Teacher took yesterday off to be at the white house egg roll...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me tell my sister I cannot attend her wedding in California next month because my students' moms won't judge it worthy of a day off. As it is I'm already flying out Thursday night, home Sunday afternoon and spending $300 more PER ticket to only miss one day vs flying home Monday.

That's called living up to your commitments at work. You want sympathy for that?

You are f'g nuts, teachers have families and personal lives too. Signed, not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

I always heard that benefits to teachers help to make up for the lower pay. It seems more and more that people want to reduce both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always heard that benefits to teachers help to make up for the lower pay. It seems more and more that people want to reduce both.

I get one personal day per year as a teacher. It seems I have to run that personal day by my students' parents to make sure it is taken for an acceptable reason and only when they say it is okay to take it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ask me, the teacher's only mistake was telling people where she was going--she certainly has a right to take the time off that she's been given. She was probably excited, since everyone knows how hard those tickets are to get, but she should have kept quiet due to parents like OP.

Why do they get time off during the school year beyond sick leave? I know if I had a 30 person meeting I was leading, the only way I would miss it is if I was sick. They only work 180 days per year and are paid a salary that is intended to be an annual salary. Sucks that means you won't make it to some events, but that's why it's called a job.

If you had a 30 person meeting how many hours would you be given to prep?

If it was the same meeting I had hosted for years, very few.

Good point! Comparing a classroom to a business meeting of adults is apples to oranges. I have taught 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. Even though I have taught the same grade level for consecutive years, the lessons and student needs are different causing changes in lessons. I'm always tweeking and finding new ways to present standards.

Does the pp think that a day in the classroom is just the teacher standing in front of and presenting to 30 students?

And they're all well behaved and have no struggles and don't throw paper airplanes and...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always heard that benefits to teachers help to make up for the lower pay. It seems more and more that people want to reduce both.

I get one personal day per year as a teacher. It seems I have to run that personal day by my students' parents to make sure it is taken for an acceptable reason and only when they say it is okay to take it.

No, you don't. Most parents are very reasonable despite a few nuts on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me tell my sister I cannot attend her wedding in California next month because my students' moms won't judge it worthy of a day off. As it is I'm already flying out Thursday night, home Sunday afternoon and spending $300 more PER ticket to only miss one day vs flying home Monday.

That's called living up to your commitments at work. You want sympathy for that?

You are f'g nuts, teachers have families and personal lives too. Signed, not a teacher.

The teacher is complaining about having to buy a more expensive plane ticket that enables him/her to show up for work on time. Teachers work when school is in session, just like accountants work at tax time and waiters work on Saturday nights. It's the job you chose - you need to show up when school is in session. You have every BS holiday and break off - organize yourself so you show up for work when they kids are expected to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me tell my sister I cannot attend her wedding in California next month because my students' moms won't judge it worthy of a day off. As it is I'm already flying out Thursday night, home Sunday afternoon and spending $300 more PER ticket to only miss one day vs flying home Monday.

That's called living up to your commitments at work. You want sympathy for that?

You are f'g nuts, teachers have families and personal lives too. Signed, not a teacher.

The teacher is complaining about having to buy a more expensive plane ticket that enables him/her to show up for work on time. Teachers work when school is in session, just like accountants work at tax time and waiters work on Saturday nights. It's the job you chose - you need to show up when school is in session. You have every BS holiday and break off - organize yourself so you show up for work when they kids are expected to be there.

I took it as a response to the pp rather than a complaint. The teacher is saying the more expensive ticket was purchased to allow him/her to miss the minimal amount of days. Isn't that what you prefer?

I don't understand how the part in bold applies. The sister is getting married and it doesn't happen to fall during a holiday or break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me tell my sister I cannot attend her wedding in California next month because my students' moms won't judge it worthy of a day off. As it is I'm already flying out Thursday night, home Sunday afternoon and spending $300 more PER ticket to only miss one day vs flying home Monday.

That's called living up to your commitments at work. You want sympathy for that?

You are f'g nuts, teachers have families and personal lives too. Signed, not a teacher.

The teacher is complaining about having to buy a more expensive plane ticket that enables him/her to show up for work on time. Teachers work when school is in session, just like accountants work at tax time and waiters work on Saturday nights. It's the job you chose - you need to show up when school is in session. You have every BS holiday and break off - organize yourself so you show up for work when they kids are expected to be there.

Please just STFU and go find something productive to do. Go spend time with your kids or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is more of a venting post, but I am so annoyed that my child's teacher took the day off yesterday to bring her kids to the white house egg roll. We haven't even considered the egg roll because it's a school day, right after a week off for spring break. But apparently its okay for the teacher?

