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I know all about the parents who request *that* special teacher. It can be a blessing and a curse. LOL!
I can't help but wonder when your wife gets her planning, correcting, documentation, prep, classsroom management, etc. worked into a day that is constantly filled with face-to-face students.
I do think it's a bit different for teachers in upper level grades who teach one subject and have recycled materials each year. Plus, they have less teacher generated materials to produce.
I can't say that I worked with many teachers who could be considered having a martyr complex. They really didn't make the issues about them personally. Of course, I was there because they were required to have a child with behavior/special needs issues in their classroom on a full time basis. Full inclusion does not always work in the best interest of the disabled student or the rest of the kids in the classroom, but it is the law. I doubt that your wife had to deal with any of these kids on a full day basis. She probably has a different set of students each period. Primary grade teachers do have a different gig.
I can't help but wonder when your wife get hers planning, correcting, documentation, prep, classroom management, etc. worked into a day that is constantly filled with face-to-face students.
- BINGO! Of course there are obligations that need to be met outside of school hours.
If there's one thing I hate about NEPA the most, it must be the whole "If I can't have nice things, then why should anyone else be able to?" mentality. Head onto Talkback 16 Online and read post after post from people kvetching about struggling on minimum wage and not having health care begrudging teachers for earning more money than they do and for having better perks. Did it ever occur to any one of these people that they, too, could have "had it easy" if they had decided to go to college and make something of themselves professionally? I'm fully expecting to partially contribute towards my medical coverage in the future (hopefully as a CPA with Parente-Randolph in the Diamond City), but the salary I'll earn will permit me to still live comfortably and support my partner and myself.
There's a LOT of bashing in NEPA when it comes to teachers, lawyers, doctors, politicians, etc. Hell, I think anyone in our region who had the foresight to develop themselves professionally is frowned upon. Too many around here have the mentality that we should be dragging others down to lower levels instead of raising themselves up to meet the levels of others. If college-educated individuals were paid the same as high school dropouts, then what would be the motivation to invest $20,000 per year in college tuition? There would be none. We'd lose all of our scientists, doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, etc. Most of NEPA's economic ills can actually be attributed to the fact that nearly nobody around here furthered their educations beyond high school (according to the U.S. Census, so people like CHS89 can't nail me to the cross for just being a messenger here). I'm not trying to sound like a snob, but I simply have to laugh at people who want "high-paying jobs" when they have no formal education or skilled training beyond high school.
Similarly, most who complain about teachers' salaries are uneducated. If you'd notice the posts on Talkback 16 Online, most who support the teachers appear to be more well-educated and literate, and those who bash the teachers can barely put a cohesive sentence together. I came from a school with a lot of drug issues (hence the recent steroids bust and murder of a teenager in Downtown Pittston), disrespect towards authority (swearing at teachers was not unheard of), and alcoholism. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with these brats on a daily basis. My own sister is a high school teacher in this district, and believe me when I tell you that she certainly DOES earn her $36,000 salary. In my opinion educators are one of the most underappreciated professionals we have in our society, and I think it's about time we start showing them more respect for cultivating so many brilliant young minds.
To all of those who are unhappy that teachers earn more than they do, what stopped YOU from going to college in pursuit of a career path in education? Don't give me bull sh*t about "being poor" either, as college was much less expensive years ago, and financial assistance and scholarships were easier to come by, as there was less competition for them. I wish the teacher-bashers would stop making excuses for their own laziness. I thank God everyday that I had some intuitive high school teachers who took action when they say warning sides of my suicidal tendencies; these PROFESSIONALS do much more than just suck up tax dollars, as much as some in NEPA would like to ignore that.
