I’m interested what you think about the second part of my post. What do you think about me being at the mercy of a single, looney tune parent?
In terms of parental involvement, important to distinguish between traditional organic parental interaction with their kids’ school/teachers and the type of nationally organized political campaigns under the guise of local parental concerns, Is Moms for Liberty a grassroots group or Astroturf? - Tampa Bay Times
Great post. If you prorate the salaries to actual hours worked the pay is much better than lots of jobs and the healthcare and pensions are much better than most jobs.
We already spend more per student than any other country. Take money from bloated, overpaid admin and redirect it instead of throwing more money at it
The money issue is interesting on where it is spent. School board admin offices, big NE salaries, facilities. Certainly streamlined district offices. Better systems and data importation? Digital subscription have turned out to be expensive, as the relatives if legislators intended We always get into trouble comparing other countries, unless they are trying to educate the entire populace and provide extra curricular (sports, dance, etc) as part of school.
Not really. When you’re in a classroom you’re “on” the whole time. No wandering around talking to colleagues, getting coffee, or any of the other things most people do on the job everyday. Our workday is compressed compared to others. Healthcare is not “much better” than what most people get that have employer provided plans, they’re pretty average. Both of my kids have better healthcare coverage than I do. I think that some people are under the impression that pensions are a king’s ransom but they’re not. I’m very glad I have it but after 40 years my pension is 25k.
Three school board candidates here are Moms for Liberty folks and one has ties to QAnon and the proud boys. Remember that this group got its start here in Brevard County because Tina Descovich lost her re-election bid over mask wearing.
The teachers union is grossly corrupt and many many teachers are bad at their job. They should never be employed as a teacher. If they quit because parents are getting involved, then it's a win for education. Part of the shortage could have to do with teachers choosing the virtual route. Why spend 10 hrs a day on campus when you can teach for a few hours from home. Another issue is the number of children that have moved to our state in the last two years. Many education-minded families move to freedom-loving states that facilitate parents’ efforts to direct the education of their children.
Teachers would love for parents to be more involved in their child’s education, but the ones doing the whining don’t want to be involved, they want control of the entire process when they have neither the expertise nor the experience to determine what and how subjects should be taught. Okay what rectal orifice did you pull that out of? Those parents you describe are called helicopter parents and waste a great deal of a teacher’s time mostly attacking the teacher about a grade, a discipline issue, or why their child shouldn’t get a lower grade because they didn’t do an assignment the child didn’t want to do. Save everyone a great deal of stress and homeschool your own kid.
All that's is missing is you HATE teachers. What a horrible opinion laced BS post. Many many teachers are bad at their jobs? LINK? SOURCE? You posted a bunch of BS and tried to pass it off as fact. SMDH. Pathetic.
Fair comments and thanks for the years you have been in the profession but let me respond to some of your points. First, your “de-professionalizing the teaching profession” comment is a bit off. Sure, almost everyone in any job wants more money but when my wife looks at the total pay and benefit package (including the favorable hours, basically three months off per year, great benefits and pension), she feels she is being treated fairly. Speaking of your hours worked comment, I was obviously talking about the actual eight hour instructional work-day being a nice benefit. But if a teacher chooses to coach a sport or take on an extra-curricular gig (ie band director), then that that is a completely different situation. For sure the salary supplements you get to coach or lead an extra curricular activity is often minimal compared to the hours spent but choosing to do so is a personal choice and not a requirement to being a teacher in the classroom. My son is done playing and is now a high school athletic director and coach and the money he gets for coaching baseball (around $4500 a year) probably breaks down to about $1.00/hr when you figure in fall workouts, weight lifting sessions and then the actual spring season. But again that is his choice to do so but the fact is if he didn’t have the high school job, he would probably be an over-qualified Little League coach not making a dime (and there is nothing wrong with that). Plus with the benefit of two months off, he will make over $10K working baseball camps and coaching travel ball this summer which is another nice perk. We can debate whether the supplemental positions deserve more pay but again that is a completely different argument. And regarding your 30 minutes for lunch not being long enough, that is a personal opinion but most people can comfortably eat a meal in a half hour. In addition, many teachers wouldn’t want the extra half hour added to lunch anyway because in turn, it would add another 30 minutes to the school day. Regarding benefits teachers receive in Florida, again, they are as good, if not better, than most other occupations. And yes, my wife’s health insurance is very good and is free. Let me add that when we had kids at home we had to pay for them but they were on my wife’s policy because the insurance was better and cheaper than if I added them to my policy. So let’s agree that free health insurance is a major benefit that is worth several thousand dollars a year when compared to other professions. Lastly, regarding the pension comment you made, of course you have to stay in teaching to take advantage of a great benefit that again is not available in most careers. It sounds like you got out and things didn’t work out as well with your investment plan but my wife stayed in and is now looking at a $300K drop check and a monthly pension of well over $4000 when she gets out in the next 6-7 years. Hey, I haven’t done any studies on the subject but I do know every career has positives and negatives. Just pointing out the positives which no one else seems to be doing in this thread.
Where does your wife teach? I’m at the top of the food chain salarywise here in Brevard and I’m not going get nearly that much. I’m getting a little over 2600. per month. In addition, my healthcare is not free. I pay 300 per month.
My wife is a special needs teacher. I have many great teacher friends. Not opinion. There are also many many great teachers, but I don't have a link or source.
Thanks for your response. There's much to unpack there and I'll try to look at it more closely when I can. Had to stop here, though. My comment on de-professionalizing the teaching profession is based on substantial evidence, from research to practice/experience. Also, being a band director is in no way an extra curricular gig.
Just one bit of evidence, but the TN governor sat with his his ally, the President of Hillsdale College in MI, who (to put it kindly) marginalized teachers. This being just another of the many examples of what I refer to as de-professionalizing the teaching discipline. The TN gov sat by silently while this person said the following. "They are the dumbest part of every college." "They're messing with people's children and they feel entitled to do anything to them." "The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country." And on diversity initiative, this dimwit suggested that diversity candidates are earning degrees in "education . . . it's easy. You don't have to know anything." https://www.newschannel5.com/news/n...es-tenn-governors-education-advisor-tells-him
