Ha... ha... you're joking, right? Do you have any idea how hard the average teacher works, how much time they put in? And the subject matter they teach is constantly changing, maybe not the basics of algebra, but the plans they're forced to use by the district, etc. It's a constantly evolving, very demanding field.
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Why so much praise for teachers when so many of them suck so much?
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Ha... ha... you're joking, right? Do you have any idea how hard the average teacher works, how much time they put in? And the subject matter they teach is constantly changing, maybe not the basics of algebra, but the plans they're forced to use by the district, etc. It's a constantly evolving, very demanding field.
TitanDiddly
Guest
For Spanish Sophmore year in HS, I has this teacher that was compulsive liar.
Facts about my spanish teacher:
She owned an Iroc Z while she was in Oklamhoma, but sold it for a Subaru for the inclement New England weather (meh)
One of her brothers is a multi-millionare, and got that way by selling tractors door to door. (Mhmm... yeah. And you're babysitting high school kids?)
Her other brother is a crack dealer. (I'm sure.)
A turkey bit her as she was taking a crap in a toilet in some lady's house in the middle of nowhere, Guatamala. (I'm sure everybody in Guatamala keeps turkeys in their bathrooms.)
She was investigated at the airport for having a half-eaten bag of cookies in her suitcase, pre-9/11.
She was a foster mother to 16 kids with terminal illnesses.
And the list goes on, but my memory is hazy. She left right before the finals of the first semester. Handy timing, so the school can't do anything about her not teaching us a single thing.
Facts about my spanish teacher:
She owned an Iroc Z while she was in Oklamhoma, but sold it for a Subaru for the inclement New England weather (meh)
One of her brothers is a multi-millionare, and got that way by selling tractors door to door. (Mhmm... yeah. And you're babysitting high school kids?)
Her other brother is a crack dealer. (I'm sure.)
A turkey bit her as she was taking a crap in a toilet in some lady's house in the middle of nowhere, Guatamala. (I'm sure everybody in Guatamala keeps turkeys in their bathrooms.)
She was investigated at the airport for having a half-eaten bag of cookies in her suitcase, pre-9/11.
She was a foster mother to 16 kids with terminal illnesses.
And the list goes on, but my memory is hazy. She left right before the finals of the first semester. Handy timing, so the school can't do anything about her not teaching us a single thing.
RabidMongoose
Lifer
Yes I do. These same things and more could be said about so many other jobs.
The lesson plans may change, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's changing significantly, especially when compared to so many other jobs. They not only get nice huge summer vacations where they may have to take classes or whatever, but they also get huge vacation time all throughout the year. Plenty of other professionals put in plenty of time, too.
$35-40k starting for a teacher is excellent. They have far more vacation time than other professionals. Their work isn't constantly changing or requiring up to date knowledge as much as many other jobs. Their jobs have less stress in deadlines or job security. And they have nice pension plans. I don't see how it's so demanding when compared to many other professions.
And let's face it...If the average pay for a teacher was much higher, then many of the people that are teachers right now wouldn't cut it.
Grade school kids are just angels. They're still in that aiming to please phase. Middle school and high school is where its "cool" to try to mess with "the man". That's when they're in the sterotypical know-it-all phase. One thing that I can always suprise them with is that I'm a very young sub, but when I tell them I've got 9+ years on them I see some thoughts running through their minds. To them 9 years is a lifetime.
btw what state are you in? I'm in CA one of the struggling regions of the educational USA.
Amen, My wife has taught for the same district for 23 years, I have seen the long hours,the "summers off" spent going to class,the mound of paper workthat comes home every nite.
I get really upset with threads like this because the average joe has no idea what it takes to be a really good teacher today. The dumbass parents that don't have time to raise the kids, the kids from single family homes that struggle to make it thru the year, the kids that live with Grandma because mom and dad have split up and don't have time for the kids.Those starting salary at 35 K a year, consider yourself VERY lucky. Try 26K here in Ohio.
