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Then go get employed somewhere else if the compensation isn't adequate.
Because the market says it is. The market says and MD degree is worth more than a computer science degree and a masters in teaching is more valuable in the market place than a masters in social work.
Again becaus the market says it is. The market sets the salaries, nothing else.
And given the current economical situation. Its more than fair to say that the market is not infallible and frequently gets things wrong.
Then you haven't been paying attention. Teachers are whining they don't make enough when they are asked to contribute a modest amount for their benefits.
For their failure, the American educations system is a world wide disgrace, they are over paid.
"According to the pro-education reform documentary Waiting for ‘Superman,’ one out of every 57 doctors loses his or her license to practice medicine.
One out of every 97 lawyers loses their license to practice law.
In many major cities, only one out of 1000 teachers is fired for performance-related reasons. Why? Tenure."
If my dentist fails me I can go to another dentist. When your kids school fails him, what can you do?
Very true there are bad teachers. But stop with the half truths, there are bad parents who shouldn't be allowed to have kids, those kids have to be educated as well.
If the kid keeps screwing around in class, doesn't do the homework, can the teacher get rid of the kid? Its pretty difficult. In the meantime, the instructional time for all is wasted.
Very true there are bad teachers. But stop with the half truths, there are bad parents who shouldn't be allowed to have kids, those kids have to be educated as well.
If the kid keeps screwing around in class, doesn't do the homework, can the teacher get rid of the kid? Its pretty difficult. In the meantime, the instructional time for all is wasted.
It is worth repeating. American parents are no better or worse than parents around the world yet our kids perform much worse than the rest of the world.
The market never gets compensation wrong. If you think your services are worth more than the market will bear, who will be proven right? The market, if you can't get the compensation you think you deserve, you don't deserve it.
It works in every facet of the market. If you think your house is worth a million dollars but the market doesn't, do you think you will get a million dollars for your house? Nope!
I would like to know how many of you would invest the money and time to become and remain a public school teacher even if you disregarded the current animosity directed at the Teachers of Wisconsin?
The animosity directed at the Wisconsin public school teachers is animosity they have earned by abandoning their classrooms and their students.
Having said that, I would love a job which gives me summers off to enjoy with my family and a six-hour work day. Unfortunately, I have to work long hours all year because I work in the real economy where getting paid with someone else's borrowed money isn't on the agenda.
It is worth repeating. American parents are no better or worse than parents around the world yet our kids perform much worse than the rest of the world.
Where is your statistic supporting your statement?
I'm not denying there are crappy teachers, but you're denying we have more problem parents.
There are stats showing how other nations have higher class sizes and get better scores.
You will never be able to retain good teachers if you cut their pay and do nothing about the parents and thier kids that are a waste of time. All it takes is 1 problem kid to ruin a class, even a year.
I am a former teacher who is currently an independent consultant in the Houston area.
As an educator, I think there are many issues that people don't think about. For example, there just aren't enough truly altruistic people in this country that are willing to work for what teaching pays. The salary in most parts of the country just isn't high enough.
To be an excellent teacher, you work very hard. For many years, I taught 6th through 8th grade mathematics both in the Houston area and the Rio Grande Valley. In order to do the job correctly, it is a 50 to 60 hour a week job at this grade level. And by correctly, I mean get at least 90 percent of your kids to pass the state mandated test in even the toughest classrooms.
I taught summer school all but one summer before I went independent. I also coached UIL (scholastic sports, so to speak). During UIL, I would easily put in 60 hours a week or more. For all the work I did, the compensation was far too little.
There is a book called, "Teachers Have it Easy". It is an excellent read that I highly recommend. This book follows the lives of excellent teachers, what they go through and how often excellent teachers quit to be in the private sector. Although I am still in education, I am now officially a part of the private sector.
Great teachers go into teaching because they either love children, enjoy helping the community or, generally, a combination of both.
It's funny, but despite the predicted job cuts in Texas, I predict there will actually be many more teaching jobs this year than last. The economy is turning around here, oil is hiring again and the good retail jobs are expanding. A lot of people who thought they loved children are finding out it isn't worth what the job entails.
I will end this post by saying this. Every American, whether they be conservative or liberal should be absolutely outraged by the assault on teachers by governor Walker. Polling data seems to indicate that they are. This gives me hope.
