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Sure. There is generally two and a half months worth of time off over the summer. Now, you tell me what kind of job options one could realistically pursue with that kind of time frame? What kind of employer would hire somebody who was only going to be available for two and half months?
That's why all of these pro-rated salaries set to a 12-month schedule are bologna. Starting teachers make $45K. Not $70K or whatever the 12-month salary WOULD be. They make $45K. They'd have to find other means of coming up with the extra $25K. MUCH easier said by somebody on a message board who is not in the teaching profession than actually done.
I meant at their own schools, not looking for a new job. Can't they keep teaching over the summer and get paid extra, on top of the 45K ?
I meant at their own schools, not looking for a new job. Can't they keep teaching over the summer and get paid extra, on top of the 45K ?
Yes. I know someone who did this a few years ago at their school and I think the amount of money was somewhere in the $5-8,000 range for a summer session lasting from about July 1 - August 14 or so. But I would never do it, even if I were to be paid twice that amount. Someone correct me if I'm wrong for the amount of money.
Assuming NYC is similar to LAUSD and SFUSD, opportunities to teach summer school are scarce. In fact, in those two districts, there is no summer school for elementary and middle school.
And if you add 5-8k onto the ~50k you're making, you're still not close to the 70k some want to project over the 12 month calendar.
my buddy retired with 75k a year and great medical benefits.
Today the same buddy would work under incredibly different work conditions, retire at only 58K, and have had to put in 5% annually per year worked- if he was eligible at retiring, the age limits have changed.
Some teachers have it cushy- most, do not.
No doubt the job is worse now than it was 20-30 years ago.
Even grossly different than it was 10 years ago.
No Child Left Behind was a big switch up- and while some my applaud it for 'accountability' essentially it just costs a TON more money to educate misbehaved / special ed students now.
The lowest 10% of the school are costing maybe 33% of the budget- and I wonder how many of that 10% will even go on to do anything of any use with their life.
retire at only 58k? most people would give anything to have even a 40k a year pension with cola.
today to generate just 40k means you have to have accumullated well over 1 million bucks..
i personally think teachers lost site of exactley what they do get compared to private industry.
the thought of a 58k pension for life is am amazing amount. that money i isnt taxed by the state either. 58k is more than most americans make even while working.
Last edited by mathjak107; 03-20-2012 at 04:34 PM..
MathJak, please tell me what public school teaching position works only 6 months out of a year. You are terribly misinformed.
I spent a majority of my summer: lesson planning for the next year, painting/decorating classroom, and attending teaching workshops. Summer was not a vacation. It was a time of RECOVERY.
Teaching has been and always will be an extremely demanding, strenuous, and unappreciated field of employment. Anyone that chooses to teach for the $$$ and vacation time WILL HATE EVERY MINUTE THEY ARE IN THE CLASSROOM.
My advice to anyone entering the teaching field is to think twice. If you absolutely love teaching than do a few years, get an advanced degree, and move to higher education. Life is too short to be stuck working in a job that you absolutely hate. Hopefully the economy will pick up soon and people can move into fields that they actually enjoy and where jobs are available. But that is another discussion.
Higher education is even worse. The teaching loads are now four or five classes - in the bottom schools certainly, and in some of the expensive but sketchy schools. The better schools understand the importance of QUALITY teaching and professional development, both of which are impossible with the major class loads.
A response to the woman who found teaching stressful: No kidding. And you can see from some of the responses that you received that people simply do not get it, which also means that things (in the city schools in any case) will not change any time soon. Many, if not most, of the more qualified teachers are moving to more elite schools, which offer vastly better working conditions. If, like me, you thought reaching an inner-city child would be rewarding, this move is a major disappointment.
A comment to any parents: If you are contemplating higher education options, find out the usual teaching loads, the number of students in each class, and so on. Do not ask about this, research it yourself. What sort of degrees do the instructors have ? From which universities ? Humanities courses, for example, should be taught by Ph.D.s IN THE APPROPRIATE FIELD. You might need to tolerate less if you send your child to an inexpensive school, but if you choose an expensive one, be sure that you know what you are getting for those huge tuition bills.