Paul - My sister is a pharmacist and her husband is an engineer making very good money and they pay over $500 a month for medical so what makes you think that because people are "professionals" means that they do not have to pay like everyone else? Give me a break! Maybe since they make more, they should pay more? I think that you may be a little uneducated when it comes to this profession. Where my nieces go (Allentown) the kids are out early every Wednesday so the teachers can do paper work, everyone has a student teacher who corrects the papers, and there are also student aides that are out with the kids during recess. So what extra work do they do? They all leave when the kids leave. I don't want to hear how HARD they work. My sister and other parents go 1 - 2 times a month and spend the day helping out in the classroom. I really resent your comment that makes it sound that if you did not go to college and become a professional that we (hard working class people) want you to lower yourselves to our level! I used to think you were very intelligent but now I see why you are getting ripped apart in other threads. You are very shallow and self centered. Who do you think you are to judge people by their jobs or education? What would we do without people who can build house, do your electrical, make and manufacture all your pretty clothes? Can you do it yourself? Doubt it. So do not put down the hard working people of this country. My husband and I both went to college but unforseen circumstances unabled him to continue. He would be an excellent architect but it didn't work out so does that make him uneducated because he now puts in security systems? AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME I WILL SAY IT - I DID NOT START THE THREAD TO START ARGUEMENTS ABOUT SALARIES! IT IS BECAUSE OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!
[quote=ashley19;1762611] I really resent your comment that makes it sound that if you did not go to college and become a professional that we (hard working class people) want you to lower yourselves to our level! I used to think you were very intelligent but now I see why you are getting ripped apart in other threads. You are very shallow and self centered. Who do you think you are to judge people by their jobs or education? What would we do without people who can build house, do your electrical, make and manufacture all your pretty clothes? Can you do it yourself? Doubt it. So do not put down the hard working people of this country. QUOTE]
Thank you for seeing things for what they are. Paul its not just me thats is tiring of your childish outlook on the world thru the eyes of a babe. Personally I have yet to see any job that has not required some sort of a payment towards health benefits. This is 2007 and if you want to have the benies then you must pay at least something into them. Its not unreasonable to be expected to do so and the fact that the teachers do complain on and on about their co-pays is some what embarassing I think. Really its not that bad to pay $33 a month for your insurance and small co-pay when you actually have to use them. They act like they have to use their benies everyday and its costing them a fortune in co-pays. I haven't been to a doctor in 2 years. I think its the so called educated ones that feel that they have rights to free this and that because they went to college. College is not all its cracked up to be. Example Louis DeNaples, no college education, BILLIONARE! If you work hard and do whats required of you for your family you will succeed. College is not everything. I know alot of people with degrees that can't find jobs in their fields and are not using their education.
WOW! This thread is reminding me of why I was so happy when we were transfered from NEPA. Much of the area does not support education. The fact that teaching is one of the highest paying careers in the area is not a good thing. When I live there back in the 90's administrators were still taking bribes from people trying to get hired in certain districts. Nepotism was huge too. There is a real resentment of teachers in NEPA that I have never encountered any where else that I have lived.
College is not all its cracked up to be. Example Louis DeNaples, no college education, BILLIONARE! If you work hard and do whats required of you for your family you will succeed. College is not everything. I know alot of people with degrees that can't find jobs in their fields and are not using their education.
On a lighter note, this reminds me of a comment made by Pete Rose when he was chasing Ty Cobbs all time hit record and the whole country was following the chase. The interviewer asked him where he went to college and Pete replied, I didn't go to college, but I'm thinking about buying one!
sunflower53072 wrote:
The fact that teaching is one of the highest paying careers in the area is not a good thing.
Teaching is one of the best paying jobs in many if not most rural areas of the country. Most people living in rural areas would be tickled pink to bring home what a teacher makes.
Again, I'm not saying that teachers are overpaid or underpaid. Compared to the population as a whole, they are making out OK.
Why do a lot of you seem to take things out of context? No one resents people for having an education but do not put others down. Alright, I will admit that there are some people I put down (welfare recipients) but they are not working people. Some of the smartest people I know never even attended college. The job I respect the most is in the medical profession and they (including nurses) IMO should have the best pay and be the most respected. I know many will not agree but I know that I could never do what they do. On the other hand, if it was not for construction workers (non educated for the most part) I would not have a roof over my head or for farmers, I would not have food on my table. This area does value higher education but most move out when they do get it. I do not judge people by their jobs or their appearence but by the way they treat me. I just hope he does not speak this way in the real world because I fear that he may not survive it.
