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Call a spade a spade. In most parts of the country, qualified applicants take more then 2 years to land a teaching job. That should tell you how "underpaid" they are. BS! Teachers only work a little over half the year, yet fetch a full years salary. They have lucrative retirement plans, health benefits and so on. Yet they act like they are working for Walmart wages. It's a total con-job projected by the strangle hold the liberal teacher's union has on our education system. Bad, horrible teachers are protected and never loose their jobs. It's is a JOKE! We have went from first to last and all the teachers scream for is year over year, more money and benefits.
In full disclosure, I am generalizing here. Some states offer far less pay and benefits, but as a whole, most teachers are very well compensated for their cushy, part time jobs!
My sister is a teacher. She laughs how easy it is all the time. She teaches the same course, laid out for her year after year. Has all the vacation time summers off, full coverage insurance, is home daily by 2:30 pm. You want to know what hard work is? Go be a plumber for a day, carpenter, nurse, floor installer, ups driver, and so on. Teachers go in for their 6-7 hour day, have weekends off, Christmass, off, Thanksgiving off, Spring break off, 12 3 or 4 day weekends, SUMMERS off, personal time off, sick leave, early retirement, and on and on and on. Quit griping and teach our kids something already!
Stan4- Were your friends recent graduates or was it years ago? I have my certifcicate to teach in the state where I live now. I am in the process of getting my certificate for another state. So far, I have taken 5 exams and I am currently taking a college math course to statisfy all of their requirements. I still have one more exam next month. I have spent well over $1000 plus I have not paid for the application or fingerprinting yet. I have a B.S and M.S in education by the way, not to mention 5 years of experience. Still, I have to jump through all of these hoops before I even start looking in the new state. I have heard that in the past it was pretty easy, but it is not that easy anymore.
We have already established that the hours that a teacher works varies by where they live. In my school, it is 7 hours that you are in front of the children. Dismissal takes about a 1/2 hour (sometimes longer), which puts the school day at about 7.5 hours. How is that part-time?
ALL CITY WORKERS receive the same or similar health benefits. Why do people get so mad that teachers have good healthcare?
If schools were open during holidays, parents would complain. Most would probably not send their children to school. You would be wasting resources by running schools during holidays (money for subs, wasted meals, ect.) Yet, you get mad that we don't work during holidays. The same thing goes for summer vacation; many parents would be upset if the children were in school all year. Children do deserve some down time. If you read the other posts, you would realize that many teachers do different school related things during the summer.
I am not going to disagree that there are some teachers that have "cushy" jobs, but that is not the majority.
Lastly, most of the posts were not made by teachers crying out for more money.
We have already established that the hours that a teacher works varies by where they live. In my school, it is 7 hours that you are in front of the children. Dismissal takes about a 1/2 hour (sometimes longer), which puts the school day at about 7.5 hours. How is that part-time?
ALL CITY WORKERS receive the same or similar health benefits. Why do people get so mad that teachers have good healthcare?
If schools were open during holidays, parents would complain. Most would probably not send their children to school. You would be wasting resources by running schools during holidays (money for subs, wasted meals, ect.) Yet, you get mad that we don't work during holidays. The same thing goes for summer vacation; many parents would be upset if the children were in school all year. Children do deserve some down time. If you read the other posts, you would realize that many teachers do different school related things during the summer.
I am not going to disagree that there are some teachers that have "cushy" jobs, but that is not the majority.
Lastly, most of the posts were not made by teachers crying out for more money.
Do not take this personal my friend, but I'm going to rip apart this post. It is the classic comeback and straw man's argument. I don't blame you, because in your world, all you know is one side of the coin. Now, view it factual from an outside perspective.
1. You work part time, because you only work a little over half the year when you tally up all the vacations! This does not even include personal time accumulated sick leave, early retirement options. Different states vary, but it is the norm. When I was in the restaurant bix, I worked 14 hours a day for often 30-35 days straight. There was no sick leave, summers off, going home at a certain time daily. This is how most of us work. Especially those running their own small business. Vacations come once every 2-3 years. We get shafted and hate hearing about teachers bragging about how grand their Christamas break or summer cruises were.
