Longer School year ? (insurance, school district, salary)
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Some people like teachers have the Canada health care style and more because they are in a union and they have a double whammy over union workers in the private sector, whose company has to make a profit to stay in business and pay them because they are paid out of the taxpayers' money and it's a wild party with the union officials and the politicians because the sky's the limit. What other "professional" is in a union but a teacher in the NY tri-state area? And they expect to be seen on a par with professions who can hold their own without unions (like attorneys, etc.). So what happens? Teachers in the rest of the country are humble public servants paid modestly. Our teachers get into the 6 figures with experience, benefits fully paid for some and low contributions for others, have pensions they don't have to contribute to while the rest of us are stuck with crappy 401ks that our employer doesn't have to give a dime to, etc.
It depends on the company. My co matches 50% of what we put in. I know some companies that match 100%.
Your copay is lower than my copay as a teacher. You are very lucky to have a great copay like that.
Thank you, yes. Private sector isn't as bad as people make it out to be. If it was, no one would do it. Teachers are probably thinking how could anyone want to work all year long and sit at a desk all day? I got lucky I guess, but my company really takes good care of it's employees. I don't complain about my job or being underpaid...even though I know that I am...but it is hard to not get annoyed when teachers complain they are underpaid b/c they work virtually half the amount of time we do.
My feeling is that if teachers want to make more money, fine, but they should work 12 months like everyone else.
As a teacher, I don't think that I am truly underpaid in the district that I am in, but I hate it when people always attack teacher's salaries and want to cut our salaries with little knowledge of our job and responsibilities. I think people truly believe teachers hardly work.
My husband in the private sector used to think that teachers had it easy until he married me and actually sees how much time and work goes into it. (He works hard too...but he is the first to admit he could never be a teacher and deal with what I deal with).
What bothers me is when people spew falsities and think we get everything for free. We pay taxes, healthcare (more for the family plan), union fees, medical copays on top of healthcare fees. Nobody matches our optional retirement funds. We have to pay for dental and eyecare if we want it too and we pay into our social security.
I'm not complaining....I love my job. I'm just setting the record straight to those that think teachers get everything for free.
As a teacher, I don't think that I am truly underpaid in the district that I am in, but I hate it when people always attack teacher's salaries and want to cut our salaries with little knowledge of our job and responsibilities. I think people truly believe teachers hardly work.
My husband in the private sector used to think that teachers had it easy until he married me and actually sees how much time and work goes into it. (He works hard too...but he is the first to admit he could never be a teacher and deal with what I deal with).
What bothers me is when people spew falsities and think we get everything for free. We pay taxes, healthcare (more for the family plan), union fees, medical copays on top of healthcare fees. Nobody matches our optional retirement funds. We have to pay for dental and eyecare if we want it too and we pay into our social security.
I'm not complaining....I love my job. I'm just setting the record straight to those that think teachers get everything for free.
hah, well *I* wasn't the one said that, I believe it was RiddleMeThis, after he/she insulted my intelligence for disagreeing with him/her. I know you guys don't get it for free...my mom is a teacher and most of my friends are. I do hear a lot though that you all are underpaid. I would def. say the salaried private-sector people who work long hours and aren't paid by the hour are probably underpaid...for example my boss. I guess I just get frustrated b/c my friends who are teachers and are complaing they are underpaid make more more than I do and work less hours a day. It's easy to see how that could get annoying.
And Llama...I tried to positive rep you earlier, but it wouldn't let me and told me I had to spread the wealth around, lol.
Last edited by Jdawg8181; 10-01-2009 at 08:19 PM..
First of all, we have been down this road before. In the 1950s, after Sputnik, there was an outcry about how we had the dumbest kids on the planet and there was a huge clamor to introduce more math and science in the schools. No one at that time suggested extending the school day or school year. Remember those were the days when few kids went to educational preschools, kindergarten was a half day and kindergartners and first graders took a "nap." Elementary school students also had recess and most kids went home for lunch.
Secondly comparing American education with the systems in Europe and Asia are like comparing apples and oranges. Only the brightest and most elite students go to "university." There are more students here who attend post-secondary schools. I would have to agree that the average 10 year old in Europe or Asia does seem to be more "educated" than our 10 year olds, but it all changes when they get older. Only the brightest get to go on the fast track and tackle the very competitive exams for higher education. In the UK, secondary education ends at age 16. And believe it or not, there is now a trend in Japan to copy some of the American models of education. There is a move to incorporate more of the crtical thinking skills, "think for yourself" type of policy, and being creative that is applauded here, rather than learning through rote and memorization. We shall see how this works out for the Japanese students in a few years.
