Teachers- How much do you get paid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Words are cheap. I have told the administration many times what you have said above, in vain. As I mentioned, there is no PTA. Some of my parents are undocumented, and most of them do cleaning for a living (the moms). Many of the dads are out of work.

Meanwhile, my kids need crayons and paper! I can't wait for change, and neither can my kids. It makes my job incredibly difficult to do without. We need supplies for me to do my job and my kids to be engaged and learning. If that means $20 a month out of my pocket, so be it.

And to think that most teachers don't spend their own money on materials is naive.

OK, spend your money. But don't call yourself a catalyst for change. You're being taken advantage of and you're celebrating it. That is your choice, but it doesn't make you a good teacher or a wise person.

I never called myself a catalyst for change. I asked the other poster (maybe you?) how she would be a catalyst for change when she said I shouldn't spend my own money. I'm an advocate for children. Period. If that entails spending some of my own money, like I said, so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Words are cheap. I have told the administration many times what you have said above, in vain. As I mentioned, there is no PTA. Some of my parents are undocumented, and most of them do cleaning for a living (the moms). Many of the dads are out of work.

Meanwhile, my kids need crayons and paper! I can't wait for change, and neither can my kids. It makes my job incredibly difficult to do without. We need supplies for me to do my job and my kids to be engaged and learning. If that means $20 a month out of my pocket, so be it.

And to think that most teachers don't spend their own money on materials is naive.

OK, spend your money. But don't call yourself a catalyst for change. You're being taken advantage of and you're celebrating it. That is your choice, but it doesn't make you a good teacher or a wise person.

"A better teacher"? "A wise person"? Who is claiming that?

When you're in service to others, there is usually some advantage being taken. But you get over it and just continue on with the good work.

[Anonymous]

I am 19:53, but not the person you were responding to up thread when you used the term "catalyst for change".

I apologize for misreading your post as suggesting that you saw your actions as being a "catalyst for change". While I stand by my opinion that you are being taken advantage of, I respect that is your right to do what you think is best. I had trouble with the idea that you might see what you are doing as a wise move to improve education. I don't think it is.

Consider registering at donorschoose to help raise money for the things you need for the classroom. It might help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:teachers, i've never met another profession that complained as much as you all do. . .seriously. . . . .

Have you met a lawyer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 19:53, but not the person you were responding to up thread when you used the term "catalyst for change".

I apologize for misreading your post as suggesting that you saw your actions as being a "catalyst for change". While I stand by my opinion that you are being taken advantage of, I respect that is your right to do what you think is best. I had trouble with the idea that you might see what you are doing as a wise move to improve education. I don't think it is.

Consider registering at donorschoose to help raise money for the things you need for the classroom. It might help.

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

Since you are directing this to me, no, I did not think you had an epiphany about being taken advantage of. A lot of teachers are being taken advantage of and a lot of them participate in that system because of the reasons you give. That said, the epiphany I was hoping you would have, but didn't, is how your attitude and actions make the problem worse. You are not working in a vacuum. You are a responsible member of a profession and if you really care about the children, you should be working tirelessly on the public policies affecting education and, yes, being a catalyst for change. The epiphany I was hoping for is that you would see being a catalyst for change as your responsibility rather than adopting some defeatist notion that being taken advantage of comes with the territory. That is nonsense.

It's also a good idea to aspire to being a better teacher and a wiser person.

It is also incredibly insulting to assume I'm some kind of talking head consultant because I see my role as an educator as one that advocates for my field and challenges people, like yourself, who see some sort of moral superiority in eating macaroni and cheese to buy supplies for your classroom. Yes, I'm a life long educator, in a wide variety of challenging settings, like yours. Now, I teach teachers, and while I don't expect you to respect that for any particular reason, I say it because I am committed to graduating teachers who will be exactly the catalyst of change you choose not to be.

I will probably not post in this thread again, OP. I don't think we agree on much and I don't hear you as being at all open to another point of view. That's fine. I just answered this last post because you asked me a direct question. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

Since you are directing this to me, no, I did not think you had an epiphany about being taken advantage of. A lot of teachers are being taken advantage of and a lot of them participate in that system because of the reasons you give. That said, the epiphany I was hoping you would have, but didn't, is how your attitude and actions make the problem worse. You are not working in a vacuum. You are a responsible member of a profession and if you really care about the children, you should be working tirelessly on the public policies affecting education and, yes, being a catalyst for change. The epiphany I was hoping for is that you would see being a catalyst for change as your responsibility rather than adopting some defeatist notion that being taken advantage of comes with the territory. That is nonsense.

It's also a good idea to aspire to being a better teacher and a wiser person.

