Why are our teachers being paid to do 0-30 minutes of teaching every day?

[Anonymous]

We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

So is this what fills the other 7 hours of the day beyond the 45 minute class? Also I’m not getting work plans emailed from my teacher. It’s zoom class and a few links to other video-based learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

So is this what fills the other 7 hours of the day beyond the 45 minute class? Also I’m not getting work plans emailed from my teacher. It’s zoom class and a few links to other video-based learning.

Different teacher and mom here. Like most secondary teachers, I have more than one prep. So I’m conducting more than one 45 minute class, planning more than one 45 min class, and assessing more than one subject. One of my preps is a course for which there are not supplemental materials readily available via a Google search. To put together a 45 min lesson normal, I invested about 90 min of planning previously. Now, that has doubled as well because I don’t have access to the places I used to get materials from.

The other teacher wasn’t joking about the paperwork. That has not abated at all. On 3/12, I filled out screening paperwork for a child. The child’s doctor misplaced it and only let me know yesterday. That paperwork took me an hour when it was fresh in my head. No telling how long it will take now.

And there’s trainings, team meetings, and emails revising what were told my admin an hour before.

I’m not complaining. We are all in this together. But please stop your claims that teachers are not working. For the most part, we are working as hard as before, just differently. And spending even more money out of our own pockets to fill the gap between what MCPS provides and what is, in fact, needed to do our jobs. We are limited by rules that MCPS is putting in place. These rules do seem to be for the welfare of the students, but if you dislike them, don’t blame the teachers and don’t blame the union. Someone on DCUM is spreading the rumor that MCEA got a 2 hour break for teachers. That’s completely false. The break is for students to travel to pick up lunches and then eat. I have a daily Zoom meeting in that time frame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

So is this what fills the other 7 hours of the day beyond the 45 minute class? Also I’m not getting work plans emailed from my teacher. It’s zoom class and a few links to other video-based learning.

Different teacher and mom here. Like most secondary teachers, I have more than one prep. So I’m conducting more than one 45 minute class, planning more than one 45 min class, and assessing more than one subject. One of my preps is a course for which there are not supplemental materials readily available via a Google search. To put together a 45 min lesson normal, I invested about 90 min of planning previously. Now, that has doubled as well because I don’t have access to the places I used to get materials from.

The other teacher wasn’t joking about the paperwork. That has not abated at all. On 3/12, I filled out screening paperwork for a child. The child’s doctor misplaced it and only let me know yesterday. That paperwork took me an hour when it was fresh in my head. No telling how long it will take now.

And there’s trainings, team meetings, and emails revising what were told my admin an hour before.

I’m not complaining. We are all in this together. But please stop your claims that teachers are not working. For the most part, we are working as hard as before, just differently. And spending even more money out of our own pockets to fill the gap between what MCPS provides and what is, in fact, needed to do our jobs. We are limited by rules that MCPS is putting in place. These rules do seem to be for the welfare of the students, but if you dislike them, don’t blame the teachers and don’t blame the union. Someone on DCUM is spreading the rumor that MCEA got a 2 hour break for teachers. That’s completely false. The break is for students to travel to pick up lunches and then eat. I have a daily Zoom meeting in that time frame.

ES teachers are teaching one class. I’m not suggesting teachers are not working; I’m asking as a parent and a taxpayer what the day looks like for an Elementary School teacher outside of the 45 minutes they’re on Zoom.

And yes, candidly, I’m disappointed that this is the best that MCPS can do at this point. Trying to understand.

I work a full time job that was previously almost entirely in-person job to a 100% remote one and get the challenges. But it’s also not that much different than when I had meetings in person. I prepare material and an agenda and I conduct the conversation by video conference. How is it so different for teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ES teachers are teaching one class. I’m not suggesting teachers are not working; I’m asking as a parent and a taxpayer what the day looks like for an Elementary School teacher outside of the 45 minutes they’re on Zoom.

And yes, candidly, I’m disappointed that this is the best that MCPS can do at this point. Trying to understand.

I work a full time job that was previously almost entirely in-person job to a 100% remote one and get the challenges. But it’s also not that much different than when I had meetings in person. I prepare material and an agenda and I conduct the conversation by video conference. How is it so different for teachers?

