Why does no one acknowledge how overworked teachers are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

I don’t think you can appreciate the stress of teaching unless you’ve done it. Is it the ONLY hard job? Of course not. Are teachers extremely overworked? Yes.

-career changer who has worked in the corporate world. I hard rough weeks in that job, but teaching is considerably more time-consuming and stressful to me.

Fact is that many middling college students who'd rather not get stressed out over grad school self-select into the teaching profession because they think it's an easier gig with lots of vacation time. And then those people get all upset when they realize that teaching is just as hard as many other jobs. So it's not the work per se but the false expectations about teaching that's causing all the whining.

Teachers get very little paid vacation time and that time is dictated to them. They do not have the option of working for more than the ~190 days of the school year without applying for another, different,temporary job. For all practical purposes, they are furloughed every summer.

Not only are teachers furloughed all summer, but there are restrictions on what jobs they can do during those eight weeks. My sister in law had to turn down an offer to tend bar in a strip club. It’s not just morality clauses, either. For example, in my district, a teacher can’t nanny or tutor a child who might end up as a student at their school.

They’re still collecting benefits, namely subsidized health care, over the summer. Perhaps a fair trade would be forgoing the school’s contribution to health care premiums over the summer months in return for removing any restrictions on outside employment.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My kid’s teachers make more money than I do and get better benefits. I very much appreciate them, am always polite, do not try to take their time or make their lives harder. But this idea that I somehow inadequately appreciate teachers is weird to me. Or the idea that I owe them lots of gift cards or gifts. I always make a point of sending thank you cards and, if it is in budget, a target gift card. Beyond that I really don’t think anything else should be expected of me as a parent.

Just how appreciative do I need to be? I am honestly not that appreciated in my job.

+10

Teacher here, who posted above about AP workloads. I don’t need appreciation. I don’t expect it at holidays or at the end of the year. I do appreciate thank you letters when I write college recommendations, but I know not to expect them since they come about 2-5% of the time.

I’d be happy if I can just get some respect. That might look like not calling my job “easy” and telling me to appreciate my summers off. Those 4-5 weeks aren’t much of a trade-off for the grueling 60-70 hour weeks throughout the year.

Nobody does that. No one.

oh please-they do!!!

But dii ok you get that the jerks who say teachers jobs are easy or “enjoy your summers off” also put other people down for their jobs. I work in marketing, I make 85k a year, I work long hours for some people who are very full of themselves (lawyers). They all think my job is super easy and that anyone can do it, in part because they don’t understand that like 70% of my job is trying to make them happy which is impossible. I’ve heard any manner of snide comments from not just people I meet but people I actually work with about how my job is easy or is just sitting around resizing photos or something. I also do several client retreats a year and people act like this is done kind of relaxing vacation for me (“enjoy your vacation”) because they don’t understand that while the lawyers are out to dinner with clients I’m sitting in my hotel room until 1am collating handouts and finalizing the power point the partners will claim credit for in the morning. And while I’m on these “trips” my DH is pulling double duty at home and I miss my kids.

Is my job as important or necessary as a teacher’s? No, I realize that. But I work very hard, am not particularly well compensated, get treated not great by a bunch of people who make WAY more than me (and more even than the go consultants who do make dumb curriculum decisions that impact teachers) and regularly feel pretty underappreciated.

But no one ever asks “Why does no one acknowledge how overworked marketing professionals are?” And I wouldn’t ask that either, it’s silly. I chose this dumb profession and this dumb job, and while I fantasize about doing something else, the money isn’t horrible for someone with a BA and I get a good employee match on my 401k.

Work is work. Teachers are not uniquely beleaguered and they are NOT underappreciated. I appreciate my kids teachers everyday. Of course there are people who are going to put it down— the world is full of arrogant jerks who don’t think anyone making less than 500k/yr (and especially anyone in a female-dominated profession) is worthwhile. Welcome to the club.

There is a big difference between you and a teacher - you can move up, get more responsibility, get more prestige. Teachers can't - you live at the bottom of the barrel in the educational system, and it never gets any better no matter how hard you work or how good you get. I'm not suggesting teachers need more appreciation or even more money - they don't, actually. What they need is for people to recognize that the problem with the teacher shortage is not that we need we need better working conditions. We need respect from administration, we need some voice in the system. I found my experience as a teacher demeaning and generally bad for my self-esteem. I left for a job with one half the pay and was much happier.

Teachers can become principals, administrators, etc. they are definitely not stuck.

No, this is a misconception. First, administrator and principal is the same thing, but it's not a promotion from teaching. One has to get a whole new graduate degree. After getting the degree, a teacher can apply for Assistant Principal positions. If they get one, then they have to spend at least 5 years as AP before applying for a principal job. A lot of people never make it to principal. It's definitely not about being a good teacher, that's for sure, and not something you can get moved up to just by working hard and being good at your job.

