[olecapt]

That is a classical story of teaching in an inner city school virtually anywhere in the US. The reason for the 35 kids is not growth...it is that teachers won't take the job. And as you listen to the story why blame them?

Low teacher salaries is a southwestern custom - AZ, NV, NM, UT all pay badly..only CA pays well and they don't get much results. Got nothing to do with Casino gold...it is the nature of the taxpayer here.

We can split up like LA did...centralize all the inner city kids in one school system and break off all the suburbs into their own districts. Works very well for the suburbs.

And I believe the custom is to trap the newby teacher into an inner city school for their first two years. They then quit during that period or, at the end of it, move to a suburban school. A few brave heros with a vocation stay on...most go to on to other things.

I had a client, gentle, older gay guy...who ended up in an inner city middle school. Gave it up after a year. It was clear the students had his number and he could not coup. Might have been a great teacher in a different environment.

I have personally been in favor of moving the education salaries to the average in the US. I think though the only way that will occur will be by a referendum driven by the teachers...and it may well lose.

All said however it does not effect the quality of the schools in Summerlin or Green Valley. The good schools are still good...the bad ones still horrid.

[lvkewlkid]

Come on, even I went to a school in Green Valley, and we had 35-40 students in each class...the WHOLE district is over crowded, then when they closed Burkholder it had gotten even worse...

[Buzz123]

Where I went to school the first and second grades were combined in one classroom with one teacher, first graders on the left, second graders on the right. Look how wonderful I turned out.

Seriously, splitting up CCSD scares me even though I don't have a dog in the fight. When I was in Texas I remember all the controversy over all the "unified" school districts there, and how the kids in low income neighborhoods were getting the short end of the stick because the rich neighborhoods had all the money for whatever they needed. I think we should spend the same on each kid.

I hate saying this because it makes Nevada sound bad, but having been a state employee for over 13 years I found many of the departments to be run by gutless wonders who would never make it in the real world. They know what they need but they don't have the guts to stand up and try to get it; or they just bury have their heads in the sand and pray their retirement gets here ASAP before some outraged member of the public gets them fired for something they didn't do because you know what flows downhill. I've never seen so many people just wishing their lives away every single day. But it's a tough job because no matter how hard you work or how much good you do the public thinks you are never doing your job and all their problems are your fault.

I don't know if this is the same in the school district but I'd be surprised if it wasn't; however, managers of divisions who make up the budget requests won't tell their directors what they really need. Directors won't tell the Governor, and no matter what they tell the legislature, those idiots are going to cut it even more in an attempt to look good to the voters. And in Nevada, as I'm sure it is in most states, the voters don't want the state to spend anything except on their own personal interests. But, on the other hand; give a department more money than it really needs and they will find a way to waste it in order to get the same thing next year. State employees live in fear of privatization, and their managers use that threat at every opportunity to scare them into working harder. They work harder and all they get is more threats. They seldom ever get a sincere thank you for what they do even though the majority of office burdens fall on their shoulders to handle. The thank yous, if there are any, always seem to go to the non-participant, and that is usually someone in Carson City. Everything is controlled by Carson City and those people hate Southern Nevada with such a passion its a wonder we ever get anything. They spend their lives up there hating us down here, and down here most residents think of Carson City and Reno as some little towns "up there" in the north someplace and never give them a second thought. You'd think since we pay all their bills they would be appreciative, but all they are is jealous. Still I love Northern Nevada and I wish they loved me back. If they could get over their bitterness towards the south we'd have a much better state.

Anyway, if teachers are ever going to get raises it will have to start with them getting together and raising enough of a fuss that the public gets behind them and comes down hard on the legislature and those in charge of the school districts.

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by movingon2vegas

I do feel that teachers should be one of the highest paid professions. I honestly don't understand why they are the lowest. I mean teachers are the ones who educate the future CEO's and such.

There are two basic reasons.

1. Everyone thinks that they know how to do it (unlike, say, their attitude toward brain surgery), and
2. It's a woman's profession.

The latter reason is the more important.