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I think we should go back to the calendar that was used 20yrs ago. 1st day of school was 1/2 day before Labor Day, 1st full day was the Tue. after. Then come spring we were out the 3rd week of May.
The kids and teachers hardly get into the summer break and it time to head back. They spend the first 3-3 1/2 mths reviewing for T-caps, Not learning new lessons. That seems to me and other people iv spoken with, is the most important, (T-caps). My generation turned out ok as well as the one's before me.
Our children are rushed thru the education so fast due to the demands of the advanced times. They do not retain what they are taught. I could go on and on, it will not do any good. All i can say is.. Give the kids and teachers a full vaca to where they are rested mentally and physically, i bet all scores will climb up up up, therefore everyone WINS. Just my opinion, GalJeeper
'nother vote for year 'round. Today was the first day of our modified summer school (taught just before school begins this year). I had the honors math class, and began my course with a basic review topic from last year. About half the kids had zero clue what I was talking about. These are honors kids--they will pick it up by the end of the week and be good to go, but that's a wasted week that could have been spent going forward after just a day of review instead.
Selfishly, as a teacher, I'd LOVE a year 'round calendar. But only my school--not the whole country Then I could take cheap cruises and find good airfare during non-peak times, instead of fighting everyone for European vacations in July.
I don't think you'll find too many people who don't realize that the summer is WAY TOO LONG. All the long summer does is allow kids to get lazy and forget. 12 weeks is WAY PAST resting and recharging and well into lazy and lethargic. I know I'm there. I was ready to go back three weeks ago but by the time we do, I'll be so lethargic it will take me weeks to ramp up to full speed and THEN when we get well into that 14 week stretch from Christmas break to Easter break I'll be wishing I had some of this time back.
LOL at only your school. That would be nice... We need year round schools for so many reasons. I have no idea why we don't just do it.
I think we should go back to the calendar that was used 20yrs ago. 1st day of school was 1/2 day before Labor Day, 1st full day was the Tue. after. Then come spring we were out the 3rd week of May.
The kids and teachers hardly get into the summer break and it time to head back. They spend the first 3-3 1/2 mths reviewing for T-caps, Not learning new lessons. That seems to me and other people iv spoken with, is the most important, (T-caps). My generation turned out ok as well as the one's before me.
Our children are rushed thru the education so fast due to the demands of the advanced times. They do not retain what they are taught. I could go on and on, it will not do any good. All i can say is.. Give the kids and teachers a full vaca to where they are rested mentally and physically, i bet all scores will climb up up up, therefore everyone WINS. Just my opinion, GalJeeper
As a teacher, I disagree. I'm well rested after six weeks vacation. I'd rather take the other four as weeks during the year. I'd like to shorten the summer so much, I'd even give them two of those weeks in exchange for a mid winter break and a fall break in October!!
I'm weeks past rested, relaxed and ready to go and now I'm into lethargic and tough to get started. I WISH school had already started. My kids wish school had already started. We've been on vacation since the third week of June. We've had enough for now. Sadly, we'll need some later but it won't be there because we used it now.
Not true. I had more time off as an engineer. I had six weeks vacation plus three weeks of holidays and I never worked weekends I wasn't paid for or offered comp time for (this was after 17 years in service. A new hire would have up to 4 weeks vacation (depending on whether or not they purchased vacation time) and the same 15 holidays). As a teacher, I have 13 weeks off plus 5 holidays BUT I work, at least, six weeks worth of weekend days during the school year. So, not counting ANY work I do in the evenings at home or staying after school during the week, I'm down one week vacation/holiday time over what I would have had as an enginer, PLUS, I had 5 personal days and unlimited sick days as an engineer. I have 2 personal days and 10 sick days as a teacher. Edited to add: How does the pay compare you ask???? I make half of what I did as an engineer as a teacher. So even if I had 10 weeks more vacation as a teacher, they'd be VERY EXPENSIVE VACATION weeks.