PP, it's understandable that you're angry in these unprecedented times, but I will suggest that the most appropriate target for your anger is the failed response - in fact, the continuing, on-going failed response - of the people who are supposed to be in charge of the federal government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

So is this what fills the other 7 hours of the day beyond the 45 minute class? Also I’m not getting work plans emailed from my teacher. It’s zoom class and a few links to other video-based learning.

Different teacher and mom here. Like most secondary teachers, I have more than one prep. So I’m conducting more than one 45 minute class, planning more than one 45 min class, and assessing more than one subject. One of my preps is a course for which there are not supplemental materials readily available via a Google search. To put together a 45 min lesson normal, I invested about 90 min of planning previously. Now, that has doubled as well because I don’t have access to the places I used to get materials from.

The other teacher wasn’t joking about the paperwork. That has not abated at all. On 3/12, I filled out screening paperwork for a child. The child’s doctor misplaced it and only let me know yesterday. That paperwork took me an hour when it was fresh in my head. No telling how long it will take now.

And there’s trainings, team meetings, and emails revising what were told my admin an hour before.

I’m not complaining. We are all in this together. But please stop your claims that teachers are not working. For the most part, we are working as hard as before, just differently. And spending even more money out of our own pockets to fill the gap between what MCPS provides and what is, in fact, needed to do our jobs. We are limited by rules that MCPS is putting in place. These rules do seem to be for the welfare of the students, but if you dislike them, don’t blame the teachers and don’t blame the union. Someone on DCUM is spreading the rumor that MCEA got a 2 hour break for teachers. That’s completely false. The break is for students to travel to pick up lunches and then eat. I have a daily Zoom meeting in that time frame.

I don’t think people are questioning that teachers should get paid (they should.) Just that teachers should be with their actual students online more often. elementary school teachers don’t have multiple classes to prep for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have more meetings than ever before (ZOOM) and lesson preps, work plans emailed home, lots of parent correspondence, ZOOM class meetings.!!

---Teacher and mom

So is this what fills the other 7 hours of the day beyond the 45 minute class? Also I’m not getting work plans emailed from my teacher. It’s zoom class and a few links to other video-based learning.

Different teacher and mom here. Like most secondary teachers, I have more than one prep. So I’m conducting more than one 45 minute class, planning more than one 45 min class, and assessing more than one subject. One of my preps is a course for which there are not supplemental materials readily available via a Google search. To put together a 45 min lesson normal, I invested about 90 min of planning previously. Now, that has doubled as well because I don’t have access to the places I used to get materials from.

The other teacher wasn’t joking about the paperwork. That has not abated at all. On 3/12, I filled out screening paperwork for a child. The child’s doctor misplaced it and only let me know yesterday. That paperwork took me an hour when it was fresh in my head. No telling how long it will take now.

And there’s trainings, team meetings, and emails revising what were told my admin an hour before.

I’m not complaining. We are all in this together. But please stop your claims that teachers are not working. For the most part, we are working as hard as before, just differently. And spending even more money out of our own pockets to fill the gap between what MCPS provides and what is, in fact, needed to do our jobs. We are limited by rules that MCPS is putting in place. These rules do seem to be for the welfare of the students, but if you dislike them, don’t blame the teachers and don’t blame the union. Someone on DCUM is spreading the rumor that MCEA got a 2 hour break for teachers. That’s completely false. The break is for students to travel to pick up lunches and then eat. I have a daily Zoom meeting in that time frame.

ES teachers are teaching one class. I’m not suggesting teachers are not working; I’m asking as a parent and a taxpayer what the day looks like for an Elementary School teacher outside of the 45 minutes they’re on Zoom.

And yes, candidly, I’m disappointed that this is the best that MCPS can do at this point. Trying to understand.

I work a full time job that was previously almost entirely in-person job to a 100% remote one and get the challenges. But it’s also not that much different than when I had meetings in person. I prepare material and an agenda and I conduct the conversation by video conference. How is it so different for teachers?

+1 Online teaching may be new to McPS teachers and will take time to adjust to. But they are being paid for an 8 hour day and spending 0-30 minutes of actual teaching time kind of sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ES teachers are teaching one class. I’m not suggesting teachers are not working; I’m asking as a parent and a taxpayer what the day looks like for an Elementary School teacher outside of the 45 minutes they’re on Zoom.

And yes, candidly, I’m disappointed that this is the best that MCPS can do at this point. Trying to understand.