My wife is finishing up her first year as middle school principal, so the school year has become even longer for her. She MAY get a week off this summer. So for those whiners that piss and moan about bad teachers and underpaid teachers,I can can schedule you a day with a staff member next year to shadow for a day. Then see how it is
I hear some people talk about how easy teaching is, then some other talk about how hard it is. I'm guessing it has to do with what subject you teach. I imagine that math is an easy subject to teach, whereas english or history is much harder.
Also I think it depends on how hard the school works the teachers. Most of my past teachers have had 5 classes a day, not 6. This means they take a period to grade papers, or take an extended lunch. When I was in high school, most teachers were gone by 3:30 or 4:00. My friend is a teacher and he is usually home around that time as well. Some schools also have a weekly minimum day.
Regardless, I think teachers should be paid more. Not because I think the current crop of teachers are that great. Most teachers I've had were mediocre at best. The reason I think teachers should be paid more is so that the current crop of teachers all lose their jobs to more qualified applicants.
In fact, I think that in general government positions should pay top dollars to attract the best applicants. Of course this will never happen because of $$$, but I can dream.
dfi
Also I think it depends on how hard the school works the teachers. Most of my past teachers have had 5 classes a day, not 6. This means they take a period to grade papers, or take an extended lunch. When I was in high school, most teachers were gone by 3:30 or 4:00. My friend is a teacher and he is usually home around that time as well. Some schools also have a weekly minimum day.
Regardless, I think teachers should be paid more. Not because I think the current crop of teachers are that great. Most teachers I've had were mediocre at best. The reason I think teachers should be paid more is so that the current crop of teachers all lose their jobs to more qualified applicants.
In fact, I think that in general government positions should pay top dollars to attract the best applicants. Of course this will never happen because of $$$, but I can dream.
dfi
How hard the teacher works is up to the teacher; you don't have to work hard to be a good teacher. Some of my favourite teachers (about 5 of them) didn't do very much work at all.
Grades 1-9 are just babysitting at its worst so I won't go into detail what that was like. You couldn't pay me enough money to want to 'teach' grade 1-9 students.
For high school math, all of the lesson plans were Microsoft Powerpoint presentations created by one of the teachers in the school (he sold it to the school board for a large amount of money). The only thing the math teachers have to do is answer questions. There was a test every 2 weeks, and that was the only work the teachers had to mark.
The grade 10 general science teacher would do some work. He would read a segment from the book, then explain it, then read more, explain. Assign problems from the book, then answer questions students ask the next day (no point in going over a question if everybody understands it, or never did it). Assignments were all scantron meaning that they could all be marked within seconds. On the day with back to back classes, we would write a scantron quiz and it would be marked and handed back by second class.
My grade 11 and 12 physics and chemistry teachers did a fair amount of work. They would do their own lectures, assign problems, answer any questions, then have 1 big test every 3 weeks or so. The tests were all long answer so they probably took a while to mark....
Overall I had pretty good teachers. My grade 12 math teacher was fantastic; he was the most entertaining teacher ever. He would always have the stupidest stories that were really funny. He would even play video clips on the projector. He would have clips from SNL skits, little game skits like that one called The VOZ (I said LIKE, there is no way he would play that video for students 😀), he also showed us funny commercials, and even movies he brought from home. Even though 90% of that class was screwing around, he was such a good teacher that the class had an exceptionally high average; somewhere around 80%.
As for lousy teachers. The really sucky teachers were always English and Social Studies (history) teachers.
Grades 1-9 are just babysitting at its worst so I won't go into detail what that was like. You couldn't pay me enough money to want to 'teach' grade 1-9 students.
For high school math, all of the lesson plans were Microsoft Powerpoint presentations created by one of the teachers in the school (he sold it to the school board for a large amount of money). The only thing the math teachers have to do is answer questions. There was a test every 2 weeks, and that was the only work the teachers had to mark.
