Something about teacher's pay...

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Comments

  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    so a lot of teachers off today.  5 weeks or so after their 2 week time off at the holidays.  and don't forget spring break is right around the corner. but but their schedule doesn't matter :confounded:
    I just planned for tomorrow and graded 78 essays.  Did I earn my paid day off master?
    I’m continually amazed at how teachers argue about time off. You do realize that lots of people work at home in the evenings and weekends as well? And spend time traveling for work on weekend and evenings?

    I think teacher should focus more on the value of their work, and the really crappy part about being underfunded and having to buy supplies themselves. 
    No shit but I don't give a flying fuck or constantly bring up that non teachers have days off.  Who freaking cares?  Everyone deserves time off from work.  Pjhawks seems like an angry tax payer who wants teachers to have no days off and take a cut in their pay because he/she pays too much in taxes.  So yeah sometimes I defend my paid days off when you get stupid comments like that.
    That is true. I’ll leave you 2 to discuss ;)
    hippiemom = goodness
  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    mcgruff10 said:
    I think you know the answer to your own question. 
    as do you. yet it constantly gets disputed. 
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 28,614
    What gets disputed?
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 28,614
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    we’ll obviously, you can’t afford beers on your salary!
    hippiemom = goodness
  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    we’ll obviously, you can’t afford beers on your salary!
    ok now this is funny.  you have to laugh at this one McGruff right?
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 28,614
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    we’ll obviously, you can’t afford beers on your salary!
    ok now this is funny.  you have to laugh at this one McGruff right?
    Oh hell yeah, that was a good one!!
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 39,278
    edited February 2020
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.

    we can assume, your district is following state law in the number of days school is in session in total yes? How a district breaks that up is largely up to them to a degree but primarily falls in line with Fed and State holidays, no? Also seem antiquated as the schedule was based off harvesting when we were a agrarian society without corporate large scale farming and global sourcing. Have issue with the current system, take it up with your elected reps....
    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

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  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    we’ll obviously, you can’t afford beers on your salary!
    ok now this is funny.  you have to laugh at this one McGruff right?
    Oh hell yeah, that was a good one!!
    McGruff not sure what age group you teach but what are your thoughts on moving the high school start back to later in the morning. Studies show that would be better for the students.  District near me wants to move to later start for high school but big push back from parents on it.
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 28,614
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    pjhawks said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    What gets disputed?
    number of days off. i literally posted the schedule of my school district previously and people disputed it. like how do you dispute actual facts? yet they did.

    you seem like a good dude so don't think i'm trying to pick on you or call you out personally here.
    Cool cool. Beers on you. ;)
    we’ll obviously, you can’t afford beers on your salary!
    ok now this is funny.  you have to laugh at this one McGruff right?
    Oh hell yeah, that was a good one!!
    McGruff not sure what age group you teach but what are your thoughts on moving the high school start back to later in the morning. Studies show that would be better for the students.  District near me wants to move to later start for high school but big push back from parents on it.
    I think it is a great idea but sports rule.   I m not sure go late sports can start.  

    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 
    hippiemom = goodness
  • brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 
    Obviously.

