Why are our teachers being paid to do 0-30 minutes of teaching every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an educator for MCPS. What I think some critics don't realize is that we had to have a starting point. We are literally reshaping what education looks like in our country after 200+ years of doing the same old thing. We are slowly ramping up because the writing is on the walls and we are going to be in this for the long haul. Most of us realize by now that we probably won't be back this year. Once we get these tech issues figured out we can begin layering in SS and Science content. From there, more small group instruction for literacy. We can't launch all of this at one time and it be even remotely effective. I live in Frederick county and our kids are just getting assignments on their Google Classrooms Monday morning and it's all due by Friday. For parents of elementary students it's all on us. There is NO contact from the teachers. We will get there with the instruction but please be patient.

Please chime in when the Frederick Co public school troll starts attacking MCPS under the claim that her children have hours of live classes every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is after trying to teach my child and help her the past few weeks - I have nothing but respect for her teachers. They aren't paid enough.

Respectfully disagree. Apparently they are paid too much. What I’ve learned from posts on this thread is -

- Teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction.

- Teachers can’t handle technology and aren’t capable of learning new ways of presenting information despite the fact that online education forums and tools have been in use for 15+ years and are fairly easy to use with some training (which MCPS said they provided)

- Teachers mock parents who dare to question approaches or have reasonable questions about the way kids are being taught. This, according to some PPs, is the norm in regular school session not just during the current situation

- Teachers believe that delivering 1/4 of the teaching = full value of education. Meaning, we are paying teachers waaaaaayyyy much and they have poor math skills

- Lastly, any question regarding how MCPS teachers are developing the online modules and/or rationale for the minimal teaching time is greeted with insults.
Leads one to conclude these are people who shouldn’t be anywhere near young people. Or people. Maybe social distancing is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PARENTS:

You might want to listen during the zoom call. Several kids commented that their parents were still asleep during my kid’s 9am zoom call this morning.

I cal total BS on this post. With as pathetic as the Zoom technology has been in MCPS has been and as hard as it’s been to actually log on and find a teacher on the other side, no kid is navigating that solo. Parents are awake and working hard.

Sad the contempt so many teachers have for parents.
You know, the people who pay their salaries.

You know, teachers also pay taxes that pay teachers’ salaries. As do single 20-something’s and childless couples and people with adult children. You don’t own teachers. MCPS teachers were told by MCPS that the first two weeks were like snow days and that they were not supposed to be working. Because those days may be made-up during or at the end of the school year. This week, teachers were working but they didn’t have the two previous weeks to prep because they were told not to work and given very little explanation of what would be expected once distance learning started.

For everyone who says “my company adapted quicker” I’d like to ask if all your clients and online meetings and communications happen with children? Because it is completely different to deal with other adults than to deal with children. Other adults also know how to use and can figure out how to use technology. Other adults use email and can type. Other adults have adult attention spans and adult abilities not to interrupt a meeting with irrelevant content. It’s completely different than dealing with kids and just not comparable.

My kids are having no problem which the adjustment and are ready to learn. And plenty of us parents are having to heavily engage in the process despite working full time jobs ourselves. Stop blaming the kids. The teachers aren’t ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe our taxes are paying for this.

Well, I can't believe someone is complaining about our taxes paying for the teachers when: there are people dying all around, with the lockdown just in the third week, and the whole model of teaching changing drastically, where the teachers are still trying to figure out how to go about their work.

Unless you are in NYC, there are not "people dying all around." In Maryland, we've had 53 deaths in state of 6 million. Please don't use this as your argument.

Oh, that's a relief - only 53 deaths in MD. Let's stop this lockdown BS and send kids back to school then.

Sheesh ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is after trying to teach my child and help her the past few weeks - I have nothing but respect for her teachers. They aren't paid enough.

+1 I would not be able to do that job!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe our taxes are paying for this.

Well, I can't believe someone is complaining about our taxes paying for the teachers when: there are people dying all around, with the lockdown just in the third week, and the whole model of teaching changing drastically, where the teachers are still trying to figure out how to go about their work.

Unless you are in NYC, there are not "people dying all around." In Maryland, we've had 53 deaths in state of 6 million. Please don't use this as your argument.