It is also incredibly insulting to assume I'm some kind of talking head consultant because I see my role as an educator as one that advocates for my field and challenges people, like yourself, who see some sort of moral superiority in eating macaroni and cheese to buy supplies for your classroom. Yes, I'm a life long educator, in a wide variety of challenging settings, like yours. Now, I teach teachers, and while I don't expect you to respect that for any particular reason, I say it because I am committed to graduating teachers who will be exactly the catalyst of change you choose not to be.

I will probably not post in this thread again, OP. I don't think we agree on much and I don't hear you as being at all open to another point of view. That's fine. I just answered this last post because you asked me a direct question. Good luck.

Thanks for the lecture. I didn't realize that my spending about $20 a month on classroom materials had such an adverse effect on education. But because you say so, I'll stop. We'll do without from now on. They are low income children anyway; they are accustomed to deprivation. You're welcome to come to my classroom to meet my kids and see the work that my assistant and I do every day. Please let me know if you're interested and I'm sure we can set that up. I'm a member of NAEYC and CDF, and I believe the work that I do makes a difference and effects positive change for my children. I do aspire to be a better teacher and wiser person. You've clearly reached those goals ahead of me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What I don't get is why people are begrudging time off for people who make relatively low salaries compared to people in higher paying jobs? Also, the "summers off" thing was set up a long time ago when we had an agrarian calendar and children needed to help with the harvest. If it bugs you so much, why pick on teachers? They are not the decision makers. Advocate for change; contact your member of Congress.

Note, I am neither a lawyer nor a teacher. It doesn't "bug me", but the fact is that teachers work roughly 180-200 days of the year. For many of us that work in offices, we work 230-240 days of the year. So, you work roughly 75-85% as many days as many of us. While I agree that many teachers are paid low, this is part of the reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lawyer and work my tail off and don't make much more. Yet not one feels sorry for us.

Seriously? What kind of law do you practice? I figured in this area no Lawyers made under 3 fig's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

Since you are directing this to me, no, I did not think you had an epiphany about being taken advantage of. A lot of teachers are being taken advantage of and a lot of them participate in that system because of the reasons you give. That said, the epiphany I was hoping you would have, but didn't, is how your attitude and actions make the problem worse. You are not working in a vacuum. You are a responsible member of a profession and if you really care about the children, you should be working tirelessly on the public policies affecting education and, yes, being a catalyst for change. The epiphany I was hoping for is that you would see being a catalyst for change as your responsibility rather than adopting some defeatist notion that being taken advantage of comes with the territory. That is nonsense.

It's also a good idea to aspire to being a better teacher and a wiser person.

It is also incredibly insulting to assume I'm some kind of talking head consultant because I see my role as an educator as one that advocates for my field and challenges people, like yourself, who see some sort of moral superiority in eating macaroni and cheese to buy supplies for your classroom. Yes, I'm a life long educator, in a wide variety of challenging settings, like yours. Now, I teach teachers, and while I don't expect you to respect that for any particular reason, I say it because I am committed to graduating teachers who will be exactly the catalyst of change you choose not to be.

I will probably not post in this thread again, OP. I don't think we agree on much and I don't hear you as being at all open to another point of view. That's fine. I just answered this last post because you asked me a direct question. Good luck.

Thanks for the lecture. I didn't realize that my spending about $20 a month on classroom materials had such an adverse effect on education. But because you say so, I'll stop. We'll do without from now on. They are low income children anyway; they are accustomed to deprivation. You're welcome to come to my classroom to meet my kids and see the work that my assistant and I do every day. Please let me know if you're interested and I'm sure we can set that up. I'm a member of NAEYC and CDF, and I believe the work that I do makes a difference and effects positive change for my children. I do aspire to be a better teacher and wiser person. You've clearly reached those goals ahead of me.

$20 x 10 x the number of other teachers doing the same thing

Yes, it is a NEGATIVE action that affects our profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

Since you are directing this to me, no, I did not think you had an epiphany about being taken advantage of. A lot of teachers are being taken advantage of and a lot of them participate in that system because of the reasons you give. That said, the epiphany I was hoping you would have, but didn't, is how your attitude and actions make the problem worse. You are not working in a vacuum. You are a responsible member of a profession and if you really care about the children, you should be working tirelessly on the public policies affecting education and, yes, being a catalyst for change. The epiphany I was hoping for is that you would see being a catalyst for change as your responsibility rather than adopting some defeatist notion that being taken advantage of comes with the territory. That is nonsense.

It's also a good idea to aspire to being a better teacher and a wiser person.

It is also incredibly insulting to assume I'm some kind of talking head consultant because I see my role as an educator as one that advocates for my field and challenges people, like yourself, who see some sort of moral superiority in eating macaroni and cheese to buy supplies for your classroom. Yes, I'm a life long educator, in a wide variety of challenging settings, like yours. Now, I teach teachers, and while I don't expect you to respect that for any particular reason, I say it because I am committed to graduating teachers who will be exactly the catalyst of change you choose not to be.

