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The plight or credibility problem for teachers can be found in the numbers. There are approx 2.6 million teachers in the United States. Name we one profession of 2.6 million that does it well? Who would want the 2 million best lawyer? Doctor? Baseball Player? Police Officer? Podiatrist? Sandwich Maker? If you had number 2 million think about it, there are still 600,000 worse. Here we go I want to take my kid to Dentist number 2.5 Million. So teacher 2.5 million in quality can get paid more then the top 1,000? Hmmmm that may be the problem, a pay scale that does not differentiate quality.
US Census Press Releases (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007108.html - broken link)
I have to say, I've never heard teaching looked down upon as a profession any more often than the other professions listed, with the exception of firemen whom everyone seems to love. I've heard just as much, in fact probably more, complaints about cops, nurses, lawyers and such than I have of teachers.
I agree. Law enforcement- which I believe is the toughest job on Earth (all the odds are heavily stacked against them)- gets dumped on way more than teaching.
~shrugs~ My experience has been, even with family members, they simply have no clue, poor dears. I was kidded about completing my college finals in crayons, instead of doing "important research papers"- which, by the way, I completed, in addition to my teaching requirements. None of my "professional" friends have had to complete the continuing ed classes that are required of me. Again, they just do not know. It seems like an easy job. Anyone could do it. No holidays, no weekends, paid all year for having off the entire summer, and those holiday/spring breaks- easy street. But, then, accounting is simply math, nursing is simply science, retail is simply selling stuff, the military is simply computers, assembly work is simply automated line work- if you do not experience it, you have no clue.
I always thought people grumbled about teaching mainly because it was directly related to TAXES- and we all hate being taxed, especially when we do not "see a return" on what we are forced to spend. We must pay these people ridiculous amounts of money- and they do not even work all year! (yeah, right)- and still, the kids know nothing. Grumble, grumble. Bah-humbug on teachers and taxes. Perhaps it is displaced aggression. Who knows? And we get blamed for many things that are out of our hands (NCLB, testing, state laws).
Hey, my heart goes out to law enforcement. Those folks have the most difficult job, and many times, NO support. And, I do not get shot at on my job, so, general public- keep complaining about us teachers. I'll go hug a cop.
I agree. Law enforcement- which I believe is the toughest job on Earth (all the odds are heavily stacked against them)- gets dumped on way more than teaching.
~shrugs~ My experience has been, even with family members, they simply have no clue, poor dears. I was kidded about completing my college finals in crayons, instead of doing "important research papers"- which, by the way, I completed, in addition to my teaching requirements. None of my "professional" friends have had to complete the continuing ed classes that are required of me. Again, they just do not know. It seems like an easy job. Anyone could do it. No holidays, no weekends, paid all year for having off the entire summer, and those holiday/spring breaks- easy street. But, then, accounting is simply math, nursing is simply science, retail is simply selling stuff, the military is simply computers, assembly work is simply automated line work- if you do not experience it, you have no clue.
I always thought people grumbled about teaching mainly because it was directly related to TAXES- and we all hate being taxed, especially when we do not "see a return" on what we are forced to spend. We must pay these people ridiculous amounts of money- and they do not even work all year! (yeah, right)- and still, the kids know nothing. Grumble, grumble. Bah-humbug on teachers and taxes. Perhaps it is displaced aggression. Who knows? And we get blamed for many things that are out of our hands (NCLB, testing, state laws).
Hey, my heart goes out to law enforcement. Those folks have the most difficult job, and many times, NO support. And, I do not get shot at on my job, so, general public- keep complaining about us teachers. I'll go hug a cop.
Very good points you made!! About all jobs! And especially the police- I forgot, how many doughnut remarks have we heard???
But, Ihave to disagree with you about the shooting in schools. As we all know, there are many more shootings in schools than we would care to think about. Actually, when I taught in inner city Philadelphia, there was a shooting right in front of the school and we were in "lock-down". Schools do have to deal with shooting.............
Well, inner cities have had problems since before the Bible was written, so, there are always going to be issues when you have a lot of people crammed together in one spot. Yes, shootings occur, but my point was, for the most part, teachers in the US are not shot at every day like the police are. And the most deadly school shootings have not occured in the inner cities. Yes, Philly is a mess- I agree.
The priest at my church had a great homily on Sat. He was talking about our responsibilty to be stewards of our gifts and talents. Great teachers have a knack for it. They must work and develop their teaching skills- like every one must train to develop their work skills. Those of us still plugging away in the classroom should be proud of our profession and work hard to maintain a level of excellence. Stop listening to these ridiculous criticisms, hear ways to improve what you can, and work hard to pursue the greatness you can see in your students. Stop letting others drag you down. You were given special gifts and talents- put them to good use. Work hard to maintain a sense of self, purpose- and humor!
I agree. Law enforcement- which I believe is the toughest job on Earth (all the odds are heavily stacked against them)- gets dumped on way more than teaching.
