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Good luck finding a job if you dont want to work in the inner city. My mother has a masters degree and wasnt able to find a teaching job in our town for her whole life. Was always a substitute or an aide.
ADMINISTRATORS, meaning principals, superintendants, etc. are the ones making and squandering all the money. As a teacher who works incredibly hard and ends up doing YOUR job parenting your children and putting in more hours than most business people, I suggest you walk a few miles our shoes before you bash us.
I know teach in S. Carolina cuz I hated how the economy and everything is in Michigan. All you guys do is gripe and complain and try to find people to blame for the sorry state of most things in Michigan. It's sad, really.
However, the downfall is the UNION, who fights for things that the economy cannot possibly support, not the teachers who take what the union gives them. Yes, teachers in Michigan are a little spoiled, but so are auto workers and anyone else who works for the union.
That's my two cents, I'm just glad I'm down here where good teachers are appreciated and respected.
i think the homeschooling movement is awesome! what a way to really be in touch with your kids. those parents are completely involved and responsible for those their children's education. i wish parents were more involved in their kids' learning in all schooling situations. what's neat about homeschool, too, is there are a lot of resources out there to help parents, because teaching can be difficult if it doesn't come naturally to you, or you haven't learned how best to do it. some homeschool co-ops have professional educators helping them along the way.
Every person I ever met that was homeschooled was just plain, well, weird, due to lack of social skills and in ability to relate to their peers.
ADMINISTRATORS, meaning principals, superintendants, etc. are the ones making and squandering all the money. As a teacher who works incredibly hard and ends up doing YOUR job parenting your children and putting in more hours than most business people, I suggest you walk a few miles our shoes before you bash us.
I know teach in S. Carolina cuz I hated how the economy and everything is in Michigan. All you guys do is gripe and complain and try to find people to blame for the sorry state of most things in Michigan. It's sad, really.
However, the downfall is the UNION, who fights for things that the economy cannot possibly support, not the teachers who take what the union gives them. Yes, teachers in Michigan are a little spoiled, but so are auto workers and anyone else who works for the union.
That's my two cents, I'm just glad I'm down here where good teachers are appreciated and respected.
I also know a teacher who had to move to the Carolinas to find work. They get treated crummy there too I guess but at least my friend found work.
Unions & bloated dummy jobs are to blame for this state's awful mess---I overheard someone in the office today talking about her boyfriend who is in his early/mid twenties doesn't have a college degree, lacks any industry certification, etc. but makes $50k annually for construction work.
And then her job is in healthcare and even working part-time she'll be making close to $50/hr. right out of a 4-yr. degree in college. So combined, they'll be making over six figures annually and they're bitching about having to drive far to work and stuff.
Are these people from Mars?
When did people in this country get such a warped idea of what they're worth??? I think people with Associates Degrees should make $30k annually, Bachelor's should make $40k and Master's Degrees should make $50. Doctors/Lawyers should make $70k max. A new house w/ a couple acres should cost no more than 200k and most cars should only cost between $10k and 15k.
People & businesses in this country expect too much for how much they're actually doing.
"Ha!" Indeed. I think people don't realize how hard (good) teachers (in any state) work. Yeah, school ends at 2:45 to 3:30 depending on the school district, but I know all the teachers I know are usually in the classroom until 5:00 getting things wrapped up from the day, and ready for the next. Oh, and some schools require the teachers to eat in the cafeteria with their students. Yeah, that's a relaxing lunch.
And when you do get home? Usually there are papers to be graded and more prep work to be done.
As for those summers off? Keep in mind that for the rest of the year, teachers get no vacation time, and are bound to a rigid schedule. Oh, and the fact that most teachers spend their time during the summer prepping for the next year.
Throw into that mix that most teachers spend a good amount of their own money on their classrooms and supplies for the students because the schools can't afford all that.
And the fact that being a teaching requires a great deal of training and skill to do well. Eastern Michigan's ed program is 5 1/2 years, MSU is pushing 6 I believe.
$10/hr? I can't think of a single highly skilled job that requires intensive training that pays anywhere near that.