The grade 10 general science teacher would do some work. He would read a segment from the book, then explain it, then read more, explain. Assign problems from the book, then answer questions students ask the next day (no point in going over a question if everybody understands it, or never did it). Assignments were all scantron meaning that they could all be marked within seconds. On the day with back to back classes, we would write a scantron quiz and it would be marked and handed back by second class.
My grade 11 and 12 physics and chemistry teachers did a fair amount of work. They would do their own lectures, assign problems, answer any questions, then have 1 big test every 3 weeks or so. The tests were all long answer so they probably took a while to mark....
Overall I had pretty good teachers. My grade 12 math teacher was fantastic; he was the most entertaining teacher ever. He would always have the stupidest stories that were really funny. He would even play video clips on the projector. He would have clips from SNL skits, little game skits like that one called The VOZ (I said LIKE, there is no way he would play that video for students 😀), he also showed us funny commercials, and even movies he brought from home. Even though 90% of that class was screwing around, he was such a good teacher that the class had an exceptionally high average; somewhere around 80%.
As for lousy teachers. The really sucky teachers were always English and Social Studies (history) teachers.
sucks to go to public school /snicker 😛
despite going to prep school, though, I did go to public school for a few years (through junior high). I had some good teachers and some bad. Looking back on it, i think that the good teachers outweigh the bad ones. I had a lot that I didn't like, but that was only because I was lazy and they were trying to push me to reach my full potential.
my sister and 3 of my best friends are all grammer school teachers, and I have the utmost respect for them. it's a pretty hard job, and there's no way I could do it. teaching is probably the easiest part -- it's having to deal with bratty kids and parents all day that would break me.
despite going to prep school, though, I did go to public school for a few years (through junior high). I had some good teachers and some bad. Looking back on it, i think that the good teachers outweigh the bad ones. I had a lot that I didn't like, but that was only because I was lazy and they were trying to push me to reach my full potential.
my sister and 3 of my best friends are all grammer school teachers, and I have the utmost respect for them. it's a pretty hard job, and there's no way I could do it. teaching is probably the easiest part -- it's having to deal with bratty kids and parents all day that would break me.
DurocShark
Lifer
" Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead."
Umm, yeah.
Not true. You just have to protect yourself and as a teacher you need to know the law.
For instance, I plan to teach Special ED in the elementary level. I'm a male who will be teaching chidren in grades K-5, and knowing this as a male you have to take watch what you do. One example, I will never be caught with a child alone as someone will always be with me at all times. Always have people with you at all times. Not so hard to do. You just need to protect yourself, and teachers can still do plenty. If I'm accused of fondeling a student and once it comes back false I will counter sue. I don't give a f*ck if the parents are on food stamps. I will own their welfare checks if need be.
So what if a parent sues a teacher for the bad grades that their child got? The Supreme Court has stated time and time again that they will not interfere with the way an educator teaches and grades their students. Issues like the one you mentioned have been brought up time and time again and they all have been denied.
I'm not worried about lawsuits. Just use common sense and everything will be allright.
Out of their pockets? I seriously doubt it. I'd like to read about this, because as far as I know the taxpayers (me and you) pay for these frivilous lawsuits. What schools should start doing is they need to counter sue these families so they can recoup court and lawyer fees.
That would curtail the lawsuits.
I'm torn on the work issue. Do teachers really do work more? Hmm.. maybe it's special education but the people I know don't take home ANY work. They do everything during prep period.
For instance, my dads buddy who just retired was making $78,000 teaching special ed history to a small group of students. In the summer he sells ice cream on the beach and makes a mint. What a life! He never brought home work or stayed after class to finish lesson plans.
Another example is my mom's friend who teaches 6-8th grade special education classes. This individual told me that she does all her work in the homeroom. That's it! She works at my mom's cafe in the summer and makes over $100 in tips! Oh, and she makes over $50,000 and has been teaching for close to ten years.
