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squatting down to be at their level and tying shoes?
Physically demanding.......
Give me a break.
That cousin I mentioned? The one that has the whole summer off.....well, she once got a summer job in an egg crate factory from a temp agency.
She quit after the first day. Her complaints:
It is hotter than hell in there.
You cannot go get a drink whenever you want.
The piles of egg crates are heavy.
You have to work fast.
She actually had to RUN carrying these heavy piles of egg crates.
Well, that was not her kind of work environment. She quit.
And if I told her what you said about kindergarten being physically demanding, she would Laugh out loud. If kindergarten was "physically demanding' there probably wouldn't be overweight kindy teachers, would there, considering how much exercise all the teachers were getting.
I never said kindy teachers play all day. I said the workload is different, and a lot lower than some teachers in older grades. Have you ever graded 25 term papers x 5 English classes??? Just when do you think the English teacher is doing this?
I have seen what my child learned in kindergarten. And while I agree with you that they are fundamental, critical lessons, and are necessary building blocks for the child's educational future, it is not the same as a math teacher in high school teaching 5 calculus classes, who has all the homework and tests to grade. There is no comparison......
Have you ever seen all of the documentation that early childhood teachers are required to do? The paperwork load is comparable to grading exams and papers.
Physically demanding............Compared to what? A person sitting on their ass in an office chair? Sure? Compared to so many other working people? NO. It's ludacris.
After a year working in the pre-k, my back was shot. Any job where you are constanty standing can be tiring. I also did a lot of lifting. I had to go up and down stairs alot. Up until last year I taught in a room with no AC in 90+ degree weather. Once again, I never said that teaching is the MOST physically demanding job out there, but it is not the same as sitting at a desk all day.
Think what you want about teaching. I am done defending the profession. Hearing from people like you makes me understand why the children behave the way that they do. The parents are so ignorant as to what happens in the classroom, that they do not respect what teachers do and provide support.
After a year working in the pre-k, my back was shot. Any job where you are constanty standing can be tiring. I also did a lot of lifting. I had to go up and down stairs alot. Up until last year I taught in a room with no AC in 90+ degree weather. Once again, I never said that teaching is the MOST physically demanding job out there, but it is not the same as sitting at a desk all day.
Think what you want about teaching. I am done defending the profession. Hearing from people like you makes me understand why the children behave the way that they do. The parents are so ignorant as to what happens in the classroom, that they do not respect what teachers do and provide support.
Wow. I had written out something to respond to this, and then I had to erase it after reading more of the thread. I can't believe you replied as much as you did, especially after receiving such snobbish responses. There are two sayings I'd like to bring up: People hear only what they want to hear and if you don't get it, you don't get it.
You're right in quitting while you're ahead. Either people are too stubborn to listen to someone that has experience in the field or they're (intellectually) incapable of understanding. More than likely, it's the former.
By the way, when I say experience in the field, I do not mean volunteering in the classroom, observing a classroom setting, or even substituting.
You quote one person and read a couple posts then make a comment.
ah, actually I've made many posts in this thread and read the whole thing. Go back and re-read.
I've summed up many of the tired and usual complaints of teachers and compared them to what many people in the business or blue collar world go through and here's a NewsFlash: the things that have been complained about by teachers are the same things many other people have to deal with every singe day, like 52 weeks a year! You guys aren't any different.
and the last comment about having to stoop down and tie a kids shoe?? how teaching K-garten is physical? Standing on you feet all day. again, it just shows how small-minded and victimized many teachers are. And there's no reason for it. We in the private sector deal with the exact same things.
After a year working in the pre-k, my back was shot. Any job where you are constanty standing can be tiring. I also did a lot of lifting. I had to go up and down stairs alot.
I'd suggest you either had back problems before or have some stange medical condition if a year of teaching rug rats makes your back "shot".