Good for her. Teachers' kids deserve time to build special memories, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes it is okay for the teacher to use her personal days as she wishes. Admin can't even ask why they want to use a personal day. That sounds like a fun use of a personal day. I am a teacher and I usually use mine for boring appointments and parent teacher conferences for my child.

In my system, I don't have to give the reason why I want a personal day, but I do need it pre-approved 2 days in advance. So I can't really use them for most true (non-medical) emergencies. When a pipe burst above my apt drenching all my belongings and displacing us for 72 hours, I had 2 absent w/o pay days as a result so that I could deal with the insurance company and find shelter for us and the cat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I have a doctor's appointment in April. Should I clear that with all of the families before I go? I mean, it's just a physical, so is it justified I use "sick" days when I could be doing important teaching?

No, you should do your absolute best to schedule it on one of the myriad days off from school that are available to you. When I have a physical, I schedule them so they are 8 am, so I can be back to work by 930. Sounds like you are planning an entire day. Teachers = lazy Gov't workers.

That's nice. I have to be at school at 7:45 and only one of my doctors has appointments past 3:00 in the afternoons. I try to schedule dentist appointments on days off and that usually works except when it snows. I always schedule them for MLK Day or Presidents Day. This year, it snowed so I had to reschedule them in June when school is out. Other appointments are time sensitive so that I can't visit the doctor (or my kids' doctors) unless it has been a year or more. That limits my options. Nobody needs to know why I am not at school other than my boss.

And should I consult with all of you and my students when my own son has his IEP meetings? Seriously, folks. Teachers are real, honest-to-goodness humans with equally complex lives as yours. And like PP said, nobody needs to know why I am at my school other than my boss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ask me, the teacher's only mistake was telling people where she was going--she certainly has a right to take the time off that she's been given. She was probably excited, since everyone knows how hard those tickets are to get, but she should have kept quiet due to parents like OP.

Why do they get time off during the school year beyond sick leave? I know if I had a 30 person meeting I was leading, the only way I would miss it is if I was sick. They only work 180 days per year and are paid a salary that is intended to be an annual salary. Sucks that means you won't make it to some events, but that's why it's called a job.

If you had a 30 person meeting how many hours would you be given to prep?

If it was the same meeting I had hosted for years, very few.

Even if I moved to some sort of Stepford school where the classes of kids were interchangeable, and the curriculum never changed, and there was no expectation that I differentiate or modify to accommodate students with disabilities or behavior problems or high or low skills, or incorporate student interest, or current events, I'd still need time to look over the lesson plan that I used 12 months earlier, and grade papers afterwards.

My brother is a corporate trainer. He trains groups of adults who are far more homogenous than any group of students I've ever taught, in that they all work in the same field and have certain prerequisite skills, all speak fluent English, etc . . . He also isn't responsible for their learning in the way that a classroom teacher is. He presents the material, if they don't pay attention, or don't master it, that's on them, not him. He also doesn't supervise them in the bathroom, or on their coffee breaks, or answer emails from their mothers. He teaches the same material over and over again. His job description is far closer to hosting the same meeting over and over again, than mine is.

For every day he trains, during which he presents for 5 hours, he gets 1 day of prep time to review the script, practice, gather and pack up his materials, etc . . . He also gets 1/2 a day afterwards to review the data from the training, such as the course evaluation and make changes. This is for a script that he's already been trained on, and that he didn't write. If he writes a training, or is learning a new training, he gets more days. He tells me this is standard in the corporate world.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a sweet deal! What's the salary? Heck, I'd love to have more than 3 minutes to go to the bathroom.

[Anonymous]

What the teacher does with allowed days off is no one's business. But many teachers have no idea what it means to be a professional and keep professional boundaries. They share too many personal details, treating parents buddies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I took half of a personal day the Friday before spring break to see my own child in a performance at their school. We are people with families, too. It's the 2nd time ever I've done that and I and am going to be there for my children. We get vacation but we can't control special events.

You did the right thing. Responsible parenting is the most important priority. More parents should learn from you.

Thank you. And I agree with those discouraging others from going into teaching. I love my job and get the summers and breaks but the rest is inflexible. DH is the one who can volunteer in the classroom occasionally and attend most events with his more flexible schedule. I also work nights and weekends but he makes 4x my salary and still gets a lot of vacation. As I said, I love my job and have common school breaks but other professions have different perks. I hope my children do not become teachers.