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Sounds to me like your teaching position actually affords you plenty of extra time if you are able to hold down a second job with that many hours.
Ahh, I see. Only teachers will put in a full 40 hour work week (and then some) and be told how nice it is that they have such an easy job that the second job is for their "extra time". Now anyone else with a 65+ hr work week would get respect for the obvious large amount of family time they are sacrificing but no teachers have it way too easy for that.
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And I already agreed with you that is unreasonable, but one has to wonder why anyone would accept those terms of employment in the first place.
I am not sure if you are aware of it but there is a budget crisis going on. So in the era of huge cuts in budget schools and teachers are doing the very best they can to limit the impact it has on students. Unfortunately instead of being grateful for our sacrifice, people tell us we are the ones who should be grateful.
These were not the expectations 6 yrs ago when I started at this school.
It is also one of the reasons I have already accepted a full time research position starting in June. More money, less hours, more respect and I will miss my students everyday.
What is also very sad, to me, is that there will be students who miss YOU and who will loose the benefit of your knowledge and experience.
I have a cushy gig indeed when it comes to my students. They are brilliant, kind, ambitious, curious and eager to learn.
Word got out among my former graduates that I took my old research position back and it filtered down to my current students. It was very nice to see so many of the parents ask me not to go but I cannot sacrifice my own family endlessly for other people's children. When I got into teaching the pay was just enough that we could make it but with all the cuts it is not financially responsible anymore. It makes me really, really sad.
I will probably stay on purely as a mentor to the research program but it will not be the same.
Who's dissing you? Who's disrespecting your career choice? I think teachers are very smart people. With the notable exception of my son's current teacher, I have loved my children's teachers. My son's last SPED teacher LOST her entire home to a fire. I gave her the clothes off my kids' backs, I gave her all the money i could afford to, I gave her toys. If I didn't respect the job she did for my son, do you think I would do that? And she saw me as an equal. A valuable team member in my child's education.
If you don't respect the job you have, people can see it, it's clear as glass when a teacher doesn't like their job, doesn't like their kids, doesn't like their administration. That's why my son is having the issues he's having in his current placement. Because not only is his teacher ill trained for the job, but she doesn't like it.
After 4 years in the military, I discovered, I hated being in the military. It wasn't a good job for me, so I left it. Before I left it, I was a crappy airman. I sucked at my job. I feel sorry for the people who worked for me and with me. Being unhappy with your job, thinking that it's below you, thinking that people are disrespectful to your authority-- becomes very apparent. Just as you can take your students and line them based on their personalities. I can do that to all the teachers I have ever come in contact with. I could tell from a young age which people are good teachers and which ones despise their job!
John Q Public....Have you not been listening to what is being said about my profession?? Just read a few threads here and you'll get it. Within 5 minutes of someone discovering I'm a teacher, there's about a 50% chance of my being told 1) I am over paid 2) I have a part time job 3) I can't cut it in the real world 4) I only teach for the vacation schedule and 5) I have an easy job. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of being told that I'm too stupid to find a real job. I'm going back to my real job.
I don't care what people think but I don't need to hear the garbage I do when people find out I'm a teacher. I don't need to read the crap I do here on this site and in the press about my profession. Fortunately, I have another profession to go back to. One that doesn't get openly dissed by individuals or the press.
I don't think teaching is below me. I wouldn't have gone into teaching if I did. What I think is beneath me is having to defend my profession at every turn. THAT is what I'm sick of. Fortunately, I don't have to take it. I have options.
Seriously, why would I spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a teaching certificate if I thought teaching was beneath me when I already had a pretty nice gig as an engineer? I started working on my teaching degree 5 years before I was downsized out of my old job and the only reason I was chosen was I was ready to student teach. I told my boss six months before I was let go that I could be ready to student each by the time the lay offs came. His advice was for anyone who could to get ready to go to do so (they did not know how bad the blood letting would be at that time and we'd already lost half of our department in previous downsizings). I was chosen and so was a fellow engineer who was getting ready to open a motorcycle dealership.
I just love crap like this. I MUST think teaching is beneath me because I don't like being openly attacked and disrespected for being a teacher??? UGH. Just more disrespectful crap...
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 10-11-2011 at 05:24 PM..
I have a cushy gig indeed when it comes to my students. They are brilliant, kind, ambitious, curious and eager to learn.