    I can also with certainty say that, of all jobs that exist - teacher would not rank high enough to be considered "one of the toughest jobs around".
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • what dreamswhat dreams Posts: 1,761
    It's conversations like these that have turned me into a teacher who never takes work home and leaves within the hour of the dismissal bell. I work my 200 contracted days for the hours I'm required (7:00-3:00) and that's it. I discovered very quickly that my putting in extra hours "for the children" made absolutely no difference on their bottom line -- grades, test scores, satisfaction with the class. Nothing. All it did was make me miserable, and then angry, about the wage theft. And then I would get involved in dumb conversations with disgruntled strangers who probably hated school when they were in school, probably weren't successful at it either which is why they hated it, so now they are adults who hate teachers just like they hated teachers when they were 12. These disgruntled adults go on and on about how I never work, and the paid holidays (which are NOT PAID), and I finally said, wait a minute, you are absolutely correct . . . I'm a professional under contract. My contract says 200 days, 7:00-3:00. That's all they're getting from me.  I became this way at around year 15. I'm now at year 26. Over a thousand kids have passed through my class since I began taking this stance, and they are fine. They're in college, working, starting families, etc. Nothing I did or didn't do as a teacher in my 200 day/8 hour a day job kept them from living their dream. I'm just not that powerful.
    If I do happen to spend any extra time, which is rare to non-existent, it is because I choose to, not because I feel like I'm some kind of superhero for toiling away at my kitchen table grading papers that students will just stuff in the trash anyway once I hand them back. 
    If every teacher did what I do, give the people what they're paying for -- in general, 193-200 days for 7.5-8 hours -- it would be fine. Trust me. Nobody would notice the difference. Teachers would get better at focusing their time on what matters. The things that don't get done are the things that don't matter. I have a lesson plan, I do the lesson, the grading gets done when it gets done. I'm not earning anything extra for being a superhero, nor do I have any desire to be a superhero, quite honestly. I have taken all these arguments to heart, and I absolutely agree -- teaching is a job just like any other, we all have to deal with stresses and demands -- and if I signed the same contract in any other field, I wouldn't be expected to work any more than what the contract states. No employer in any other field would write such a contract unless it were the expectation to work only those hours and days. Otherwise they would be in breach of contract. If my school board/state wanted me to work additional days and hours, they would have written a different contract. They didn't. I'm meeting the expectations of the contract.
    I encourage all teachers across America to jump on board. WORK TO CONTRACT. It's liberating.
    #RED4ED
  • It's conversations like these that have turned me into a teacher who never takes work home and leaves within the hour of the dismissal bell. I work my 200 contracted days for the hours I'm required (7:00-3:00) and that's it. I discovered very quickly that my putting in extra hours "for the children" made absolutely no difference on their bottom line -- grades, test scores, satisfaction with the class. Nothing. All it did was make me miserable, and then angry, about the wage theft. And then I would get involved in dumb conversations with disgruntled strangers who probably hated school when they were in school, probably weren't successful at it either which is why they hated it, so now they are adults who hate teachers just like they hated teachers when they were 12. These disgruntled adults go on and on about how I never work, and the paid holidays (which are NOT PAID), and I finally said, wait a minute, you are absolutely correct . . . I'm a professional under contract. My contract says 200 days, 7:00-3:00. That's all they're getting from me.  I became this way at around year 15. I'm now at year 26. Over a thousand kids have passed through my class since I began taking this stance, and they are fine. They're in college, working, starting families, etc. Nothing I did or didn't do as a teacher in my 200 day/8 hour a day job kept them from living their dream. I'm just not that powerful.
    If I do happen to spend any extra time, which is rare to non-existent, it is because I choose to, not because I feel like I'm some kind of superhero for toiling away at my kitchen table grading papers that students will just stuff in the trash anyway once I hand them back. 
    If every teacher did what I do, give the people what they're paying for -- in general, 193-200 days for 7.5-8 hours -- it would be fine. Trust me. Nobody would notice the difference. Teachers would get better at focusing their time on what matters. The things that don't get done are the things that don't matter. I have a lesson plan, I do the lesson, the grading gets done when it gets done. I'm not earning anything extra for being a superhero, nor do I have any desire to be a superhero, quite honestly. I have taken all these arguments to heart, and I absolutely agree -- teaching is a job just like any other, we all have to deal with stresses and demands -- and if I signed the same contract in any other field, I wouldn't be expected to work any more than what the contract states. No employer in any other field would write such a contract unless it were the expectation to work only those hours and days. Otherwise they would be in breach of contract. If my school board/state wanted me to work additional days and hours, they would have written a different contract. They didn't. I'm meeting the expectations of the contract.
    I encourage all teachers across America to jump on board. WORK TO CONTRACT. It's liberating.
    #RED4ED
    This has got to be the most honest thing I have ever read on these boards.  Good on you..
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    edited February 2020
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    Post edited by brianlux on
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • Lerxst1992Lerxst1992 Posts: 6,749
    It's conversations like these that have turned me into a teacher who never takes work home and leaves within the hour of the dismissal bell. I work my 200 contracted days for the hours I'm required (7:00-3:00) and that's it. I discovered very quickly that my putting in extra hours "for the children" made absolutely no difference on their bottom line -- grades, test scores, satisfaction with the class. Nothing. All it did was make me miserable, and then angry, about the wage theft. And then I would get involved in dumb conversations with disgruntled strangers who probably hated school when they were in school, probably weren't successful at it either which is why they hated it, so now they are adults who hate teachers just like they hated teachers when they were 12. These disgruntled adults go on and on about how I never work, and the paid holidays (which are NOT PAID), and I finally said, wait a minute, you are absolutely correct . . . I'm a professional under contract. My contract says 200 days, 7:00-3:00. That's all they're getting from me.  I became this way at around year 15. I'm now at year 26. Over a thousand kids have passed through my class since I began taking this stance, and they are fine. They're in college, working, starting families, etc. Nothing I did or didn't do as a teacher in my 200 day/8 hour a day job kept them from living their dream. I'm just not that powerful.
    If I do happen to spend any extra time, which is rare to non-existent, it is because I choose to, not because I feel like I'm some kind of superhero for toiling away at my kitchen table grading papers that students will just stuff in the trash anyway once I hand them back. 
    If every teacher did what I do, give the people what they're paying for -- in general, 193-200 days for 7.5-8 hours -- it would be fine. Trust me. Nobody would notice the difference. Teachers would get better at focusing their time on what matters. The things that don't get done are the things that don't matter. I have a lesson plan, I do the lesson, the grading gets done when it gets done. I'm not earning anything extra for being a superhero, nor do I have any desire to be a superhero, quite honestly. I have taken all these arguments to heart, and I absolutely agree -- teaching is a job just like any other, we all have to deal with stresses and demands -- and if I signed the same contract in any other field, I wouldn't be expected to work any more than what the contract states. No employer in any other field would write such a contract unless it were the expectation to work only those hours and days. Otherwise they would be in breach of contract. If my school board/state wanted me to work additional days and hours, they would have written a different contract. They didn't. I'm meeting the expectations of the contract.
    I encourage all teachers across America to jump on board. WORK TO CONTRACT. It's liberating.
    #RED4ED
    This has got to be the most honest thing I have ever read on these boards.  Good on you..

