NJ Gov Christie smacks down teachers union

[Zargon]

Because they work a 50 hour per week job and deal with a lot. They're constantly under scrutiny from the public because a lot of people relate to the profession and think they could be a teacher. They're also more educated than 99% of people.

what teachers work that much?

my wifes district has 30 contractual hours per week, the rest is up to them.

most work less than 7 hours a day, get 2 weeks at christmas and 3 months in the summer.

if she actually worked at her pay rate a real amount, then she would make some serious cash

 

[classy]

what teachers work that much?

my wifes district has 30 contractual hours per week, the rest is up to them.

most work less than 7 hours a day, get 2 weeks at christmas and 3 months in the summer.

if she actually worked at her pay rate a real amount, then she would make some serious cash

Hahahaha
Lets see a "good teacher" will easily spend at least another 20 on lesson plans and putting true thought in grading papers. And here's the reason why Christie looks like a moron. No matter how you slice it, the public school system in NJ is among the very best in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Its the one damn public system that produces top results year after year. We actually get our moneys worth. Are there some trouble districts in the state, yes. But the overall public system is extremely good.

Can it made more efficient? Yes. Does it require a major overall? No. Who takes a top notch system and says lets see how we can change it? If NJ was say in the middle of states he might have an argument for his nonsense, but that is not the case.

 

[DrPizza]

I work for one of the largest corporations in the world (THE largest depending on how its determined). They don't pay overtime or give comp time, etc. You are simply wrong.

We're talking about jobs for professionals, not your job at WalMart.

A "large percentage" of public school teachers do NOT have graduate degrees. A teaching credential is NOT a graduate degree.

Also, 65K for 9 months of 8-3 work is pretty damn good.

I can't speak for other states, but ALL teachers in NY are required to get a master's degree within 3 years of teaching. So the only ones without a master's degree are new teachers & very old teachers who were grandfathered in before the master's degree requirement.

what teachers work that much?

my wifes district has 30 contractual hours per week, the rest is up to them.

most work less than 7 hours a day, get 2 weeks at christmas and 3 months in the summer.

if she actually worked at her pay rate a real amount, then she would make some serious cash

I'm assuming that's 30 contractual *contact* hours per week - she spends 30 hours per week actually working with students. If your wife or any other teacher in that district manages to only work 30 hours per week, well, that district sucks. The contact hours do not include lesson planning, correcting papers, extra help for students after school, etc.

I know that in my own district, teachers don't have to start until 8:00am, and are allowed to leave at 3:15pm. It's impossible for any of those teachers to complete what's expected of them in those hours. The vast majority arrive at least 45 minutes early, and very few ever leave before 4pm.

As far as JS80's assertion that his teachers taught out of the teacher's manual, try that in our district and you probably won't end up with tenure.

 

[Fenixgoon]

How are they underpaid? They start at a normal professional entry level salary, and they get 3+ months a year off.

lol

teachers in my area get like $30k. $40k if they are lucky. and those 3+ months a year of time off are filled with planning for the next year, meeting state requirements that are completely useless, etc.

 

[Zebo]

Where did that fat ass go to school? I bet public now he's railing against what made him successful. Fucken typical. I got mine now y'all can suffer.

 

[Hacp]

Teachers in the US are grossly underpaid as a whole and don't get the respect they deserve.

Underpaid? Are you serious? Hahahaha. They work 9 months out of the year and get pensions and healthcare and annual raises that don't depend on performance. Plus, they can't get fired. Do you call that underpaid? I think NOT. Plus, teachers who work at charter schools make LESS than teachers who work in the public system. Public school teachers make more than they're worth judged by the pay of the charter school system.

 

[bullbert]

lol

teachers in my area get like $30k. $40k if they are lucky. and those 3+ months a year of time off are filled with planning for the next year, meeting state requirements that are completely useless, etc.

I do not know what the starting salary was back then, but the experienced teachers in my area were getting paid $45k, back in the mid 1980s. Add over two decades of mandatory (union negotiated) annual pay raises on top of that. And that was for a relatively low cost Midwestern cost of living, not an insanely inflated Silicon Valley or Wall Street neighborhood. But seeing as how they were treated like sh** on all sides (unions, school official, parents) it still would not have worth it to me. Needless to say, I did not choose Education as my career.

 

[Zargon]

I can't speak for other states, but ALL teachers in NY are required to get a master's degree within 3 years of teaching. So the only ones without a master's degree are new teachers & very old teachers who were grandfathered in before the master's degree requirement.

thats not the case in IL and seems pretty insanely stupid to be honest, unless they get paid enough to afford one. My wifes masters is going to cost about 13 grand, and she makes just under 30K gross. Her tuition per semester is 2-3 of her paychecks(paid every 2 weeks, they dont even let you do the 10 month pay cycle, its all 12 months). thats requiring ALOT from a teacher, and basically making you start grad school within a semseter of starting to teach. seems pretty crazy to ask that of people for an underappreciated job.

I'm assuming that's 30 contractual *contact* hours per week - she spends 30 hours per week actually working with students. If your wife or any other teacher in that district manages to only work 30 hours per week, well, that district sucks. The contact hours do not include lesson planning, correcting papers, extra help for students after school, etc.

I know that in my own district, teachers don't have to start until 8:00am, and are allowed to leave at 3:15pm. It's impossible for any of those teachers to complete what's expected of them in those hours. The vast majority arrive at least 45 minutes early, and very few ever leave before 4pm.

As far as JS80's assertion that his teachers taught out of the teacher's manual, try that in our district and you probably won't end up with tenure.

they have to be there at 815(I think) and can leave at 3. they have lunch and generally 2 plans, except for my wife one of the other special ed teachers(they seem to get less plans).

from what I understand most teachers are outta there by 4 at the latest and arrive close to 8am. that doesnt mean they arent doing work at home.

My wife works closer to 50 hours for 2-3 weeks a year during IEP time.

other than that, she has more free time than I do while going to grad school.

I am not one of the ones saying they are overpaid, I just dont think they are that underpaid due to working about 190 days verses about 250, which is a pretty large disparity.

 

[Fear No Evil]

We're talking about jobs for professionals, not your job at WalMart.

Aww. You try so hard to insult. Try again chucky. Notice I said 'depending on how its determined'. Its not Wal-Mart.. And I assure you its professional. Hell I probably have more professional experience than you do but of course most of your ilk automatically assume people are younger than you. I've love to see what evidence you have that major top corporations pay overtime or comp time as a matter of written policy. I'm not talking about your boss who says 'ok' to an extra day off... I'm saying written in the employee handbook type of thing.

 

[cheesehead]

Uhm, it is quite a good salary when you factor in the benefits, length of school year, hours, and most importantly job security.

Next up for NJ = get rid of the multitude of municipalities.

No, it isn't. $65k is what you can expect around here after over a decade of employment - starting salaries are much lower. Furthermore, between the post-college education and student teaching time required, there's a substantial investment of time.

Furthermore, the job is generally not just 8-3 - most of the teachers at my high school showed up at seven and went home at five. (It should be noted that while the standard school day is eight hours long, students generally start filing into the building well before the school day begins, and someone has to be there.) Sure, the nine-months-a-year thing seems nice, but there's usually enough administrative or continuing education requirements that your "free time" can get eaten up really fast.

For the most part, teachers at my school worked their asses off. If your teachers aren't doing it, it's either because you're not offering up enough money to get the sort of teachers I had, or because you need to fire them and give the job to someone else.


I've met a lot of teachers. None of them were terribly wealthy. I wonder if there's a connection?