I'm not kidding that you'd have to make the year about 60 weeks long just to give me the comp time I'd have coming, on top of a normal vacation schedule, if you comped every hour over 45 I work as a teacher during the school year. And this is before I take the classes that are REQUIRED to keep my certification. I figure I'm owed 12 weeks comp time on top of the six weeks vacation I would have had if I'd stayed in engineering and two weeks of holidays. The Saturday's and Sunday's we work should be taken off of our vacation total and when you do that, you'll find that we don't have as much vacation time as everyone else. I would, however, settle for being paid like I was as an engineer which would be my base salary for the first 45 hours and then time and a half for every hour after that. I could actually afford to send my kids to college then.
Teachers don't have a lot of time off. We just shift time. We work it during the school year and then take it back in the summer. The first six weeks of my 10 week summer vacation are just getting back the weekends I worked during the school year. The next six, oh wait, I don't have a next six...but I digress...give me back the hours I work in the evenings on school nights..... In the end, I'm left with one weeks vacation and 5 holidays... I think that's less than most people get. I wouldn't mind if they paid me like I work 55 hours a week but they pay me like I only work the 35 hours a week the kids are in school.
My husband works about 50 hours a week (paid 70% more than me) and has 2 weeks vacation, about 10 holidays, 5 personal days and unlimited sick days.
Right now, assuming a teacher works a second job in the summer pay is very comparable to other professions. If schools were to go year round, pay would have to be adjusted accordingly. The fact that you were paid overtime as an engineer is a very rare thing. Here is the problem though, many in the business world work weekends as well, but don't have the luxury of the summer to 'catch up'.
The national average salary for teachers in the United States is $52,000/yr. that is for nine months of work. If a teacher works a second job for the three months they get off that other professions do not, that would be an additional $17,333 ( (52k/9)*3 ). That brings a teacher's net average salary to $69,333. The average salary for an electrical engineer across the United States is only $72,000, so really teachers are not paid bad at all...If we were to move to year round schooling, I would advocate a 1/3 pay increase for all teachers to compensate for the extra work.
Right now, assuming a teacher works a second job in the summer pay is very comparable to other professions. If schools were to go year round, pay would have to be adjusted accordingly. The fact that you were paid overtime as an engineer is a very rare thing. Here is the problem though, many in the business world work weekends as well, but don't have the luxury of the summer to 'catch up'.
The national average salary for teachers in the United States is $52,000/yr. that is for nine months of work. If a teacher works a second job for the three months they get off that other professions do not, that would be an additional $17,333 ( (52k/9)*3 ). That brings a teacher's net average salary to $69,333. The average salary for an electrical engineer across the United States is only $72,000, so really teachers are not paid bad at all...If we were to move to year round schooling, I would advocate a 1/3 pay increase for all teachers to compensate for the extra work.
First, that three months includes Christmas break, mid winter break (if you have one) and spring break. Most teachers work at least one of the weeks the kids are off during the summer. So we're looking at 10 weeks tops we could work.
I would have to make $45K during the summer to make a wage comperable to what I made as an engineer. You tell me where I can find that job and I'll race over there. If I temped at $45/hr and worked 55 hours per week, I would only make $24K for the 10 weeks I'm off during the summer, and I'm not likely to get either $45/hr or 10 weeks work for the summer. Plus if I work the 10 weeks I'm off, when do I recoup from the school year, set up my room and take the classes I need to keep my cert?
Just who do you think is paying over $5k/month for summer work out there???? Again, tell me and I'll run to get that job. I love the fictitious, YOU CAN GET A SUMMER JOB AND MAKE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE MAKES arugment. It's just not true. Companies don't hire teachers at $1700/week for the summer. Not very often anyway and that's what they'd have to pay for me to make the $17K you claim I can make in the 10 weeks I'm off during the summer.
You just keep on making statements that couldn't be farther from the truth. Someone with degrees comparable to mine is making twice what I do as I did when I worked in industry and that was on a 45 hour work week with no OT.