Perhaps Americans will finally wake up and realize that if the children are our future, we better damn well take care of those who educate the children.
Where is your statistic supporting your statement?
I'm not denying there are crappy teachers, but you're denying we have more problem parents.
There are stats showing how other nations have higher class sizes and get better scores.
You will never be able to retain good teachers if you cut their pay and do nothing about the parents and thier kids that are a waste of time. All it takes is 1 problem kid to ruin a class, even a year.
What? Are you seriously contending Americans are worse parents than the rest of the world? I think YOU need to provide some sort of evidence to support that thought.
The US spends the most per pupil in the world, we do not have a world class education system and it is because the unions run the system for the benefit of their members.
Having said that, I would love a job which gives me summers off to enjoy with my family and a six-hour work day. Unfortunately, I have to work long hours all year because I work in the real economy where getting paid with someone else's borrowed money isn't on the agenda.
6 hour work day? Even if you only count the hours students are in school, it's 7 hours (8-3 here). If a teacher can complete all their grading, lesson planning, remediation, and counseling between 8 and 3, they are far more of a rock star teacher than any of the ones I'm working with. Most teachers at my school are in the building from 7-4, and take grading or planning home with them.
I'm not going to pretend it's 100 hour work week (been there, done that in IT--it sucks), but it's hardly a 30 hour work week either. I'd say a veteran teacher in it 4-5 years is putting in 50 hour work weeks regularly. Obviously a first year teacher is going to have to do more to get up to speed and get comfortable.
Edit: If you wanted to be a slacker, could you get in at 7:59 and leave at 3:01 and do zero work outside the classroom? Sure, I guess--lots of movie days, probably. But any halfway decent instructor is going to put at least some effort into planning.
I am a former teacher who is currently an independent consultant in the Houston area.
As an educator, I think there are many issues that people don't think about. For example, there just aren't enough truly altruistic people in this country that are willing to work for what teaching pays. The salary in most parts of the country just isn't high enough.
To be an excellent teacher, you work very hard. For many years, I taught 6th through 8th grade mathematics both in the Houston area and the Rio Grande Valley. In order to do the job correctly, it is a 50 to 60 hour a week job at this grade level. And by correctly, I mean get at least 90 percent of your kids to pass the state mandated test in even the toughest classrooms.
I taught summer school all but one summer before I went independent. I also coached UIL (scholastic sports, so to speak). During UIL, I would easily put in 60 hours a week or more. For all the work I did, the compensation was far too little.
There is a book called, "Teachers Have it Easy". It is an excellent read that I highly recommend. This book follows the lives of excellent teachers, what they go through and how often excellent teachers quit to be in the private sector. Although I am still in education, I am now officially a part of the private sector.
Great teachers go into teaching because they either love children, enjoy helping the community or, generally, a combination of both.
It's funny, but despite the predicted job cuts in Texas, I predict there will actually be many more teaching jobs this year than last. The economy is turning around here, oil is hiring again and the good retail jobs are expanding. A lot of people who thought they loved children are finding out it isn't worth what the job entails.
I will end this post by saying this. Every American, whether they be conservative or liberal should be absolutely outraged by the assault on teachers by governor Walker. Polling data seems to indicate that they are. This gives me hope.
Perhaps Americans will finally wake up and realize that if the children are our future, we better damn well take care of those who educate the children.
Again the difficulties exist because of teachers unions, if good teachers were recognized through merit pay the poor teachers would leave the system. School choice would further raise the salaries for good teachers because of the competition to attract the best teachers.
The unions spend a huge amount of time making sure all their members get the same compensation regardless of ability. This is a system that enures good teachers will get discouraged.
The animosity directed at the Wisconsin public school teachers is animosity they have earned by abandoning their classrooms and their students.
Having said that, I would love a job which gives me summers off to enjoy with my family and a six-hour work day. Unfortunately, I have to work long hours all year because I work in the real economy where getting paid with someone else's borrowed money isn't on the agenda.
Why don't you become a teacher since it's so desirable?
Edit: If you wanted to be a slacker, could you get in at 7:59 and leave at 3:01 and do zero work outside the classroom? Sure, I guess--lots of movie days, probably. But any halfway decent instructor is going to put at least some effort into planning.
At the risk of being repetitive, there are no consequences for the slacker teacher and no rewards for the conscientous teacher. This is a system that is destined to guarantee failure.
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