Regular and special ed greatly differ. For instance special ed classes aren't allowed dot have no more then 6 students in a resource room without an aid. The classes tend to be small. Compare that to regular ed where the class size tends to be 25-30 students. That's a lot of work for the regular ed teacher. Also, the work that the special ed students do is very simplistic. I'm sure that has to factor in somehow.
For instance, my dads buddy who just retired was making $78,000 teaching special ed history to a small group of students. In the summer he sells ice cream on the beach and makes a mint. What a life! He never brought home work or stayed after class to finish lesson plans.
Another example is my mom's friend who teaches 6-8th grade special education classes. This individual told me that she does all her work in the homeroom. That's it! She works at my mom's cafe in the summer and makes over $100 in tips! Oh, and she makes over $50,000 and has been teaching for close to ten years.
Regular and special ed greatly differ. For instance special ed classes aren't allowed dot have no more then 6 students in a resource room without an aid. The classes tend to be small. Compare that to regular ed where the class size tends to be 25-30 students. That's a lot of work for the regular ed teacher. Also, the work that the special ed students do is very simplistic. I'm sure that has to factor in somehow.
lobadobadingdong
Lifer
nearly every teacher I've ever met gets paid more than me (sometimes a lot more), and only have to work ~10 months out of the year. there goes your excuse for them.
Do you bring your work home with you at night? Do you work weekends and breaks, too? Do you attend conferences, continuing education, among other things, during your vacation? Most of the teachers (not all) end up doing this, and more. It's not as simple as "there goes your excuse". Nice try, though.
lobadobadingdong
Lifer
actually I do, I work on call 24/7/365, I work from home (print out and manage calls then I drive all day over a large area to work on computers/printers/robotics) I have to attend conferences, have to maintain certification status's in many different fields (often requiring out of state flights for the robotics and networking certifications), and I only get 2 weeks vacation, most of which I'm usually upgrading my certifcations. I don't get breaks (not even lunch breaks, at best I get fast food at a drive through)
edit: I fell lucky when I get home before my daughter goes to bed, and I usually leave before she wakes up, and I do feel some teachers do a good job, I do a lot of work for schools, and it makes be sad that so many classes have to have police in them because of the bad kids.
Linflas
Lifer
Of course we do since government has the deepest pockets. I know for a fact that they paid about $185.00 for this insurance this year out of their pocket and that was not the total cost of it. Exactly what it covers I am not really clear on but I know it has something to do with potential liability for actions they undertake on the job.
But isn't this the case with a lot of professions? Where you may have to work on a project or report at home, working all hours of the night? Or doing this on weekends, or skipping lunch, etc to further its progress? Some people go to night classes, etc to further themselves and get promotions (teachers receive pay increases after attending these classes and bettering themselves). Also, people may go to conferences during their work days, but thats because they don't get off half the year. God forbid a teacher has to go to a Monday conference after being off Sat and Sun, even though all the kids have off Monday.
alphatarget1
Diamond Member
People that praise teachers think that being a teacher is the hardest thing to do...
bullsh!t. Other professions require just as much energy as teachers and most of the time harder in terms of technicality. Teachers teach the same thing over and over again anyway.
bullsh!t. Other professions require just as much energy as teachers and most of the time harder in terms of technicality. Teachers teach the same thing over and over again anyway.
djplayx714
Senior member
i guess you never read about the "No Child Left Behind" act signed into law by Bush.
becoming a teacher is now 10x harder, and all those teachers who didnt major in what they teach have to take a series of exams to earn a credential in that subject matter which means...there will be less math and science teachers available.
i know this because im a math teacher that went through the rigors of the new act. so i think i can safely say im not one of the sucky teachers.
becoming a teacher is now 10x harder, and all those teachers who didnt major in what they teach have to take a series of exams to earn a credential in that subject matter which means...there will be less math and science teachers available.
i know this because im a math teacher that went through the rigors of the new act. so i think i can safely say im not one of the sucky teachers.
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