I'll give three reasons why I want to teach in NYC:
1. June
2. July
3. August
You'll have to forget about June because the NYC school calendar goes to the very end of June.Schools close for the Summer around June 28th usually.
And while there are definitely many lazy teachers ,like another poster's wife and daughter, who work the minimum required,most of the teachers I know are at school at 7:00 or 7:30 am,don't leave until 4:00 or 4:30 and then do another couple of hours work at home in the evening at least 3 or 4 evenings a week.
And don't forget,most new teachers are sent directly to The South Bronx or some hellish part of Brooklyn where they get assaulted,desks thrown at them,desks hurled across the room,kids beating each other up,occasional stabbings,etc.
I dare you to try it out.
The reason why the turnover rate is so high system wide is because for every teacher who has settled into a lazy routine in an ez school,there are 3 teachers in hell holes doing battle every day.The teacher drop out rate in those schools is more like 70% !
You want mathjkak's wife or daughter's job but that's not the job you will get.So good luck to you in your easy new career! Don't forget to wear diapers on your first day !
the option is there to do some work or not work. thats up to the individual.
i take offense to the lazy part. it has nothing to do do with being lazy.
my daughter devotes part of the summer days to tutoring and helping out at some camps and my wife devotes alot of the summer to charity work at st marys childrens hospital. its things they choose to do.
i think the teachers here who complain that the public doesnt know what they go through are wrong about that. but i also think those that teach loose touch with what working and being compensated by private industry is all about as well.
teachers seem to have this thing that only they go through aggrevation and have a job thats tough and thankless and im telling you your very wrong about that , i think many many people feel the same about what it is they do..
like we said if thats bad leave.. take a job in private industry and see how you like that instead.
Last edited by mathjak107; 03-20-2012 at 06:57 PM..
the option is there to do some work or not work. thats up to the individual.
i take offense to the lazy part. it has nothing to do do with being lazy.
my daughter devotes part of the summer days to tutoring and helping out at some camps and my wife devotes alot of the summer to charity work at st marys childrens hospital.
Sorry,it wasn't meant to offend.
You have repeatedly emphasized in this thread how little your wife and daughter seem to work ,or how little you think they work, at their profession.You threw out an equivalent of something like 6 months on an annual basis. From my experience,the only way a teacher could get away with that little work would be if they were the kind who only work from 8 to 2,never work late,never work at home,never work on Saturday's ,take absolutely every sick and personal day possible,don't go back to school the week before Labor Day,etc.Even then I don't see getting it down to the equivalent of 6 mos but you say that's your observation with them.
I honestly don't know any fellow teachers who work that little and who don't put anything extra into their jobs but I have heard that they exist and in my mind you sort of confirmed that.
You seem to have taken up the role of chief teacher basher in charge in this thread and seem to have a very low regard for teaching in general.In my mind it's your comments and attitude that your wife and daughter should take offense at. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a spouse who had such little regard for my chosen profession.
Re the last part of your above post: I have never said anything anywhere about my job being too difficult or thankless.I have never complained so please don't direct those comments to me as if I'm here complaining about anything.
the option is there to do some work or not work. thats up to the individual.
i take offense to the lazy part. it has nothing to do do with being lazy.
my daughter devotes part of the summer days to tutoring and helping out at some camps and my wife devotes alot of the summer to charity work at st marys childrens hospital. its things they choose to do.
i think the teachers here who complain that the public doesnt know what they go through are wrong about that. but i also think those that teach loose touch with what working and being compensated by private industry is all about as well.
teachers seem to have this thing that only they go through aggrevation and have a job thats tough and thankless and im telling you your very wrong about that , i think many many people feel the same about what it is they do..
like we said if thats bad leave.. take a job in private industry and see how you like that instead.
And if every decent, quality person teaching left the field, what would that mean for schools? We've already seen this happen to some degree. I'm guessing you're not one who believes in giving everybody a fair shot at a decent education.
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You'll have to forget about June because the NYC school calendar goes to the very end of June.Schools close for the Summer around June 28th usually.
