districts affecting about 60,000 students. Walkouts in three Illinois districts put more than 32,w pupils out of class. In the Detroit dispute. the board of education maintains it faces a l98?r 83 deficit of between $38 million and $60 million. The federation president says teachers in that city have never worked without a contract “and that remains our position to this day.” Maybe, in spite of difficult circumstances–espe cially whenthere’s only ”a pebble of difference”-both sides should employ more patience and more “give and take,” along with more thought to their obligation to the tangpayers. There are in eed areas in which teachers have been willing to work without a contract while details are being negotiated. For example, in tah 3 of 40 districts hadn’t settled as of school starting date, but teachers willing y took their places in the classrooms when school bells rang. Contracts were soon signed in the Duchesne and Garfield Districts. in Juab District, teachers are still working without disruption three weeks after the school year began. Contract approval is expected soon. The issue in Juab is not focused so much on the total economic package (which involves an average 8.25 percent pay boost) as on the distribution within the salary schedule. The educators are seeking a distribution that will increase the incentive for career teaching. A school strike can have shattering effects on a school district, pupils, the teachers themselves, and education in general. A trend of earlier negotiations-discover the crucial issues long in advance and solve them-can alleviate many of the contract -problems. And when the chips are down, issues should be faced with twosided understanding, never losing sight of the commitment to pupils and public.