Teachers - How Hard is Your Job, Really?

[Anonymous]

I do think teachers work hard
I don't think they are under appreciated or undervalued, most professions don't get lauded nearly as much.
I think they pay is solidly middle class and I don't know what's so bad about that.
I'm sorry you can't pee whenever you want, that sucks.
I think teacher whine the most of any profession. Is whining contagious? Did they get it from the students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is a stupid comparison. Most teachers teach the same or very similar curriculum year after year. It's not new "data" you're presenting once you have a year or so under your belt.

This is a perfect example of the ignorance many people have about education and what teachers do.

While the basic framework (standards/subject area) doesn't change significantly annually, the curriculum itself can. Both materials and methodology change constantly based on student needs.

[Anonymous]

This whole thread reminds me of SAHM threads. Somebody posts and asks teachers/SAHMs to defend their time/existence and when they do, they get torn about and called whiners.

Best not to engage, teachers and SAHMs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread reminds me of SAHM threads. Somebody posts and asks teachers/SAHMs to defend their time/existence and when they do, they get torn about and called whiners.

Best not to engage, teachers and SAHMs.

Good analogy and advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread reminds me of SAHM threads. Somebody posts and asks teachers/SAHMs to defend their time/existence and when they do, they get torn about and called whiners.

Best not to engage, teachers and SAHMs.

Good analogy and advice.

I agree. I think that most of the teachers who posted here are not whining, but simply outlining the demands of the job.
Those of us who decided to become teachers generally knew what we were getting into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there was a study showing education majors tended to have lower high school gpa and had lower gpa while in college compared to students with other majors.

Link to the study, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think the PP's point was that someone graduating from Bowie State with 2.8 GPA with a major in education or sociology would have a tough time getting a decent job except maybe teaching.

Well, yes, if you have a degree in Field X, it often is hard to get a job in a different field.

But this snobbery about Bowie State and so on is really just plain snobbery. There are over 3 million public-school teachers in the US. Even if every graduate of Harvard and Yale went into public-school teaching, every year, for decades, that wouldn't be enough supply for the demand -- entirely apart from the question of whether a Harvard/Yale graduate is necessarily a better teacher than a Bowie State graduate, holding all of the teacher education factors constant.

[Anonymous]

I think curriculum changes too much these days. We're considering private because we're so sick of the curriculum changes from year to year. Teachers are all confused and can't teach anything well. Entire subjects are lost to try out some new fad. But then they get on DCUM and say school is boring if the curriculum isn't changed yearly as if the whole purpose of the curriculum is to entertain them. For each child, it's new information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread reminds me of SAHM threads. Somebody posts and asks teachers/SAHMs to defend their time/existence and when they do, they get torn about and called whiners.

Best not to engage, teachers and SAHMs.

Good analogy and advice.

OMG please. Anyone can be a SAHM. NOT anyone can be a quality teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread reminds me of SAHM threads. Somebody posts and asks teachers/SAHMs to defend their time/existence and when they do, they get torn about and called whiners.

Best not to engage, teachers and SAHMs.

Good analogy and advice.

OMG please. Anyone can be a SAHM. NOT anyone can be a quality teacher.

Your response makes no sense in this context. There is a similarity in how these two groups are treated here on DCUM. And apparently, realtors too (see new thread today/last night). Teachers and SAHMs don't generally come out whining, but when asked to defend themselves and account for their time, they get flamed. Doesn't seem fair since they are being asked.

I am guessing based on your response, you are one of those people who pile on SAHMs and can't see your own hypocrisy.

I am neither a SAHm nor a teacher (okay--I am, a college professor but that is not the same as a primary school teacher, duh), and even I can see how unfairly these threads tend to unspool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think teachers work hard
I don't think they are under appreciated or undervalued, most professions don't get lauded nearly as much.
I think they pay is solidly middle class and I don't know what's so bad about that.
I'm sorry you can't pee whenever you want, that sucks.
I think teacher whine the most of any profession. Is whining contagious? Did they get it from the students?

I agree with this. I taught for 2 years. Hated it. For all the negative reasons people complain about. That being said, there were some really nice parts of the job and great perks- built in vacations/summer, etc.

I think teachers are maybe the most appreciated profession I know. People constantly talk about how wonderful teachers are all the time. The pay is ok, but honestly, if I were still teaching I would be making more money than I do in my office job...

I think its a tough job, you bet. But my job can be tough too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I agree with this. I taught for 2 years. Hated it. For all the negative reasons people complain about. That being said, there were some really nice parts of the job and great perks- built in vacations/summer, etc.

I think teachers are maybe the most appreciated profession I know. People constantly talk about how wonderful teachers are all the time. The pay is ok, but honestly, if I were still teaching I would be making more money than I do in my office job...

I think its a tough job, you bet. But my job can be tough too.

People constantly talk about how wonderful mothers are all the time, too. And yet the US is the only non-poor country in the world without maternity leave. What a society actually does is more important than what a society actually says. Does anybody in the US go into teaching because it's a high-prestige profession?

[Anonymous]

The ranking of different majors by SAT scores (total, reading, math, writing).

Education is pretty much in the last place right above various vocational trades and technicians.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-average-sat-score-for-every-college-major-2014-10

[Anonymous]

Average GRE Scores by Intended Graduate Major

http://www.ncsu.edu/chass/philo/GRE%20Scores%20by%20Intended%20Graduate%20Major.htm

Various graduate education majors fill the bottom 10 to 14 slots for 3 sections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ranking of different majors by SAT scores (total, reading, math, writing).

Education is pretty much in the last place right above various vocational trades and technicians.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-average-sat-score-for-every-college-major-2014-10

This would be meaningful if

1. the only way (or even the primary way) to become a teacher was to major in education as an undergraduate -- but it isn't
2. SAT scores had any relationship to any real-life factor, let alone teaching ability -- but they don't