    The ironic thing is by me the teachers are the ones with the nice houses and nice cars and retiring in their fifties.
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 
    hippiemom = goodness
  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    It's conversations like these that have turned me into a teacher who never takes work home and leaves within the hour of the dismissal bell. I work my 200 contracted days for the hours I'm required (7:00-3:00) and that's it. I discovered very quickly that my putting in extra hours "for the children" made absolutely no difference on their bottom line -- grades, test scores, satisfaction with the class. Nothing. All it did was make me miserable, and then angry, about the wage theft. And then I would get involved in dumb conversations with disgruntled strangers who probably hated school when they were in school, probably weren't successful at it either which is why they hated it, so now they are adults who hate teachers just like they hated teachers when they were 12. These disgruntled adults go on and on about how I never work, and the paid holidays (which are NOT PAID), and I finally said, wait a minute, you are absolutely correct . . . I'm a professional under contract. My contract says 200 days, 7:00-3:00. That's all they're getting from me.  I became this way at around year 15. I'm now at year 26. Over a thousand kids have passed through my class since I began taking this stance, and they are fine. They're in college, working, starting families, etc. Nothing I did or didn't do as a teacher in my 200 day/8 hour a day job kept them from living their dream. I'm just not that powerful.
    If I do happen to spend any extra time, which is rare to non-existent, it is because I choose to, not because I feel like I'm some kind of superhero for toiling away at my kitchen table grading papers that students will just stuff in the trash anyway once I hand them back. 
    If every teacher did what I do, give the people what they're paying for -- in general, 193-200 days for 7.5-8 hours -- it would be fine. Trust me. Nobody would notice the difference. Teachers would get better at focusing their time on what matters. The things that don't get done are the things that don't matter. I have a lesson plan, I do the lesson, the grading gets done when it gets done. I'm not earning anything extra for being a superhero, nor do I have any desire to be a superhero, quite honestly. I have taken all these arguments to heart, and I absolutely agree -- teaching is a job just like any other, we all have to deal with stresses and demands -- and if I signed the same contract in any other field, I wouldn't be expected to work any more than what the contract states. No employer in any other field would write such a contract unless it were the expectation to work only those hours and days. Otherwise they would be in breach of contract. If my school board/state wanted me to work additional days and hours, they would have written a different contract. They didn't. I'm meeting the expectations of the contract.
    I encourage all teachers across America to jump on board. WORK TO CONTRACT. It's liberating.
    #RED4ED
    while I understand your point, and at times have take the same attitude for short periods of time at my job, be thankful you are in a union that basically, unless you sleep with a student, keeps you from ever being fired.  in the business world this attitude in most companies doesn't take you too far. 
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 
    hippiemom = goodness
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,845
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 
    Also doctors, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, etc, on their own time, not paid time. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    teachers who complain about their salary are just dumb. why would you go into a field knowing how low the salaries can be...then complain about the salary?
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    pjhawks said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    teachers who complain about their salary are just dumb. why would you go into a field knowing how low the salaries can be...then complain about the salary?

    So your saying...?



    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,566
    brianlux said:
    pjhawks said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    teachers who complain about their salary are just dumb. why would you go into a field knowing how low the salaries can be...then complain about the salary?

    So your saying...?



    uhhh no not at all but nice try. i'm saying you know (or should know) about the low salary going in.  it's like going to a rock concert and complaining it's loud. shouldn't you know that before you go in?
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
    pjhawks said:
    brianlux said:
    pjhawks said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    teachers who complain about their salary are just dumb. why would you go into a field knowing how low the salaries can be...then complain about the salary?

    So your saying...?



    uhhh no not at all but nice try. i'm saying you know (or should know) about the low salary going in.  it's like going to a rock concert and complaining it's loud. shouldn't you know that before you go in?

    Well, look, that photo was meant to be more humorous than anything.  My concerns about education are much broader than just the money or the hours.  It has more to do with declining quality of education in America. 

