NPR Article on Public Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher who has responded previously and I agree that staff shouldn't be allowed to take off right after or before a holiday. I worked for one district in the past, where if you did this, you had to have a doctor's note saying why you couldn't go to work. But yeah, the sub shortage and the teacher shortage is severe. We have principals and other administrators working as subs pretty regularly in my district. There's already talk about what we will cut next contract in order to pay subs more.
Part of the issue, too, is that all the teachers like myself that used to show up and work even with fevers, sore throat, serious body aches, hacking coughs, etc, are no longer allowed to work sick. If I so much as have a runny nose, I have to call in sick and go get a covid test. I'm not allowed in the building to even drop off sub plans. (I leave "emergency plans" in advance that could be followed by anyone with review work.)

There would have to be some flexibility to that policy. I mean, somebody might come down with a bad migraine or a fever and not necessarily need to visit the doctor.

You shouldn’t be going to work with body aches, fever, or a hacking cough anyhow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense that in the career obsessed DMV people all think their job function is critical to keeping society moving and that they in particular could never miss a day or the world would crumble.
Guess what. That’s not true. Take a breath, enjoy your lives. teachers at my DCPS school take days around the holidays and we survive. The kids survive. If DCPS chose to close for a day, we’d still all survive.

Your work doesn’t have to be your everything. When you die, earth will go on.

It makes sense that in DCUM’s bubble people don’t understand how many people are paid hourly and don’t get vacation days. Either families lose income or they’re leaving the kids home alone without supervision because they can’t afford not to work.

This comment was made by me in response to the feds who could never take off a day or schedule a dr appt bc their work was too important

+1. It’s especially funny to me because most Feds are useless paper pushers.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who would love it if the schools closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving going forward? We could travel somewhere proper for 9 days (to see family or take an international vacation) instead of a measly 4 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who would love it if the schools closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving going forward? We could travel somewhere proper for 9 days (to see family or take an international vacation) instead of a measly 4 days.

Yes!

We could love a 5+ day break in Feb. it’s forever between winter break and spring break.

Or have an earlier spring break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most professional jobs do not allow people to just blow off any day they want, their leave needs to be approved.

Baloney. I have never had to do anything other than pop my head in the door and say "Boss, I am taking tomorrow off." I work for a large non-profit. It worked the same when I worked for the Fed. If it is more complicated than that then you are working hourly and of course those rules are different. Hourly employees are treated differently.

In the meantime, get off the backs of teachers. They are doing what you don't want to do, namely they are spending time with your kids. When you care more about your kids than you do about not having your kids at home then come back and talk. The rest of us parents recognize what this is all about - either you are an hourly worker with no leave or you can't stand your kids and need childcare provided by the schools.

I definitely care about the hourly worker with no leave and you should too.

[Anonymous]

Families need advance notice for schools and aftercare closing, so schools need to think in advance. And schools need parents to take school seriously and not take off more days around holidays. I'd be passed if I was a burnt out teacher trying to get kids to catch up after last year and then half my class didn't show to fly to California early for Thanksgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense that in the career obsessed DMV people all think their job function is critical to keeping society moving and that they in particular could never miss a day or the world would crumble.
Guess what. That’s not true. Take a breath, enjoy your lives. teachers at my DCPS school take days around the holidays and we survive. The kids survive. If DCPS chose to close for a day, we’d still all survive.

Your work doesn’t have to be your everything. When you die, earth will go on.

It makes sense that in DCUM’s bubble people don’t understand how many people are paid hourly and don’t get vacation days. Either families lose income or they’re leaving the kids home alone without supervision because they can’t afford not to work.

This comment was made by me in response to the feds who could never take off a day or schedule a dr appt bc their work was too important

+1. It’s especially funny to me because most Feds are useless paper pushers.

It’s interesting looking at this post in the Jobs forum: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1017568.page

Comments in the thread about non-teachers using leave and enjoying it, getting paid for unused annual leave, comp time for unused leave, and questions about why they should save leave if they will just end up losing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who would love it if the schools closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving going forward? We could travel somewhere proper for 9 days (to see family or take an international vacation) instead of a measly 4 days.

I am with you. It has been a WONDERFUL week for our family. I think it is a great idea if school systems carried it forward into the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread and haven’t read many of the pages. I will post a separate topic if this is too OT. So, substitute teachers only make $18/hour? Anybody know the rational for not paying them close to what a full time teacher per hour?

Yeah, that's about right -- maybe more if they are a long term sub. They were able to get enough subs at that rate so why raise the rate? Also, unions didn't want subs making more than first year teachers, I think, or else school districts would staff with subs instead of teachers to save money!

In FCPS it was only $14 per hour until recently. I'm not sure if they've increased it now.

I think subs are usually people who have other options and just want a bit of work here and there. Policies like restorative justice that make the classrooms more dangerous probably turn off a lot of these people. It’s just not worth the pay if you don’t desperately need the money. Even if they raise it a little bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who would love it if the schools closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving going forward? We could travel somewhere proper for 9 days (to see family or take an international vacation) instead of a measly 4 days.

I am with you. It has been a WONDERFUL week for our family. I think it is a great idea if school systems carried it forward into the future.

I’m fine with the 3 days off for Thanksgiving. It is a nice break and in only 3 weeks we will have another 2 weeks off. If we added 2 days to Thanksgiving break we’d have to add them in somewhere else.

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who would love it if the schools closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving going forward? We could travel somewhere proper for 9 days (to see family or take an international vacation) instead of a measly 4 days.

I am with you. It has been a WONDERFUL week for our family. I think it is a great idea if school systems carried it forward into the future.

I’m fine with the 3 days off for Thanksgiving. It is a nice break and in only 3 weeks we will have another 2 weeks off. If we added 2 days to Thanksgiving break we’d have to add them in somewhere else.

ES Teacher

MCPS is already going to have to add the day back elsewhere. I highly doubt MSBE is going to grant a waiver for the 180 day requirement.