Don't worry, PP, the numbers are going to go up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is after trying to teach my child and help her the past few weeks - I have nothing but respect for her teachers. They aren't paid enough.

Respectfully disagree. Apparently they are paid too much. What I’ve learned from posts on this thread is -

- Teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction.

- Teachers can’t handle technology and aren’t capable of learning new ways of presenting information despite the fact that online education forums and tools have been in use for 15+ years and are fairly easy to use with some training (which MCPS said they provided)

- Teachers mock parents who dare to question approaches or have reasonable questions about the way kids are being taught. This, according to some PPs, is the norm in regular school session not just during the current situation

- Teachers believe that delivering 1/4 of the teaching = full value of education. Meaning, we are paying teachers waaaaaayyyy much and they have poor math skills

- Lastly, any question regarding how MCPS teachers are developing the online modules and/or rationale for the minimal teaching time is greeted with insults.
Leads one to conclude these are people who shouldn’t be anywhere near young people. Or people. Maybe social distancing is a good thing.

+1. We get that teachers would rather be in classrooms teaching the traditional way. We’d certainly prefer our kids were in the classroom too. But parents shouldn’t be attacked for asking why direct support from teachers has been so limited. We can advocate for change in the system but only when we understand what’s behind the difficulties.

[Anonymous]

Just so you know, teachers are not the ones developing online modules and curriculum. Central Office is. Teachers have to make do with the directives they are given or leave. Which is also your choice, or as a parent you could advocate for the quality of your child's education by contacting and lobbying the Board of Education or MCPS directly. But be warned, the wheels move slowly or not at all, which is the same quandary teachers face whenever they disagree with curriculum changes. That being said, a parent complaining always gets more traction than a teacher, 100% of the time.

Are some teachers more effective educators than others? Absolutely. It was the case before coronavirus and it will be the case whenever this is "over." Every MCPS teacher is doing what they can with what they've got. Better believe that any teacher going "rogue" and teaching their own way online would hear about it from administration.

Also, if you believe "teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction," you're welcome to continue your home instruction in the fall or take it to private school. You won't be missed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just so you know, teachers are not the ones developing online modules and curriculum. Central Office is. Teachers have to make do with the directives they are given or leave. Which is also your choice, or as a parent you could advocate for the quality of your child's education by contacting and lobbying the Board of Education or MCPS directly. But be warned, the wheels move slowly or not at all, which is the same quandary teachers face whenever they disagree with curriculum changes. That being said, a parent complaining always gets more traction than a teacher, 100% of the time.

Are some teachers more effective educators than others? Absolutely. It was the case before coronavirus and it will be the case whenever this is "over." Every MCPS teacher is doing what they can with what they've got. Better believe that any teacher going "rogue" and teaching their own way online would hear about it from administration.

Also, if you believe "teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction," you're welcome to continue your home instruction in the fall or take it to private school. You won't be missed.

This is the retort that posters have made when parents suggest that 40 minutes is too limited. Posters respond that parents are responsible for education and need to make due. Either this is the case - in which case, no, teachers have no specialized skills and can be easily replaced by a parent with no formal training in education. Or it’s not true and parents aren’t the same as a teacher and shouldn’t be charged with essentially navigating formal instruction for the duration of the school year. Which is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just so you know, teachers are not the ones developing online modules and curriculum. Central Office is. Teachers have to make do with the directives they are given or leave. Which is also your choice, or as a parent you could advocate for the quality of your child's education by contacting and lobbying the Board of Education or MCPS directly. But be warned, the wheels move slowly or not at all, which is the same quandary teachers face whenever they disagree with curriculum changes. That being said, a parent complaining always gets more traction than a teacher, 100% of the time.

Are some teachers more effective educators than others? Absolutely. It was the case before coronavirus and it will be the case whenever this is "over." Every MCPS teacher is doing what they can with what they've got. Better believe that any teacher going "rogue" and teaching their own way online would hear about it from administration.

Also, if you believe "teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction," you're welcome to continue your home instruction in the fall or take it to private school. You won't be missed.

This is the retort that posters have made when parents suggest that 40 minutes is too limited. Posters respond that parents are responsible for education and need to make due. Either this is the case - in which case, no, teachers have no specialized skills and can be easily replaced by a parent with no formal training in education. Or it’s not true and parents aren’t the same as a teacher and shouldn’t be charged with essentially navigating formal instruction for the duration of the school year. Which is it?