    I'm not sure why the hatred for teachers keeps popping up here from time to time.  I guess we all need something to argue about or someone to bash.  AMT, what can I say.  I'll continue be supportive of teachers, some of you will continue to bash teachers.  I can't change that.   But I can make decent coffee so...
    "Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
    -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"

    "Try to not spook the horse."
    -Neil Young













  • what dreamswhat dreams Posts: 1,761
    edited February 2020
    pjhawks said:
    It's conversations like these that have turned me into a teacher who never takes work home and leaves within the hour of the dismissal bell. I work my 200 contracted days for the hours I'm required (7:00-3:00) and that's it. I discovered very quickly that my putting in extra hours "for the children" made absolutely no difference on their bottom line -- grades, test scores, satisfaction with the class. Nothing. All it did was make me miserable, and then angry, about the wage theft. And then I would get involved in dumb conversations with disgruntled strangers who probably hated school when they were in school, probably weren't successful at it either which is why they hated it, so now they are adults who hate teachers just like they hated teachers when they were 12. These disgruntled adults go on and on about how I never work, and the paid holidays (which are NOT PAID), and I finally said, wait a minute, you are absolutely correct . . . I'm a professional under contract. My contract says 200 days, 7:00-3:00. That's all they're getting from me.  I became this way at around year 15. I'm now at year 26. Over a thousand kids have passed through my class since I began taking this stance, and they are fine. They're in college, working, starting families, etc. Nothing I did or didn't do as a teacher in my 200 day/8 hour a day job kept them from living their dream. I'm just not that powerful.
    If I do happen to spend any extra time, which is rare to non-existent, it is because I choose to, not because I feel like I'm some kind of superhero for toiling away at my kitchen table grading papers that students will just stuff in the trash anyway once I hand them back. 
    If every teacher did what I do, give the people what they're paying for -- in general, 193-200 days for 7.5-8 hours -- it would be fine. Trust me. Nobody would notice the difference. Teachers would get better at focusing their time on what matters. The things that don't get done are the things that don't matter. I have a lesson plan, I do the lesson, the grading gets done when it gets done. I'm not earning anything extra for being a superhero, nor do I have any desire to be a superhero, quite honestly. I have taken all these arguments to heart, and I absolutely agree -- teaching is a job just like any other, we all have to deal with stresses and demands -- and if I signed the same contract in any other field, I wouldn't be expected to work any more than what the contract states. No employer in any other field would write such a contract unless it were the expectation to work only those hours and days. Otherwise they would be in breach of contract. If my school board/state wanted me to work additional days and hours, they would have written a different contract. They didn't. I'm meeting the expectations of the contract.
    I encourage all teachers across America to jump on board. WORK TO CONTRACT. It's liberating.
    #RED4ED
    while I understand your point, and at times have take the same attitude for short periods of time at my job, be thankful you are in a union that basically, unless you sleep with a student, keeps you from ever being fired.  in the business world this attitude in most companies doesn't take you too far. 
    Again: bullshit.

    I teach in one of the 38 right to work states where there is NO collective bargaining or protection against arbitrary firing. After 26 years, right now as I type, I have a letter in my personnel file threatening termination if I do not "build better relationships with students." Right before Christmas, nine 7th graders complained about how they don't like me. And now I am tasked with being liked -- by a bunch of 12 year olds -- or being fired. It's the damn truth. I can be fired if KIDS report they don't like me.

    Please stop drinking the kool aid. You have no idea what you're talking about. Get informed. Actually read the teacher contracts in all 50 states. They are public documents. None of them guarantee a job for life.
    Post edited by what dreams on
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,488
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    I don't believe anyone who has not been a teacher or at least has spent a good deal of time working in a classroom (not as a student) can fully understand the stress of the job.  I did it for five years.  It's one of the toughest jobs around, honestly.
    I think every job has their own stress. 

    True, but I can tell you that having done ... let me count them... 18 different types of work (and many more jobs as some, such as retail and bookstore work, occurred in different places), teaching (three different teaching jobs) was by far one of the most stressful. 

    (P.S.  I've had something like 35 different jobs but have never been fired.  I just want to experience as much in life as possible 'cause ya only go around once!)
    I gotta admit, working in manufacturing, I cannot imagine a teachers stress level being higher. And once you achieve a certain level, I cannot imagine a teachers workload being greater or even equal. But again, people make choices. Can be a teacher knowing you get more time off but pay is lower generally and ability to rise in pay in stifled.  You also have your vacation days all picked out for you and less flexibility throughout the year.  There are trade-offs. 

    Also, teachers in most states are required to take continuing education classes. 
    And so are lawyers, engineers, etc.  Not to mention the annual/b-annual re-certification requirements for EPA, etc in those fields. 

    Yeah, those underpaid lawyers and engineers.  Sad, ain't it?!
    I’m not sure why you are changing the point.
    hippiemom = goodness
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