Agree with this ... I'm pretty amazed there are people walking around with Masters Degrees and MBAs that do not know the difference between "you're" and "your", "it's" and "its", and cannot solve such complicated algebraic expressions like 3x=6, solve for x . How these students got through English 101 is a mystery to me !
Today universities offer degrees in things like "sports management" . A four year degree used to mean something . You actually needed some comprehension of the English language and reasoning skills to make it through.
Seems like today college is an extension of high school, and a four year degree about as meaningful as a high school education was in 1975 .
I totally agree with you Lifetimeliguy. There have been articles written about degree inflation. Measuring the quality of education should not be based on the number of people attending 2 year and 4 year college programs.
For some reason, on Long Island, vocational education gets a bum rap. Yes, we would like everyone to have a good basic education in spelling, math skills, geography, etc., but not everyone needs to attend college. We need plumbers, pipefitters, automechanics, and electricans too. And these professions pay decently and can lead to becoming the owner of a small business. If everyone attends college, then the programs have to be tailored to the "average or less than average" academic ability. Therefore, the college degree has less value in terms of reflecting academic quality. We still have those highly selective colleges, but a degree from a college with a ranking of 100 on one of those best college lists starts to look meaningless.
Several years ago, my highschooler was studying for the regents exams with those red and white Barron's review books. Looking for some extra math questions for practice, I pulled out my old Barron's Regents review books. Even though the math curricula has changed, there were still relevant practice questions. Then I pulled out my brother's Barrons' regent review books from the early 1960s. The regents from my brother's era was definitely more difficult than the regents exams that I took, even though the formats were identical. Then I compared the regents exams that my kid was taking. Some had the same format, some slightly different, but they were easier than the ones I took, and much easier than the ones my brother took. The biggest difference seemed to be in foreign language. I would have to say that my kid's school day was longer than mine or my brother's school day, but the number of days of school per year was probably around the same.
Sharp post. How can you compare morally restrained Japanese children to some of the unbridled ghetto slum schools of this country. These schools are more about fashion show and tell/babysitting than serious scholarship. Kids could spend 24 hours a day in some of these schools and still learn nothing. The heavy duty learning occurs in the home not the school.
This bill is all about annexing the control of the child from the family to the state. The key to educating your children is to engage them at home with someone that cares about them and their education. By assigning their education to a government worker they are sure to not achieve and fall further behind the ethnically homogeneous Oriental and European nations where family is still a priority over work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vlorak
what do you mean it's a great idea? for what? so you don't have to spend time with your kids? really? you know what, let's take it up a notch. let's do all schools like boarding schools so we don't have to deal with our kids at all. 6 hrs a day it's an awful lot. the fact is, kids don't get to spend enough time with families as it is. there is a lack of family values, because kids don't get to spend time with families. now, you think it's a brilliant idea to take them to school all year round? they'll end up hating school altogether, and by high school they'll be dropping out of schools like pumpkins
this is a joke. at least i hope it's a joke
if our kids aren't as smart as the japanese kids, well, sit down, and start working with your kids. all learning is not done in school. a lot of it is done at home. roll up your sleeves and start helping your kids.
hah, well *I* wasn't the one said that, I believe it was RiddleMeThis, after he/she insulted my intelligence for disagreeing with him/her. I know you guys don't get it for free...my mom is a teacher and most of my friends are. I do hear a lot though that you all are underpaid. I would def. say the salaried private-sector people who work long hours and aren't paid by the hour are probably underpaid...for example my boss. I guess I just get frustrated b/c my friends who are teachers and are complaing they are underpaid make more more than I do and work less hours a day. It's easy to see how that could get annoying.
And Llama...I tried to positive rep you earlier, but it wouldn't let me and told me I had to spread the wealth around, lol.
thanks jdawg. I wasn't addressing you in the post or insinuating you made any comments. I was just making a general post to vent and it happened to come after you. I do agree with many of the points in your posts. You come at the situation very balanced as someone from the private sector who actually knows the facts about teachers as well. (I was able to give you a rep point for your fair and balanced views)
I am a high school teacher. Believe me, there are no specials or recess. I teach the 6 hours. The schedule you listed does not apply to me at all. (Plus all of my classes have 27+ students including special ed students with accomedations.) I have neve even seen a class with less than 20.
What district are you in??
Sounds like you need new union leadership!
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more centrallized power to the state
