MCPS is closing Wed 11/24, day before Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCEA President at their press conference today demanding more early dismissal days like what Howard County has done. Welcome back weekend Wednesdays! She said ‘the day before thanksgiving being off is just the start’.

So sad that the teachers union pushed for schools to remain closed, and now using the poor outcomes and mental health of students as the reason why they need less teaching time due to their ‘burnout’. Come on- they get the whole summer off. Want to talk about burnout- talk to health care professionals. We stick with it though… we don’t take advantage of a bad situation to advance our own position.

So pathetic.

Summers are not off." They are unpaid time not part of teachers' contracts. But hey, if their gig is soooooo easy, join them! Enjoy that sweet, sweet salary cut of a first year teacher.

+1500000....I'm a government contracter for part of the year. I do not work the other 6 months because to be honest, I don't need to. I re-up every six months. No one has EVER accused me of the bs they accuse teachers of because most people understand how CONTRACTS work. Teachers are contracted for ten months a year. Try to keep up.

Funny- I always assumed teachers kept their health care subsidies over the summer. I didn't realize their contracts ended and had to go on COBRA.

Hm. Your assumption is not quite right. Teachers do keep their healthcare over the summer…because they’ve already paid for it through deductions from their ten months of biweekly paychecks! Funny how that works…

Are you under the impression those deductions cover the total cost of coverage?

The district is paying for about 80% of those health care benefits during the months teachers aren't working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

Just let MCPS know which other days you would like them to schedule school because there is a requirement for 180 days.

Once again, there will not be any added days, as this will take the place of a snow day, and if a second snow day is later needed, it will be virtual.

So their plan is to just drop school days. What a great idea given the success of virtual last year... That'll definitely help catch students up.

You actually think learning is going on in school when half the kids are out and it is the day before thanksgiving.
Sheesh! I’m a parent, not a teacher but some of you parents are nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

Just let MCPS know which other days you would like them to schedule school because there is a requirement for 180 days.

Once again, there will not be any added days, as this will take the place of a snow day, and if a second snow day is later needed, it will be virtual.

So their plan is to just drop school days. What a great idea given the success of virtual last year... That'll definitely help catch students up.

You actually think learning is going on in school when half the kids are out and it is the day before thanksgiving.
Sheesh! I’m a parent, not a teacher but some of you parents are nuts.

The pp was talking about getting rid of make-up snow days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

Well, it's nice that you are able to find a better employee so quickly and easily, but surely you can understand that's not how things work with classroom teachers - right? There is no pool of better classroom teachers just waiting for a middle-of-the-year opportunity to get hired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

How old is your oldest child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Are you under the impression those deductions cover the total cost of coverage?

The district is paying for about 80% of those health care benefits during the months teachers aren't working.

PP, I think you don't understand how contracts work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high schooler is thrilled to get the day off. Kids need a break just as much as teachers do. Teachers can’t teach anything that day anyway because half the kids are missing. It is a pointless babysitting day. Many districts give the week off.

m


I agree with this. High schoolers are exhausted. MCPS still clings to their archaic practice of starting HS way too early in the morning. I wish kids had a half day once a week ideally where the high school kids went in the afternoon rather than the morning

Put your kids to bed earlier. Simple.

Could you please explain how to put a 16-year-old to bed? Thank you.

Ask Woody Allen

Ew

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

Right. But you know teachers are being denied personal leave (even if they have a sub lined up to cover). Unapproved to attend the wedding of a best friend, see new grandchildren Also, teachers are not at the mercy of brokering deals with their “clients.” And when a teacher is denied leave but they call out sick, who do you think covers their class last minute? Subs are extremely rare! Mm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because those conferences should happening right now, like they have every other year. These kids are basically getting a full week off of school. I thought they were really concerned about catching kids up from last year. That week is now a wash.

Right now they should be more concerned with teacher burnout. It's real. And while other surrounding counties are doing things to accommodate the mental health and well-being of their teachers, MCPS is piling on more responsibility.

DP

Is this for real? What do you think burnout is like in other professions? Nurses, truck drivers, law enforcement, retail, restaurant workers? Anyone who has been working in person during this pandemic. Are teachers somehow more ‘special’?

Teachers worked from home for over a year.

And for many, including myself, it was exponentially harder than coming into school.

And having no job at all was exponentially harder than losing one and not being able to find a new stable safe one at a similar salary. You kept your job, benefits, seniority, retirement, etc.

I can’t believe teacher do not understand how unbelievably privileged they were to work remotely, keep working thru the pandemic, and get prioritized access to vaccination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

Well, it's nice that you are able to find a better employee so quickly and easily, but surely you can understand that's not how things work with classroom teachers - right? There is no pool of better classroom teachers just waiting for a middle-of-the-year opportunity to get hired.

Similarly, there aren't a lot of jobs willing to pay ~$100k over 10 months, with a pension and remarkably good health benefits, to someone with a masters of education degree.

Teachers can and do quit, but they're not going to quit because you wouldn't let them take a day off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

I quit a job and still got unemployment. All you need to do is prove that there was justification of why you quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

Well, it's nice that you are able to find a better employee so quickly and easily, but surely you can understand that's not how things work with classroom teachers - right? There is no pool of better classroom teachers just waiting for a middle-of-the-year opportunity to get hired.

Similarly, there aren't a lot of jobs willing to pay ~$100k over 10 months, with a pension and remarkably good health benefits, to someone with a masters of education degree.

Teachers can and do quit, but they're not going to quit because you wouldn't let them take a day off.

Most teachers aren't payed that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

What do you do, as a manager, when you deny leave, and instead of working that day, your report quits?

Find a better employee while being thankful we won't get hit with higher unemployment insurance costs.

Well, it's nice that you are able to find a better employee so quickly and easily, but surely you can understand that's not how things work with classroom teachers - right? There is no pool of better classroom teachers just waiting for a middle-of-the-year opportunity to get hired.

The county is still short teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank goodness school is closed on Wednesday. MCPS was stupid not to schedule the day off from the beginning. They are not tethered to reality. My other kid is at private and has two days off this week and the whole week of thanksgiving off.

I agree it was stupid to have the half day. But it is even worse to change the calendar with only 2 weeks notice. If they wanted to do this, they should have done it at the start of the school year.

This is my point. I respect teachers, which means I think they have a "real" job. In a "real" job, sometimes you are not allowed to take vacation on a given day because your presence is required to fulfill your obligations to the client. In this case, MCPS had the opportunity to say no, as I have to sometimes as a manager, but they chose to just close school instead.

Right. But you know teachers are being denied personal leave (even if they have a sub lined up to cover). Unapproved to attend the wedding of a best friend, see new grandchildren Also, teachers are not at the mercy of brokering deals with their “clients.” And when a teacher is denied leave but they call out sick, who do you think covers their class last minute? Subs are extremely rare! Mm

Sounds like MCEA should have considered that when they negotiated the pay for substitute teachers. They're half the reason subs are near-minimum-wage jobs.