2. Perhaps in your state you fall under the state worker's benefit package, but not all states are that way. Where I used to reside, teachers threatened strike or went on strike for 8 consecutive years. Demanding year over year raises and better health care. Their health care, when I left was 100 full coverage across the board for them and their entire family! Even their children until age 25! Finally on the 9th year when they threatened yet another strike, the usual supporting public turned on them and in a bad way. They encountered full-time protesters to their demand under threat for raises and more benefits. People had enough.
3. The proof in in the pudding as they say. The average open union teaching position in this country fetches 380 qualified applicants! Every heard of supply and demand? If the job stinks so bad and is underpaid, then why the demand? Do you know how many applicants their are for elderly care positions? Negative 3! That is, there are three open positions nation wide for every applicant! Again, supply and demand tells us something about the job workload and actual pay.
4. Your diversion to parents would scream about schools open on holidays misses the point entirely. You, as a teacher get all that time off! Yet fetch a yearly salary and yearly benefits.
Teachers love their jobs because they are secure, know it is all but impossible to get fired, get sooooo many benefits and time off. It's an easy profession, plain and simple. 99% of teachers, simply teach the same redundant course year after year. It's simple and requires little to no innovation.
Now special ed teachers? They earn their money and again, the supply versus demand proves this! There is a nationwide shortage for special ed teachers. Why? Because they bust their behinds off and put up with a tom of stress on a daily and ongoing basis.
I'm not going to take it personal. You and I will probably not agree. I'm sorry that you feel the way that you do. I respect people in all professions. There are hard workers in all professions and those who try to get away with working as little as possible. You seem to think that all or most teachers are trying to get a free ride. That is not always the case.
1. I never implied that teaching was the only difficult profession, many are. I was working in a department store and it was challenging at times; challenging in a different way. Also, many people have posted about all of the work outside of the classroom, which you have chosen to ignore.
2. I can't comment about the benefits because as I already said, all city works here receive the same package.
3. I think that you are talking about applicants in highly desirable suburbs. I think that the demand varies by area and subject. There are still some places and subjects with a high need for teachers.
4. Why are you mad that teachers are given off time for holidays? My mother works in corporate America and receives days off too. Furthermore, she can take a vacation whenever she wants, not only during peak time. Teachers earn days just like workers in other professions. Oh yeah, a little off topic, but she can also go to the bathroom when she wants to.
5. Teaching is not easy. Have you done it? Seriously, you really should speak from experience.
On an off note, I once filled in for my school's secretary/ receptionist (private school) and I thought it would be easy. I was dealing with parents, answering the constantly ringing phone, and doing a million other things. After that experience, I realized how difficult her job is. I would never have known if I had not tried it.
6. Special ed students are in regular classes too. Almost all teachers work with special needs children. Let's not forget the children that have not been evaluated yet. I teach a subject and I work with special and regular ed classes. Some of the special ed classes were much easier to handle and teach than the regular education students. I do however realize that special ed does have the potential to be tougher.
Its always funny to see on this forum how people who have never spent one day in the classroom as an educator become scholars on education after reading a few articles online or what they have heard from friends/family about being an educator.
Its always funny to see on this forum how people who have never spent one day in the classroom as an educator become scholars on education after reading a few articles online or what they have heard from friends/family about being an educator.
I was thinking the same thing - amazing how people who know teachers but have never been a teacher are experts. It does seem a bit odd that the tone of some of resentment and angernderscores so many of the posts. Past unresolved issues?
I can only speak for my local school districts, but teachers are paid for ten months of the year. Some districts will divide that into twelve paychecks; however, most do not, though the credit union will help with financial arrangements for the lean summer months. It seems a common misconception that teachers are paid for not working - oh so not true. I work during the summer in addition to the mandatory school meetings, trainings, etc., I also take classes because the CEUs are required to renew my credential. For those teachers who actually get to vacation and have summer off - HURRAY!!!!
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