If —such as right now— you had limited access to a doctor, would you not offer any medical treatment to your child because you aren’t a doctor and it’s not your job? Or would you assume that doctors must not have specialized training if you are expected to do some first aid at home? Which is it?

[Anonymous]

Really don't understand what you mean by this. You're basing all qualifications for teachers on the fact that they're "only" teaching online for 40 minutes during a pandemic. ***Teachers*** don't ***decide*** to teach for "only" 40 minutes. The ***county*** does. Take it up with ***management***. If you really think teachers have no business doing their jobs all year round, online, in person, whatever, go ahead and homeschool your kid.

Have a good one.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. Please understand it is not developmentally appropriate to have children sitting for a longer period of time. Generally the rule of thumb is we will get 1-2 minutes of full attention for every year of age. So a kindergartner that is 5, we can at most expect their attention for about 10 minutes. After that we become a virtual babysitter.

Why is it different than in school? At school we have other independent and semi independent activities to help reinforce the indicators being taught. At this point the teachers are doing 1:1 assessments, providing enrichment or intervention in small groups while still monitoring Susie who is crying because Charlie gave her a bad look, Larla has a bloody nose, and of course Bobby fled the room. Now take away all the management pieces and assessments and you are left with a much abbreviated lesson (which still requires extension and practice with an adult.) This doesn’t mean the learning stopped after 10 minutes, it’s that the instruction became more scaffolded and students are given time to practice and develop their understanding of what was taught.

Granted older children can handle a bit more but there is continued learning when doing independent work.

Please give the teachers a break! We have spent years determining the best instructional strategies to help our students learn. In a matter of days we have learned a new math and a new reading program, we have dug deep into the intricacies of both MyMCPS classroom and Google Classroom to see which platform best meets the needs of our students. At the heart of it all, we just want what is best for our students!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is after trying to teach my child and help her the past few weeks - I have nothing but respect for her teachers. They aren't paid enough.

Respectfully disagree. Apparently they are paid too much. What I’ve learned from posts on this thread is -

- Teachers do not have any specialized skills because parents who have no background and training in education should have no problem picking up where teachers left off in mid March and make due with 40 minutes of instruction.

- Teachers can’t handle technology and aren’t capable of learning new ways of presenting information despite the fact that online education forums and tools have been in use for 15+ years and are fairly easy to use with some training (which MCPS said they provided)

- Teachers mock parents who dare to question approaches or have reasonable questions about the way kids are being taught. This, according to some PPs, is the norm in regular school session not just during the current situation

- Teachers believe that delivering 1/4 of the teaching = full value of education. Meaning, we are paying teachers waaaaaayyyy much and they have poor math skills

- Lastly, any question regarding how MCPS teachers are developing the online modules and/or rationale for the minimal teaching time is greeted with insults.
Leads one to conclude these are people who shouldn’t be anywhere near young people. Or people. Maybe social distancing is a good thing.

New Poster. Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people assume you are an idiot. Rather than opening it and confirming your ignorance to the world. Homeschool your kids, ffs. I have tremendous respect for teachers. And before you ask, I am not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

I teach at a college and also work FT. We were asked to change instruction on a dime and we have. As a single mom I also have to homeschool my kids between insane meetings bc there is so little instruction happening from teachers. I wld be fired if I didn't do my job and I dont have time to do someone else's job (teachers!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe our taxes are paying for this.

Well, I can't believe someone is complaining about our taxes paying for the teachers when: there are people dying all around, with the lockdown just in the third week, and the whole model of teaching changing drastically, where the teachers are still trying to figure out how to go about their work.

Unless you are in NYC, there are not "people dying all around." In Maryland, we've had 53 deaths in state of 6 million. Please don't use this as your argument.

Oh, that's a relief - only 53 deaths in MD. Let's stop this lockdown BS and send kids back to school then.

Sheesh ...

Do you have any "critical thinking" skills? The response is that using "people are dying all around" is not an intelligent way to deflect criticism. Yes, I probably would support ending the lockdown, but that was no where in the post. The point is to stop being hysterical, and respond to the problems that we ARE actually facing, like poor education.