Try teaching a full classroom someday, really teaching. The whole shebang, do unit planning, lesson planning, managing a classroom, Tailor your lessons to match the learning style of all of the different students without denying any of them the attention that they need. Bring the struggling students up to their potential while ensuring that the gifted students reach their full potential. Keep an eye out for children with problems at home (usually difficult because sometimes they act out, sometimes they are quiet and keep to themselves). When you do see the problem at home, act on it and do everything within your power to help the child get out of that situation, and at the same time not get too emotionally involved because the child welfare system will probably drop the kid through the cracks. Make sure that any learning, emotional, and developmental impairments are catered to, especially as an increasing number of these students are "mainstreamed" rather than having a dedicated class to address their unique needs. Try to work with parents that view any suggestion or concern of their child as a threat or attack on their parenting. Deal with budget cut backs that requires the school to layoff teachers before the school year starts, only to hire a couple back on when the state funding finally comes through.
Yeah, teaching a classroom of "only" 30 kids is a cake walk, if your a crappy teacher that doesn't give a hoot.
And that $56,000? That is the top of the pay scale, after you get your masters and your credits. Where do you start? Usually about $30,000 in most districts.
Believe me, with everything teachers due, you could pay them $100,000/yr and I wouldn't feel it was excessive. Doctors get paid that much and some of them don't put half the energy into their profession that teachers do into theirs. Teaching isn't just reciting facts to students, and anyone that feels it is that simple really needs to look at the profession more closely.
100,000- that is ridiculous! Doctors make more because they go to school for much longer and most take classes that far exceed teachers' classes in difficulty. Most work a full calendar year also. As for using the summers off to prepare for next year....that does not take the whole summer, if you just set your mind to it, you could do it in a week. Who says that teachers don't get any more vacation time beyond summer, have you forgotten about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break?? Many career choices do not have the luxury of having all that time off because people are sick or dying!
100,000- that is ridiculous! Doctors make more because they go to school for much longer and most take classes that far exceed teachers' classes in difficulty. Most work a full calendar year also. As for using the summers off to prepare for next year....that does not take the whole summer, if you just set your mind to it, you could do it in a week. Who says that teachers don't get any more vacation time beyond summer, have you forgotten about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break?? Many career choices do not have the luxury of having all that time off because people are sick or dying!
Well, since you're not a teacher, you have NO CLUE how hard or not hard education classes are. Also, has it ever occured to you that teachers are required to go back to school all the time to get new required credits, etc. And come on, people may be sick or dying, but the people that deal with them account for like 3% of the entire workforce. What do you do that makes you so special? I'm usually a very patient person (which is exactly what it takes to be a teacher, especially dealing with the populations of kids I work with who need a lot of love and help that has nothing to do with the content areas I teach), but you want to tell me that a whole year of planning would take 1 WEEK?! I teach summer school, work as a voluteer basketball coach, and am on 4 committees that take an obscene amount of time and I guarantee I don't do it for the money. I do it because I love kids, I love teaching, I love actually having a positive impact on the 150 students I teach daily, and I don't mind the 32,000 I get paid, but I do mind when ignorant people like yourself tell me that I get paid to much, am a glorified babysitter, and should do something with my life the three months that I am not teaching.
Well, since you're not a teacher, you have NO CLUE how hard or not hard education classes are. Also, has it ever occured to you that teachers are required to go back to school all the time to get new required credits, etc. And come on, people may be sick or dying, but the people that deal with them account for like 3% of the entire workforce.
I'm not a teacher OR a doctor, but have friends that are Doctors and can assure you that their schooling and continued schooling are much tougher than a Teachers. How do I know for sure what Teachers are required to do and what their classes consist of? My Mother is a coordinator for a teaching University and she is the one who determines if classes that are needed for students to be certified at the State level have been met and if the curriculum in them meets State standards. She sets up Student teaching assignments, then does the visitation and out processing of each. Then also handles the incoming certified Teachers as they come back to complete their Masters, from all over the Country and Canada. I also have taken teaching classes, not because I wanted to be a school teacher, but because the classes were/are good for learning how to teach anything. In my job, I always have somebody who is just learning how to do the job, with the classes I can identify how they learn best and use that to help them settle in faster and with less stress for both them and me. I wouldn't trade jobs with a Teacher for $1,000,000 a year, I think you people who are Teachers earn every penny you get, and usually deserve more. But, to compare what a Doctor gets to what a Teacher gets based on education levels is simply ludicrous. Nobody is going to DIE if a Teacher makes a mistake, or isn't on top of their game for a day or two. Can you say stress? They are two totally different fields, to make a comparison between them is silly. It is like comparing the pay scale of a skilled licensed Tradesman to the Squeegee operator at a car-wash.