One reason I'd love year round schools is so stupid arguments like this one would finally die along with the excuse to keep teacher wages low (I've already explained to you that I am already working more hours as a teacher than I did as an engineer and your solution is I should work even MORE hours by getting a summer job???). Seriously, where are these jobs paying $1700 per week just for the 10 weeks we happen to be off? I'd REALLY like to know. I have a masters degree in engineering and I can't pull that off. For temp work, I can get about $25/hr but that's about it and it's unlikely the assignment will fit exactly into my 10 weeks off (I could get about $45/hr for a long term temp assignment lasting several months to a couple of years but 10 weeks in the summer will be slim pickings). It's more likely I'd be vacation coverage for July/August.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 08-15-2011 at 04:05 PM..
Fall--->3rd week of October through 3rd week of December
Winter break---> 4th week of December through 1st week of January
Winter--->2nd week of January through 3rd week of March
Spring break---> 4th week of March through 1st week of April
Spring---> 2nd week of April through 3rd week of June
Summer break---> 4th week of June through 1st week of July
Summer--->2nd week of July through 3rd week of September
Fall break---4th week of September through 1st week of October...
Days off---> President's Day, Good Friday (if applcable), Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving (2 days)
Right now, assuming a teacher works a second job in the summer pay is very comparable to other professions. If schools were to go year round, pay would have to be adjusted accordingly. The fact that you were paid overtime as an engineer is a very rare thing. Here is the problem though, many in the business world work weekends as well, but don't have the luxury of the summer to 'catch up'.
The national average salary for teachers in the United States is $52,000/yr. that is for nine months of work. If a teacher works a second job for the three months they get off that other professions do not, that would be an additional $17,333 ( (52k/9)*3 ). That brings a teacher's net average salary to $69,333. The average salary for an electrical engineer across the United States is only $72,000, so really teachers are not paid bad at all...If we were to move to year round schooling, I would advocate a 1/3 pay increase for all teachers to compensate for the extra work.
It wouldn't be more work...it would be the same amount spread out...
Going to school full time, participating in several clubs and choir after school and then working an average of 4 hrs per week night (assuming you had weekends off) while maintaining a high GPA, plus doing chores around the house doesn't leave you very much time for homework or anything else. It must have been difficult to get your research papers written and other homework assignments done. I'm guessing that you probably didn't get very much sleep in those days.
I can't imagine a teenager trying to keep that pace up year round and for years on end...
It was very demanding but my parents wanted to prepare me for real life. They both grew up very poor and wanted to make sure we (my siblings and I) were able to make a decent life for ourselves. When I was in high school I would go to work at 3-4pm and work until 9 pm (at JCPenney) then come home and do homework, I also typically worked at least one day on the weekend. My parents also did interesting things to teach me about money (I'm actually thankful for them now) such as making me buy all my own clothes and paying the electric bill.
Most people in the business world work 50ish hours/week. That isn't unreasonable (especially for a profession that gets so many days off). We would obviously need more teachers, however.
Children are NOT little adults. These days are way too long for kids. Heck, kids need UNSTRUCTURED time and down time more than adults do. If you keep kids in school for long periods, when will they learn to be independent and to solve their own social problems?
These kinds of days are long even for adults and they are often less productive.
I know it will never happen (for exactly the reasons you stated), but it is a shame. Students (like and adult schedule is now) should be at school for 7-8 hours/day, year round and then have work to do at home on top of that.
No, they should not. Kids need time to just be kids. Let's not make it all about work for kids.
They certainly can learn what is needed without these long days. Are you aware that in Germany, children go from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. They do often have a Saturday school every other week though.
I don't think that we should be regimenting kids constantly.
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Then I could take cheap cruises and find good airfare during non-peak times, instead of fighting everyone for European vacations in July.
If I temped at $45/hr and worked 55 hours per week, I would only make $24K for the 10 weeks I'm off during the summer, and I'm not likely to get either $45/hr or 10 weeks work for the summer. Plus if I work the 10 weeks I'm off, when do I recoup from the school year, set up my room and take the classes I need to keep my cert? 
Someone with degrees comparable to mine is making twice what I do as I did when I worked in industry and that was on a 45 hour work week with no OT.