I will probably not post in this thread again, OP. I don't think we agree on much and I don't hear you as being at all open to another point of view. That's fine. I just answered this last post because you asked me a direct question. Good luck.

+1

Signed,
another educator who at one point also trained teachers

[Anonymous]

I am a lawyer and my wife teaches 1st grade in a local private school making 38K. She has her masters and 5 years under her belt. I will be the first to say that she works just as hard as I do. Whereas I am able to leave work at work at the end of the day my DW is always planning/organizing/creating at home after hours. She spends at least 100$ of her own money every month and works as tutor several afternoons a week and all summer. On top of all of the outside school work she does, the worst part of her job are the phone calls and emails from parents 24/7 expecting answers right away. Again, when I leave work 95% of the time I can check out -- where DW has answered questions via email and phone at 10 pm on a Friday night and 8 am on a Sunday morning. In my opinion, THAT is the dedication that deserves a higher paycheck. (before people say she doesn't have to answer -- she has tried that and the calls/emails keep coming demanding responses so she has found it easier just to take care of it right away)

However, she knew what she was getting into and loves it. She loves every child and really worries about their education and says that is what makes it all worth it. I think 3 years ago, before I knew her, I would have agreed with the people saying teachers can’t complain bc of the ‘perks’ they get. But seeing the stress she is under due to testing scores/administration drama and most importantly – the parents expectations for her to be on call at all times. I definitely think teachers are underpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I am a lawyer and my wife teaches 1st grade in a local private school making 38K. She has her masters and 5 years under her belt. I will be the first to say that she works just as hard as I do. Whereas I am able to leave work at work at the end of the day my DW is always planning/organizing/creating at home after hours. She spends at least 100$ of her own money every month and works as tutor several afternoons a week and all summer. On top of all of the outside school work she does, the worst part of her job are the phone calls and emails from parents 24/7 expecting answers right away. Again, when I leave work 95% of the time I can check out -- where DW has answered questions via email and phone at 10 pm on a Friday night and 8 am on a Sunday morning. In my opinion, THAT is the dedication that deserves a higher paycheck. (before people say she doesn't have to answer -- she has tried that and the calls/emails keep coming demanding responses so she has found it easier just to take care of it right away)

However, she knew what she was getting into and loves it. She loves every child and really worries about their education and says that is what makes it all worth it. I think 3 years ago, before I knew her, I would have agreed with the people saying teachers can’t complain bc of the ‘perks’ they get. But seeing the stress she is under due to testing scores/administration drama and most importantly – the parents expectations for her to be on call at all times. I definitely think teachers are underpaid.

Thank you so much! If only others appreciated teachers like you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for admitting that you misread my statement.

I must ask you, though, if you think I had an epiphany when you stated that I'm being taken advantage of? I know that; it comes with the territory. And I'm certainly not being taken advantage of by the children.

You reminded me of one of those talking head consultants when you mentioned improving education. They can talk all they want, but the bottom line is children don't wait. I'm not going to deprive them of robust classroom experiences NOW because of a lack of materials. That's not fair. A friend of mine who teaches in the Bronx was audited by the IRS because she wrote off classroom materials she purchased as "business expenses." That's not fair either. But you do what you gotta do.

Since you are directing this to me, no, I did not think you had an epiphany about being taken advantage of. A lot of teachers are being taken advantage of and a lot of them participate in that system because of the reasons you give. That said, the epiphany I was hoping you would have, but didn't, is how your attitude and actions make the problem worse. You are not working in a vacuum. You are a responsible member of a profession and if you really care about the children, you should be working tirelessly on the public policies affecting education and, yes, being a catalyst for change. The epiphany I was hoping for is that you would see being a catalyst for change as your responsibility rather than adopting some defeatist notion that being taken advantage of comes with the territory. That is nonsense.

It's also a good idea to aspire to being a better teacher and a wiser person.

It is also incredibly insulting to assume I'm some kind of talking head consultant because I see my role as an educator as one that advocates for my field and challenges people, like yourself, who see some sort of moral superiority in eating macaroni and cheese to buy supplies for your classroom. Yes, I'm a life long educator, in a wide variety of challenging settings, like yours. Now, I teach teachers, and while I don't expect you to respect that for any particular reason, I say it because I am committed to graduating teachers who will be exactly the catalyst of change you choose not to be.

I will probably not post in this thread again, OP. I don't think we agree on much and I don't hear you as being at all open to another point of view. That's fine. I just answered this last post because you asked me a direct question. Good luck.

Cut the sanctimonious BS. Early childhood teachers need amply supplied classrooms. That's the bottom line. You can't tell a five year old, "Sorry, we don't any more crayons until the administration figures it out."

[Anonymous]

... HAVE any more crayons...

sorry