Why does no one acknowledge how overworked teachers are?
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Anonymous
We expect parents to do that without any sort of degree. |
Anonymous
The "extra hours for free" and "unpaid overtime" comments make me roll my eyes. Do teachers realize that other professionals are classified as "exempt" and do not get paid overtime? "Overtime" is a concept for non-exempt employees. Oh, and summers? MCPS pays teachers for spending time on workshops, etc. Is that not "overtime"? |
Anonymous
While this is mostly true, they do have some input. You can vote for BOE candidates who discuss the issues that are relevant. I voted for a BOE candidate who ran on a platform about reforming school for better outcomes for teachers and students. Giving teachers more time for in class teaching and helping students. Less on administrative work, standardized testing, mandatory training and meetings. We'll see whether the candidate can deliver on any of the platform, but I did listen to the messages when choosing who to vote for. |
Anonymous
Back to add, and union protection? Other professionals do not have this. |
Anonymous
| My son's best friend's mom is a teacher, and I think she raises a good point. Teachers need to be appreciated, yes. However, something is off that, in our society, we think the way to show this is with a teacher's breakfast or luncheon, or mug, or small amazon gift card. If we treated teachers like other government professionals, the way we would show appreciation is by higher salaries (within the confines of what the Government can pay). I'm an attorney for a municipal entity, and while I am far from rolling in it, no one thinks they are keeping me in the profession by giving me free bagels and cream cheese once a month. |
Anonymous
If you work for the federal government, then you are familiar with the fact that most government employees (regardless of whether they are federal, state, city, county, or other local jurisdiction), usually are limited in the types of financial compensation that can be grated, even when they are outstanding. In most cases, there are rules for what constitutes not meeting expectations, meeting expectations and exceeding expectations and what can be awarded to the employees. Teachers are the same way. The union has negotiated the pay scale and pay raises, so it is very hard for anyone, even the school board or school administrators to give any additional monetary compensation that is not in the pre-negotiated agreements. So, people try to give something to the teachers that will be nice, and will help them avoid spending money out of their pocket. Breakfasts and lunches are one thing that teachers have to pay money out of pocket for and that they can save if parents, PTA or administrators provide for them, so it's a way to put a small amount of money back into their pockets. An alternative is to buy the supplies the supplies that they often spend for out of pocket. I talk to teachers and ask what supplies they are purchasing out of pocket and I'll buy those things for them. Again, it puts money back in their pocket in a round-about way, by providing things that they no longer have to buy out of pocket. Not the best, but sometimes that is what you can do when you have employees in unionized positions with fixed pay scales. |
Anonymous
Sigh. Most teachers here are simply asking people to respect that they also work long hours. They aren’t all suggesting that YOU don’t also work long hours. Is it so hard to acknowledge that some teachers work nights? Weekends? What does it take away from you to acknowledge that? What do you gain by picking on teachers? I’d really like to know. Also, not everything on this thread is about MCPS. My district doesn’t pay for my summer workshops. Sometimes I even have to pay. As for the union, get rid of it! Please! It doesn’t do much to protect me and clearly it doesn’t bargain better conditions. |
Anonymous
It depends on the summer workshop. It certainly isn’t “time and a half” pay. Sometimes, you don’t get paid for summer trainings at all. Some of my cousins and a few friends are nurses and they get paid overtime. Are nurses not professionals? My daughter doesn’t paid overtime, but she gets comp time off and I’d rather have that even more than overtime pay. |
Anonymous
DP. A lot if it was hidden until the last few teachers. Teachers were afraid to complain. Now that it’s more visible, the lack of work-life balance is driving college students away from education as a major. |
Anonymous
Because even if they do work those hours (many don’t) they don’t work the 50 weeks a year which a lot working parents do. The teachers at my kids school work 39 weeks a year. If you annualized all the claimed overtime and weekends you are claiming they work, I doubt you will get 11 additional work weeks to out them in par with the 50 weekers . |
Anonymous
Okay. Again: why discourage and insult the many of us who DO work hard? Why can’t you simply say, “welcome to the club of people who work many hours. We see you.” I’ve posted here before. I work 60-hour weeks on average. It tops 70 or 75 when major assessments are submitted, which is about once a month. I get 7 weeks for summer, 3 of which are used doing minimally paid or unpaid workshops or curriculum-writing sessions. These are 40 hour weeks. I get one month for summer. As for the school year, I get a total of 12 days of leave (personal and sick). My work days are go-go-go-go-go. There’s no chance for an hour break to catch up if I am behind. I’m not complaining. I’m merely explaining, although I’m guessing your erroneous beliefs about teachers are pretty set in stone. I’m not alone. 80% of my department has turned over in recent years. #1 reason for leaving is not pay. It’s workload. The National teacher shortage? Also based on workload. Perhaps some teachers have it easy. I’m willing to bet there are people at your place of work who don’t work nearly as hard as you. Again: what harm is it to you? Is there a limited amount of space in the “I work hard” club? |
Anonymous
This is my 30th year and I’ve never volunteered for a summer training unless it was a course I wanted to take towards recertification. I’ve never been forced to do training in the summer. |
Anonymous
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I'm a career change teacher. The pay is less but I knew that going in. It's not more or less work, it's just different. I'm pulled in more directions as a teacher. I feel like I'm never done. They literally invent meetings in schools in the name of equity. My department didn't need a meeting on a meeting day so they sent me to a meeting that had nothing to do with my job just so that it would be fair to the other departments.
That's my least favorite part. I'm not treated like an adult professional who can manage my own work flow and problem solve. We have long meetings sitting on hard cafeteria backless benches. It. Is. Insulting. I take it upon myself to make my room cozy becuase I can't stare at cinder block walls in my room with no windows for 8-10 hours a day. I don't complain about having to do it, but it's a fact I deal with. |
Anonymous
you're not a teacher so just stop |
Anonymous
That's because they don't need it. Only people with crappy jobs need unions. |