Word got out among my former graduates that I took my old research position back and it filtered down to my current students. It was very nice to see so many of the parents ask me not to go but I cannot sacrifice my own family endlessly for other people's children. When I got into teaching the pay was just enough that we could make it but with all the cuts it is not financially responsible anymore. It makes me really, really sad.
I will probably stay on purely as a mentor to the research program but it will not be the same.
Just remember that your legacy lives on in them. You may no longer be teaching but, somewhere, is a student you taught teaching someone else.
The mentoring gig sounds good. I loved mentoring for the university and will go back to it when I'm back in engineering (they want mentors from industry so I haven't done this since I started teaching). It's fun working with kids who want to be there and want to learn.
by controlling who they teach, just like college. colleges get to choose who they teach so that they can demonstrate excellence in teaching. they are allowed to reject applicants and fail students.
none of the above are allowed in K12.
that is why K12 is custodial warehousing and college is a place of learning.
by controlling who they teach, just like college. colleges get to choose who they teach so that they can demonstrate excellence in teaching. they are allowed to reject applicants and fail students.
none of the above are allowed in K12.
that is why K12 is custodial warehousing and college is a place of learning.
That's a very good observation. Contrary to what the adminstrators tell us, the school I teach at isn't excellent because the teachers are excellent. It's excellent becuase we have top knotch students. It's easy to be an excellent teacher when you have great students. We have our stragglers but we're way above the surrounding districts in quality of students. In my last school, I couldn't get half of my class to pass my tests. Now I give half of my class a B or better and I give harder tests. It's not me who has changed. The difference is the students. This is a great teaching position. My biggest complaint is getting my students to take risks. They want to be assured they're on the right track every step of the way and I want them to step out on a limb. Take a chance, fall down, dust themselves off and firgure out the world does not end if you make mistakes.
Ahh, I see. Only teachers will put in a full 40 hour work week (and then some) and be told how nice it is that they have such an easy job that the second job is for their "extra time". Now anyone else with a 65+ hr work week would get respect for the obvious large amount of family time they are sacrificing but no teachers have it way too easy for that.
I am not sure if you are aware of it but there is a budget crisis going on. So in the era of huge cuts in budget schools and teachers are doing the very best they can to limit the impact it has on students. Unfortunately instead of being grateful for our sacrifice, people tell us we are the ones who should be grateful.
These were not the expectations 6 yrs ago when I started at this school.
It is also one of the reasons I have already accepted a full time research position starting in June. More money, less hours, more respect and I will miss my students everyday.
You keep putting words in my mouth and making assumptions. You also
Have a huge chip on your shoulder and sound very bitter and angry, but your anger is misplaced. Yes, I realize schools are in a budget crisis and clearly it has effected your lifestyle. But the whole economy is in the toilet, and MANY in the private sector have had their lifestyle effected as well.
IOW, you're preaching to the choir and blaming them as well! A lot of us are having a rough time.
As for the teachers at your school filling in so the kids can continue to have extra curricular activities, those teachers should be commended for their truly selfless act!!
Do I think you're less of a Teacher for not doing the same? Do I think you should sacrifice your family's time and financial status to do the same? Not at all!!
Clearly you need to get this off your chest; why else would you direct your anger at someone who not only agrees you should not have to do extra curricular twice a week, but at someone who did not cause your plight?
Now if you tell me you are heartbroken because you are essentially being forced to leave the job you love more than any other, I can understand your misplaced anger, but it is misplaced.
John Q Public....Have you not been listening to what is being said about my profession?? Just read a few threads here and you'll get it. Within 5 minutes of someone discovering I'm a teacher, there's about a 50% chance of my being told 1) I am over paid 2) I have a part time job 3) I can't cut it in the real world 4) I only teach for the vacation schedule and 5) I have an easy job. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of being told that I'm too stupid to find a real job. I'm going back to my real job.
I don't care what people think but I don't need to hear the garbage I do when people find out I'm a teacher. I don't need to read the crap I do here on this site and in the press about my profession. Fortunately, I have another profession to go back to. One that doesn't get openly dissed by individuals or the press.
I don't think teaching is below me. I wouldn't have gone into teaching if I did. What I think is beneath me is having to defend my profession at every turn. THAT is what I'm sick of. Fortunately, I don't have to take it. I have options.
Seriously, why would I spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a teaching certificate if I thought teaching was beneath me when I already had a pretty nice gig as an engineer? I started working on my teaching degree 5 years before I was downsized out of my old job and the only reason I was chosen was I was ready to student teach. I told my boss six months before I was let go that I could be ready to student each by the time the lay offs came. His advice was for anyone who could to get ready to go to do so (they did not know how bad the blood letting would be at that time and we'd already lost half of our department in previous downsizings). I was chosen and so was a fellow engineer who was getting ready to open a motorcycle dealership.
