teaching

[Guest guest]

I was a substitute teacher for many years.

 

I think the situation is more like a mixed bag. I agree with you, trying to teach children who have little or no parental support can be hellish...that is for sure. And teachers do work beyond the classroom day and on special occasions work long hours that's true.

 

But they also get good money (in my eyes) much more than the 20,000 you say. They also get every holiday off and three months a year off. They also are able to go home early at least once a week. And there is a good retirement plan and excellent benefits. And with classrooms at 20 children tops....the classrooms I worked in....problem children are managed. In fact, as a sub, sometimes I had hellish days (in the beginning and with some bad schools) but with some classrooms and schools it was almost always smooth. Sometimes, I felt, after a smooth and easy day...wow! I am getting paid $120 (by the way it went up since I left) for this? And I get to go home before 3PM? Yay! For having very little responsibility beyond the school, and usually having the day planned out before I came in, that wasn't bad. Sometimes it was only like 6.5 hours.

 

And that was just sub pay....regular teachers get a lot more, of course. I often wished I liked the job because of it's security and benefits...but sadly it wasn't for me. I often saw a lot of teachers who were well suited to their jobs and liked them and they had pretty good lives.

 

I tell ya...I know a lot of people do a lot more for a lot less work, that is for sure.

 

K

 

In a message dated 9/14/05 10:43:02 AM Pacific Daylight Time, writes:

Message: 3 Wed, 14 Sep 2005 08:17:52 -0700 (GMT-07:00) fraggle <EBbrewpunxRe: don't feed the childrenyes...it is horrible isn't it...they get paid a whooping $20 something thousand a year..and all those cool benefits..like working 12 hour days, and buying their own supplies, and even during their *off season* having to come into work and getting ready for the upcoming class seasonmy..we are such a great society...and they get to be teachers, babysitters, doctors, counselors, daycare, and morale officers..that is until the kids get home and plop them in front of the tv please lynda..some of my best friends are teachers....they've been teachers fer years.....they work their freakin *sses off...(and here you all thought punks amounted to nuthin)tell ya wot..when you get to teach 20-40 kids, that come from broken homes, that don't want to be there, with no skool supplies, and the state educational system is tellin you you have to make them all pass a certain exam, and society expects you to be a miracle worker, and yer there from 6am to 6pm..then you can complain about how grossly over-paid teachers are....Lynda <lurineSep 13, 2005 9:12 PM Subject: Re: don't feed the childrenWellll, having worked for school districts and DH worked for school districts, I can tell that generally speaking teachers are grossly over paid! Further, if you have any daughters, I'd suggest before you send them to any public school that you spend some time in the teachers' lounge and listen to the male teachers discuss them!And, please don't bother telling me about their salaries. What they neglect to tell the general public is that over an above their salaries they have the absolute best medical plan in the nation which included full medical for them and their families, plus dental plus vision for them and their families, the best sick leave, the best vacation plan, the best retirement plan, the best, bar none, "perks" plans which include paid time to take ECUs plus having the classes paid for, plus, plus, plus.Of course, they don't mention that when they want more money. Time for them to be paid for ability to teach, not just because they have been collecting a pay check for x number of years. And it is time that tenure was deep sixed!The state of educatio in the U.S. is dismal and it is due to the quality of the teachers!LyndaI am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can still do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.