I work a full time job that was previously almost entirely in-person job to a 100% remote one and get the challenges. But it’s also not that much different than when I had meetings in person. I prepare material and an agenda and I conduct the conversation by video conference. How is it so different for teachers?

PP, it's understandable that you're angry in these unprecedented times, but I will suggest that the most appropriate target for your anger is the failed response - in fact, the continuing, on-going failed response - of the people who are supposed to be in charge of the federal government.

+1

Leave the teachers alone FFS.

Go be angry at Trump who failed to address the issue in time.

[Anonymous]

Parents who are complaining are just looking for a free baby sitter for their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ES teachers are teaching one class. I’m not suggesting teachers are not working; I’m asking as a parent and a taxpayer what the day looks like for an Elementary School teacher outside of the 45 minutes they’re on Zoom.

And yes, candidly, I’m disappointed that this is the best that MCPS can do at this point. Trying to understand.

I work a full time job that was previously almost entirely in-person job to a 100% remote one and get the challenges. But it’s also not that much different than when I had meetings in person. I prepare material and an agenda and I conduct the conversation by video conference. How is it so different for teachers?

PP, it's understandable that you're angry in these unprecedented times, but I will suggest that the most appropriate target for your anger is the failed response - in fact, the continuing, on-going failed response - of the people who are supposed to be in charge of the federal government.

I’m not angry at teachers and there’s nothing in my post that suggests that. Stop deflecting from my question and the legitimacy of my concerns as a parent of students in MCPS. The fact that you and others can satisfactorily answer basic questions makes me wonder what’s up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents who are complaining are just looking for a free baby sitter for their kids.

Oh please. Cut the crap. No one, let alone the millions of working parents who are essentially doing three jobs right now - parent, worker, and teacher - are hardly looking for babysitting.

Again, just looking for reasonable explanations for the very limited instruction kids are going to get in the coming months.

45 minutes is a very condensed amount of time. And if you’re telling me that I as a parent should be able to step in and do as good a job as a teacher, okay. Just know that completely undermines the argument (which I’ve always believed) that teachers have a specialized skill and education and should be paid accordingly.

Trump failed, sure. But right now thinking MCPS has failed, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents who are complaining are just looking for a free baby sitter for their kids.

Oh please. Cut the crap. No one, let alone the millions of working parents who are essentially doing three jobs right now - parent, worker, and teacher - are hardly looking for babysitting.

Again, just looking for reasonable explanations for the very limited instruction kids are going to get in the coming months.

45 minutes is a very condensed amount of time. And if you’re telling me that I as a parent should be able to step in and do as good a job as a teacher, okay. Just know that completely undermines the argument (which I’ve always believed) that teachers have a specialized skill and education and should be paid accordingly.

Trump failed, sure. But right now thinking MCPS has failed, too.

This. No one is babysitting our kids. We are teaching our kids all day, except for the 0-45 minutes that an McPS teacher being paid for a full day pops in. And many of us are still working full time from home while our kids are there often until 2-3 in the morning, because our jobs aren’t as understanding as McPS is with teachers who say they can’t teach virtually.

[Anonymous]

Are you expecting teachers to make a house call to each student or have a 6 hour zoom conference? It’s not going to be the same. This is just the beginning. Once things get rolling, I’m sure the work will pick up. Chill out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you expecting teachers to make a house call to each student or have a 6 hour zoom conference? It’s not going to be the same. This is just the beginning. Once things get rolling, I’m sure the work will pick up. Chill out!

How long can school systems keep saying this? I've now been teleworking for over 3 weeks and rest assured we aren't just chilling out and figuring out how to get things rolling. Work couldn't wait.

This is I think why so many working parents don't understand what is taking so long across the board. I don't know of anyone else who's employer is saying "yeah, it's been a few weeks but we'll get there. Don't worry about delivering your work product."

[Anonymous]

I agree it has been a sh*t-show as far as teaching students. I do not blame teachers. I blame the superintendent and central office. They are so busy congratulating themselves on feeding students (needed, and glad they are doing it), and getting out chrome books to those in need (also needed and glad they are doing it) that they've forgotten about the most important part of their job: educating students.

My HS and MS kids have not yet heard from all teachers, and the ones they have heard from it's all been the same form: name, email, so you have computer access at home and what time. That could have come from MCPS in one of their many long and rambling emails, and put in their file like emergency forms.

So, 3 weeks with no actual learning. Thank you Dr. Smith.