I just love crap like this. I MUST think teaching is beneath me because I don't like being openly attacked and disrespected for being a teacher??? UGH. Just more disrespectful crap...
I know many teachers personally and I have never witnessed anyone openly diss them. Maybe you're just hanging around with the wrong crowd. The press? CD? Really? Definitely not something to lose sleep over.
John Q Public....Have you not been listening to what is being said about my profession?? Just read a few threads here and you'll get it. Within 5 minutes of someone discovering I'm a teacher, there's about a 50% chance of my being told 1) I am over paid 2) I have a part time job 3) I can't cut it in the real world 4) I only teach for the vacation schedule and 5) I have an easy job. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of being told that I'm too stupid to find a real job. I'm going back to my real job.
I don't care what people think but I don't need to hear the garbage I do when people find out I'm a teacher. I don't need to read the crap I do here on this site and in the press about my profession. Fortunately, I have another profession to go back to. One that doesn't get openly dissed by individuals or the press.
I don't think teaching is below me. I wouldn't have gone into teaching if I did. What I think is beneath me is having to defend my profession at every turn. THAT is what I'm sick of. Fortunately, I don't have to take it. I have options.
Seriously, why would I spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a teaching certificate if I thought teaching was beneath me when I already had a pretty nice gig as an engineer? I started working on my teaching degree 5 years before I was downsized out of my old job and the only reason I was chosen was I was ready to student teach. I told my boss six months before I was let go that I could be ready to student each by the time the lay offs came. His advice was for anyone who could to get ready to go to do so (they did not know how bad the blood letting would be at that time and we'd already lost half of our department in previous downsizings). I was chosen and so was a fellow engineer who was getting ready to open a motorcycle dealership.
I just love crap like this. I MUST think teaching is beneath me because I don't like being openly attacked and disrespected for being a teacher??? UGH. Just more disrespectful crap...
Isn't that the same thing you have said about stay at home mom's? I don't think you respect your profession, and that's why you are struggling with teaching. You had the impression that anyone who had any technical knowledge could teach, but teaching is an art, it's a gift. Just because you spent $10,000, worked in research for years and years and years, and now have a teaching certificate, does NOT mean that you are a good teacher, nor does it mean that the profession is the right place for you. Just because someone is a bad teacher does not make them a bad person. I knew the moment I walked into a classroom, that I was not going to be a good teacher. I don't have the patience or the personality for it.
People respect teachers who respect them. A teacher who refers to my child is a special little snow flake in a sarcastic manner on a bulletin board while asking what she could do to show her worth, is not someone I will respect or admire as a teacher, because already proves that you have a disdain for my children and for me. A teacher who thinks because she is an engineer and deserves to be in a position above all others isn't going to garner much respect either. A person who has no respect for their job, isn't going to get respected either.
As a parent-- I am well aware that teachers get crappy pay. I'm well aware that there are difficult parents (I KNOW some), but that doesn't mean all parents are like that. And as a parent, I don't want to be the only one accountable for my child's education. I'm not a teacher, I don't know what the heck I'm doing, I need teachers help to help my child be successful, and I don't see how that can happen when certain teachers don't respect the role they play in my kid's life.
And teachers do get dumped on. I know this, my mom's a daycare provider, the teachers that get dumped dump on her, because hey here's a person who works with children that doesn't have her degree or her teaching certificate, so that's one more person that I know more about children than. But you know what else, so does everyone who works in the public sector... Police, do you think cops are respected? Military personnel, when you go to work, do you have people protesting outside your gate where your kids can see pouring pig's blood all over themselves and calling you a baby killer. Ever have to explain that to a 3 year old? Firemen, they run into burning buildings work 72 hour shifts, and get paid crappier than you do. The President, that job may pay well, but OMG if something happens that's completely out of your control, you become one of the most hated people in the world, and contrary to that, if something good happens, you get a noble peace prize. And then there are the people who are unemployed-- get a job, you worthless slob. You may have gotten fired from your cushy lab job, but at least you have something. There are people, who don't have jobs at all, people who have lost their homes.
Teaching is a hard job, it's sometimes a thankless job, and it pays really poorly. But tenure should not protect crappy teachers, and teachers should be held accountable for how they perform.
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UGH. Just more disrespectful crap...