~shrugs~ My experience has been, even with family members, they simply have no clue, poor dears. I was kidded about completing my college finals in crayons, instead of doing "important research papers"- which, by the way, I completed, in addition to my teaching requirements. None of my "professional" friends have had to complete the continuing ed classes that are required of me. Again, they just do not know. It seems like an easy job. Anyone could do it. No holidays, no weekends, paid all year for having off the entire summer, and those holiday/spring breaks- easy street. But, then, accounting is simply math, nursing is simply science, retail is simply selling stuff, the military is simply computers, assembly work is simply automated line work- if you do not experience it, you have no clue.
I always thought people grumbled about teaching mainly because it was directly related to TAXES- and we all hate being taxed, especially when we do not "see a return" on what we are forced to spend. We must pay these people ridiculous amounts of money- and they do not even work all year! (yeah, right)- and still, the kids know nothing. Grumble, grumble. Bah-humbug on teachers and taxes. Perhaps it is displaced aggression. Who knows? And we get blamed for many things that are out of our hands (NCLB, testing, state laws).
Hey, my heart goes out to law enforcement. Those folks have the most difficult job, and many times, NO support. And, I do not get shot at on my job, so, general public- keep complaining about us teachers. I'll go hug a cop.
Even in law enforcement you have easy jobs though. There are plenty of areas where they don't get shot at. There are plenty of teachers that do get shot at as well. The problem with threads like these is that EVERY profession has it's ups and downs, good and bad, but when a post comes up about teachers suddenly they are ALL bad and NO ONE is learning anything in the schools. I have yet to see a post about police officers and rampant disorder through out the country where no one is following any law because that would be the equivalent of a lot of the posts about teachers sitting on their rears eating bon-bon's all day.
Even in law enforcement you have easy jobs though. There are plenty of areas where they don't get shot at. There are plenty of teachers that do get shot at as well. The problem with threads like these is that EVERY profession has it's ups and downs, good and bad, but when a post comes up about teachers suddenly they are ALL bad and NO ONE is learning anything in the schools. I have yet to see a post about police officers and rampant disorder through out the country where no one is following any law because that would be the equivalent of a lot of the posts about teachers sitting on their rears eating bon-bon's all day.
Perhaps because the penalty for offending a cop can potentially be much worse than an 'F'
I absolutely hate hearing all of the negative things that people say about teachers. Yes, there are absolutely horrible teachers that are only teaching to get in, get out, and get paid -- I've seen them and worked right beside of them. But... there are fabulous teachers that love to teach kids new and exciting things and stay until late at night working their BUTTS off to make sure their students are succeeding. No one should have a negative opinion about the teaching career if they have never even set foot inside a classroom. All that most people hear about teachers is found on the news-- which ONLY seems to report the negative things that go on in a few classrooms. The news has portrayed teachers as awful people that prey on their students and are completely LAZY. But, I bet you ALL could think of many teachers that you loved and that have helped make you the person you are today. Am I right? Serioulsy... just think about it.
And another thing... I agree that sometimes kids are just passed on to the special education classes and drugged because parents and teachers just can't deal with them. But, from experience, I have seen kids go from bouncing off the walls, have horrible behavior, and never being able to sit long enough to concentrate and do their work to being the most pleasant child that can really put their abilities to work because they aren't so hyper. Also, hardly any children today are sent to a special education room the whole day. Do some research before you start assuming things about special education --- its called inclusion and the least restrictive environment. Many kids benefit from the one on one attention they receive in a resource classroom. And once they have received this one on one attention, they spend the majority of the day in the regular classroom.
One last thing I need to share... Many people that work hard to get an education degree DO NOT choose that degree becuase it is "the easy way out." I have seen countless education majors that have a passion for teaching children but are pushed far away from that passion because of idiots that put teachers down for countless reasons. Teaching is one of the toughest careers if you actually put the effort and passion into it that it requires. If you don't agree, be a substitute teacher for a day. You'll understand.
I see this is an old thread. One of the reasons people have a bad reaction to teachers is that they so often hear them complaining. I've heard it referred to as whining by others. Everyone's job is difficult, some more so.
Yes, I've taught in schools where thirty kids were initially running around like banshees. Can't say that was fun till I gained control but I've had several other careers to compare it to.
For instance in business consider an afternoon like this - say you had a full grown man screaming at you at the top of his lungs threatening to attack or sue you while at the same time you needed to come up with $50,000 for the bank by five or they would seize your business as well as your home and your family would be out on the street. Throw in a couple of people selling advertising on deadline, a letter from the state sales tax authority who've just fined you a couple thou and having an employee outside your door you need to fire who was caught stealing. This may not be a typical day every single day but it's not a far-off scenario either.
This is what people don't like hearing. If more teachers worked in other fields for a while, ie, reverse the standard charge of comparison, you'd see that every job has it's difficulties. It may be in part that people can't appreciate what teachers go through. However, I think it may be more that teachers don't anticipate what their job entails before going into the field.
Last edited by Sgoldie; 04-11-2008 at 04:45 PM..
Reason: Hey, my thousandth post !!!
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