You have a solution at hnad. Instead of complaining about how good teachers have it and how rough your work is, just go back to school and get your teaching certificate. Become a teacher and get in on the "easy life."
because just like the OP said, getting a teaching job is amazingly hard to do. There are very few vacancies. And that's the point. If it was such a horrible existence there'd be many openings but there are not that many. There are plenty of people who want the great benefits and vacation schedule (and sympathy and endless kiester-ki$$ing by the media)
After a year working in the pre-k, my back was shot. Any job where you are constanty standing can be tiring. I also did a lot of lifting. I had to go up and down stairs alot. Up until last year I taught in a room with no AC in 90+ degree weather. Once again, I never said that teaching is the MOST physically demanding job out there, but it is not the same as sitting at a desk all day.
Think what you want about teaching. I am done defending the profession. Hearing from people like you makes me understand why the children behave the way that they do. The parents are so ignorant as to what happens in the classroom, that they do not respect what teachers do and provide support.
Hey, at least you don't get punched, kicked, bitten, etc. A nurse has to deal with physical violence and, depending on the setting, that violence may occur every few days. Also we have to lift 300 pound+ people, maneuver in weird positions, deal with very verbal docs, be required to do everything almost perfectly the first time, be at risk for a plethora of various hospital infections, etc etc etc.
because just like the OP said, getting a teaching job is amazingly hard to do.
You're terribly misinformed. Or else being dishonest. I won't speculate on which it is.
Quote:
There are very few vacancies. And that's the point. If it was such a horrible existence there'd be many openings but there are not that many. There are plenty of people who want the great benefits and vacation schedule (and sympathy and endless kiester-ki$$ing by the media)
Go ahead and join the good life, then. New teachers are in such short supply in many areas that uncertified individuals are regularly hired. Get in on the gravy train.
Sounds to me like you're very bitter over failing to get a teaching position at some point in the past. But I may be off base here.
When I was in college I considered teaching as a profession. I looked at what was actually taught in the School of Education, what the work actually entailed and how much I was likely to get paid. Then I studied the physical and natural sciences and have found that environmental science and engineering to be a much more rewarding way to stay almost broke.
My wife is a teacher and I'm a data analyst/programmer. Compared to me, she has far more holidays and time off, with shorter work days, and a better retirment plan. On top of that, on an hourly basis ( including all the extra at-home hrs ), her hourly wage is higher than mine, and has a shorter commute to work. In most rural areas of the country, teaching is one of the highest paying jobs available. So to all of you teachers out there...you don't realize how good you have it compared to the great mass of working humanity. If you were to average out all the compensation earned by workers in all professions and jobs, teachers are waaaay above the average. Obviously, you're not earning a doctors salary, or a CEOs salary, but you got it better than most people who must work for a living. If the money was REALLY priority #1, you wouldn't be teaching anyway, would you?
Last edited by CosmicWizard; 12-04-2008 at 11:40 AM..
As a career educator, (nearing the age I can retire..shudder) I can say that no, you don't go into it for the money, you don't go into it for the vacations (for which you aren't paid by the way), the summers off, nor do you do it for the respect (from the looks of this post there is a lot of posters that really do not hold the profession in the highest regard). You do it because you love teaching. If you don't you usually don't spend a career doing it.
To all those who complain all the time about teaching (a lot of my friends say I wish I had a job like that, wish I had that time off, bla bla), all I can say is, if it is that easy or that good a job....why don't you become a teacher? In the original post, it was mentioned that there isn't a shortage of teachers. Where are you located. In Virginia, there is a critical shortage of teachers especially special ed, math and science teachers. They are advertising on TV for career switchers to become teachers..so come on, here is your chance to step up and not just complain.
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) I can say that no, you don't go into it for the money, you don't go into it for the vacations (for which you aren't paid by the way), the summers off, nor do you do it for the respect (from the looks of this post there is a lot of posters that really do not hold the profession in the highest regard). You do it because you love teaching. If you don't you usually don't spend a career doing it. 