I think a big problem is that EVERYONE thinks they're an expert on education because at one time, they went to school. They don't understand why it costs so much to educate a child these days and why kids are graduating lacking the basic skills they need to succeed in life. Trust me, things have changed since you were in school:
Special Education. There are more kids receiving special education services than ever. Part of this is due to societal problems such as kids suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome or kids who have emotional-behavioral problems because of abuse, broken homes, etc. We also have a wider definiton of what constitutes special education. It is not just a room for the "retarded" kids anymore. All of this requires more teachers, more classroom space and a LOT of the regular ed teachers' time to attend IEP (individualzed education plan) meetings, to tailor their lesson plans according to the needs of individual students, etc. This must all be done correctly because the schools can face HUGE lawsuits if anything is overlooked. (Add to this the ever increasing numbers of ESL or non-English speaking students that schools are also required to educate and you wonder why there are funding issues and frustrations?)
Technology. If we want our kids to be competitive, they need to have a good understanding of technology (other than the ability to text message and make myspace layouts.) This requires technology teachers, classroom space for labs, technical people to maintain systems and of course the computers and software themselves, which require constant updating/replacement.
School liability: More and more pressure is being put on schools to do things that educational institutions were never expected to do before. Schools are now responsible for providing/connecting students and families with everything from healthcare to mental health to social services needs. Again, do anything "wrong" and you face a lawsuit. For example, schools are responsible for making sure no one gets bullied or teased. But if you call the bully's parents and tell them their kid is being suspended (or whatever) for bullying/teasing, then you're "labeling" or "profiling" or otherwise "discriminating" against their kid.
Society in general: the world is a complicated place and all too often it's the kids who suffer. Parents are busy trying to make ends meet and kids are often neglected and left to pretty much raise themselves. There is a general lack of discipline and lack of respect for anything or anyone some students might deem as "authority" figures. Teachers and administrators are limited in what kinds of disciplinary action they can take and since the parents often can't or won't enforce these things at home, the kids know exactly how much they can get away with. Then those same parents complain that their kids aren't learning anything...big wonder when teachers are dealing with so many kids who don't WANT to be educated (not to mention how those kids make it harder for the other kids who ARE trying to learn something!)
Another big complaint in the general community is why kids are graduating with substandard educations. For one, it is NOT easy to "hold a kid back". If the parent doesn't agree with it, you pretty much have to "shuffle" the kid off to the next grade. Of course once they get to high school they usually have to complete so many credits in order to graduate. Fail too many classes and you don't graduate on time...well, that's the way it USED to be. Trust me, you'll actually get to meet those parents who have NEVER shown up for a parent-teacher conference as soon as they get that "your child is not on track to graduate" letter. So the pressue's on to come up with a "plan" to get the kid back on track. This often consists of substandard "credit recovery" classes that are basically a big joke. Put in your time and you'll get your diploma. There are no longer any "natural" consequences for slacking off in school (that is, until you get to the real world and realize you're not qualified to do much more than flip burgers....and the cycle continues.)
On top of that add the whole NCLB issue where schools are punished for not performing on tests that kids don't give a rat's *** about. Remember, there is no money or support to HELP schools who aren't "up to par", just threats to take more money AWAY in what are usually low SES schools with little parental support to begin with. Not to mention the fact that there is no money to cover the HUGE amount of time it takes to administer and prepare for these tests. You think your child's school counselor is meeting with students to discuss post-secondary options? Nope, he/she is probably packing/unpacking boxes of tests, training test proctors, correcting student data, etc. Great use of your tax money, right? (And here again, misplace ONE test booklet and you risk having your scores invalidated.)
So I know this probably sounds like a big rant (which I guess it is), but I think it's important for people to understand what schools face these days. Again, it's a complicated world for everyone...it's hard to be a parent AND it's hard to be an educator, yet these are the most underappreciated jobs in the world, it seems. I just think we forget that we're all supposed to be on the same team here! Even if you DON'T have kids, this issue DOES affect you, your community AND the future of our nation!