The job I respect the most is in the medical profession and they (including nurses) IMO should have the best pay and be the most respected. I know many will not agree but I know that I could never do what they do. On the other hand, if it was not for construction workers (non educated for the most part) I would not have a roof over my head
I'm not quite clear on what I want to say here, so I'm asking you all to bear with me as I stumble along. I wrestled with this question my whole life. Why should ANY profession be paid more than any other profession? Just as the construction worker might not have a desire to do a job that requires them to cut people open and sew them back up among other things, the doctor has no desire to do a job that requires carrying 4ft by 8ft sheets of plywood up a ladder, and working outside in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Why is getting an education in relative comfort while racking up major debt considered more valuable than physical labor? Each person has their own God-given preferences, talents, and skills. Each skill is needed by society, yet we support paying doctors $100 an hour and wouldn't consider paying a similar wage to someone providing physical labor. Admittedly, some services are more valuable than others, but I wonder IF a doctors service @ $100 an hr is really worth 10 times as much as the construction worker making $10 an hour. Perhaps I'm a socialist waiting to come out of the closet!
blessings...Franco
Last edited by CosmicWizard; 10-18-2007 at 10:10 AM..
Why do a lot of you seem to take things out of context? No one resents people for having an education but do not put others down. Alright, I will admit that there are some people I put down (welfare recipients) but they are not working people. Some of the smartest people I know never even attended college. The job I respect the most is in the medical profession and they (including nurses) IMO should have the best pay and be the most respected. I know many will not agree but I know that I could never do what they do. On the other hand, if it was not for construction workers (non educated for the most part) I would not have a roof over my head or for farmers, I would not have food on my table. This area does value higher education but most move out when they do get it. I do not judge people by their jobs or their appearence but by the way they treat me. I just hope he does not speak this way in the real world because I fear that he may not survive it.
I totally agree. Emotional intelligence and life experience should count for a person's marketable employment value. I tend to be drawn to wisdom and common sense rather than papers which mean nothing in some cases.
However, companies and their employment applications first interest is a person's education. Then they pursue your level of experience based on that education. I think this may be more prevalent in the last 10 - 15 years. All students in high schools seem to be directed toward a four-year college. The kids who are sent in tech. directions seem to be considered 'not college material'. So, you can't be an intelligent plumber or electrician? This is, of course, ludicrous; but really stop and think about it.
I can tell you from personal experience that a woman who was a stay-at-home mother during the 1970s and 80s found a whole new world out there in the 1990s. Jobs that could be found in offices and clerical venues were no longer available with a high school education. Plus, the lack of recent experience made a person unemployable.
Also, age discrimination is blatantly obvious, but any recourse is unavailable. It will always fall back to the employer only seeking a degreed person. It doesn't matter how bright, dedicated, or talented a person may be. If you can say, "Do you want fries....." or "Welcome to WalMart", you may have a job.....of sorts. No benefits though. Not at any price.
As a side note, I will mention again that I see no reason for name calling or nasty language on these discussions. Personal attacks are unnecessary. Intelligent, *educated* people are supposed to be above such behavior..right? In other words, Paul may have some quirky ideas, but leave him to his ideas. Who is to say he may not have something special going on there? Demeaning and bullying will never win general support from the masses. It creates a small group who band together to validate each other. Not productive in the end. Plus, sucking the wind from the sails of a person makes someone retain a lot of hot air and gas. It must be expelled somewhere. Ugh.
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No getting around it ...
Head onto Talkback 16 Online and read post after post from people kvetching about struggling on minimum wage and not having health care begrudging teachers for earning more money than they do and for having better perks. Did it ever occur to any one of these people that they, too, could have "had it easy" if they had decided to go to college and make something of themselves professionally? I'm fully expecting to partially contribute towards my medical coverage in the future (hopefully as a CPA with Parente-Randolph in the Diamond City), but the salary I'll earn will permit me to still live comfortably and support my partner and myself. 