I think a big problem is that EVERYONE thinks they're an expert on education because at one time, they went to school. They don't understand why it costs so much to educate a child these days and why kids are graduating lacking the basic skills they need to succeed in life. Trust me, things have changed since you were in school:
Special Education. There are more kids receiving special education services than ever. Part of this is due to societal problems such as kids suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome or kids who have emotional-behavioral problems because of abuse, broken homes, etc. We also have a wider definiton of what constitutes special education. It is not just a room for the "retarded" kids anymore. All of this requires more teachers, more classroom space and a LOT of the regular ed teachers' time to attend IEP (individualzed education plan) meetings, to tailor their lesson plans according to the needs of individual students, etc. This must all be done correctly because the schools can face HUGE lawsuits if anything is overlooked. (Add to this the ever increasing numbers of ESL or non-English speaking students that schools are also required to educate and you wonder why there are funding issues and frustrations?)
Technology. If we want our kids to be competitive, they need to have a good understanding of technology (other than the ability to text message and make myspace layouts.) This requires technology teachers, classroom space for labs, technical people to maintain systems and of course the computers and software themselves, which require constant updating/replacement.
School liability: More and more pressure is being put on schools to do things that educational institutions were never expected to do before. Schools are now responsible for providing/connecting students and families with everything from healthcare to mental health to social services needs. Again, do anything "wrong" and you face a lawsuit. For example, schools are responsible for making sure no one gets bullied or teased. But if you call the bully's parents and tell them their kid is being suspended (or whatever) for bullying/teasing, then you're "labeling" or "profiling" or otherwise "discriminating" against their kid.
Society in general: the world is a complicated place and all too often it's the kids who suffer. Parents are busy trying to make ends meet and kids are often neglected and left to pretty much raise themselves. There is a general lack of discipline and lack of respect for anything or anyone some students might deem as "authority" figures. Teachers and administrators are limited in what kinds of disciplinary action they can take and since the parents often can't or won't enforce these things at home, the kids know exactly how much they can get away with. Then those same parents complain that their kids aren't learning anything...big wonder when teachers are dealing with so many kids who don't WANT to be educated (not to mention how those kids make it harder for the other kids who ARE trying to learn something!)
Another big complaint in the general community is why kids are graduating with substandard educations. For one, it is NOT easy to "hold a kid back". If the parent doesn't agree with it, you pretty much have to "shuffle" the kid off to the next grade. Of course once they get to high school they usually have to complete so many credits in order to graduate. Fail too many classes and you don't graduate on time...well, that's the way it USED to be. Trust me, you'll actually get to meet those parents who have NEVER shown up for a parent-teacher conference as soon as they get that "your child is not on track to graduate" letter. So the pressue's on to come up with a "plan" to get the kid back on track. This often consists of substandard "credit recovery" classes that are basically a big joke. Put in your time and you'll get your diploma. There are no longer any "natural" consequences for slacking off in school (that is, until you get to the real world and realize you're not qualified to do much more than flip burgers....and the cycle continues.)
On top of that add the whole NCLB issue where schools are punished for not performing on tests that kids don't give a rat's *** about. Remember, there is no money or support to HELP schools who aren't "up to par", just threats to take more money AWAY in what are usually low SES schools with little parental support to begin with. Not to mention the fact that there is no money to cover the HUGE amount of time it takes to administer and prepare for these tests. You think your child's school counselor is meeting with students to discuss post-secondary options? Nope, he/she is probably packing/unpacking boxes of tests, training test proctors, correcting student data, etc. Great use of your tax money, right? (And here again, misplace ONE test booklet and you risk having your scores invalidated.)
So I know this probably sounds like a big rant (which I guess it is), but I think it's important for people to understand what schools face these days. Again, it's a complicated world for everyone...it's hard to be a parent AND it's hard to be an educator, yet these are the most underappreciated jobs in the world, it seems. I just think we forget that we're all supposed to be on the same team here! Even if you DON'T have kids, this issue DOES affect you, your community AND the future of our nation!
Technology Teacher! PALEEEAAAASE. The tech teacher I had in high school sat on his 500 pound FAT A** ALL day and played solitaire on his stupid computer. Ya he was worth the $80K/9 months "work" he bragged about making.
Watch the John Stossel report on public schools ("Stupid in America"). Then come back and argue your side.
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Haha