Ok but I’m the marketing pro from earlier and do you understand the same career trajectory is also true for me? I work at a law firm. I’m never going to become a partner here. In theory I could become like a CMO, but I’d almost certainly have to get a masters, and in my experience many of the CMOs also have JDs. I could go work in a different industry but I’d lose the value if all my industry knowledge that way. There are lateral moves I can make, into business development maybe, but these don’t come with huge pay increases. There are firms that pay fir my role or where I could move into a slightly more senior position, but realistically the most I’m going to make in my career is around 140k, and that’s with a lot of seniority and probably towards the end of my career. A colleague of mine jokes that eventually they just keep changing your title but you never get raises beyond COLA and it’s not untrue.

I think the person upthread who said some teachers overestimate the pay and other rewards in professional jobs requiring a BA, outside of teaching, was right. Most people I know who make more that 150k and work reasonable hours have graduate degrees. It’s really not that common. I also know lots of people who make this much but still work very long hours.

I see what us challenging about being a teacher and I don’t know if I could do it. Being on your feet all day, the lack of breaks, being responsible for that many kids at once, having so much of your curriculum dictated by others, the way teachers are evaluated. I get it— it’s a hard job and as I said, I really appreciate what teachers do. I also have done actual sense of the job, since I have kids in school, plus I once was a kid in school.

I guarantee you none of my kid’s teachers have any clue what my job is or what is hard about it or how I am treated. I’m sure it looks cushy from the outside because I do get to WFH sometimes (though that is definitely a new phenomenon since Covid and is very curtailed since return to office). My point is: it’s not. I’m not making 150k to just sit around and have two meetings and write 10 emails a day. I don’t get treated great by my mosses and I don’t feel appreciated by society at all.

And I think my experience is pretty average for parents. There are some who have it worse and some who have it better. I don’t think teachers are uniquely underappreciated or disrespected, and in some ways you are much more appreciated and respected than many of the parents of the kids you teach.

DP; you just seem to really hate your job and want to make this thread about you

Yeah, imagine writing multi page screeds on a thread about teachers whining “pooorrrr meeeeee, won’t anyone think of the maaaaaarketers?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s teachers make more money than I do and get better benefits. I very much appreciate them, am always polite, do not try to take their time or make their lives harder. But this idea that I somehow inadequately appreciate teachers is weird to me. Or the idea that I owe them lots of gift cards or gifts. I always make a point of sending thank you cards and, if it is in budget, a target gift card. Beyond that I really don’t think anything else should be expected of me as a parent.

Just how appreciative do I need to be? I am honestly not that appreciated in my job.

+10

Teacher here, who posted above about AP workloads. I don’t need appreciation. I don’t expect it at holidays or at the end of the year. I do appreciate thank you letters when I write college recommendations, but I know not to expect them since they come about 2-5% of the time.

I’d be happy if I can just get some respect. That might look like not calling my job “easy” and telling me to appreciate my summers off. Those 4-5 weeks aren’t much of a trade-off for the grueling 60-70 hour weeks throughout the year.

Nobody does that. No one.

oh please-they do!!!

But dii ok you get that the jerks who say teachers jobs are easy or “enjoy your summers off” also put other people down for their jobs. I work in marketing, I make 85k a year, I work long hours for some people who are very full of themselves (lawyers). They all think my job is super easy and that anyone can do it, in part because they don’t understand that like 70% of my job is trying to make them happy which is impossible. I’ve heard any manner of snide comments from not just people I meet but people I actually work with about how my job is easy or is just sitting around resizing photos or something. I also do several client retreats a year and people act like this is done kind of relaxing vacation for me (“enjoy your vacation”) because they don’t understand that while the lawyers are out to dinner with clients I’m sitting in my hotel room until 1am collating handouts and finalizing the power point the partners will claim credit for in the morning. And while I’m on these “trips” my DH is pulling double duty at home and I miss my kids.

Is my job as important or necessary as a teacher’s? No, I realize that. But I work very hard, am not particularly well compensated, get treated not great by a bunch of people who make WAY more than me (and more even than the go consultants who do make dumb curriculum decisions that impact teachers) and regularly feel pretty underappreciated.

But no one ever asks “Why does no one acknowledge how overworked marketing professionals are?” And I wouldn’t ask that either, it’s silly. I chose this dumb profession and this dumb job, and while I fantasize about doing something else, the money isn’t horrible for someone with a BA and I get a good employee match on my 401k.

Work is work. Teachers are not uniquely beleaguered and they are NOT underappreciated. I appreciate my kids teachers everyday. Of course there are people who are going to put it down— the world is full of arrogant jerks who don’t think anyone making less than 500k/yr (and especially anyone in a female-dominated profession) is worthwhile. Welcome to the club.

There is a big difference between you and a teacher - you can move up, get more responsibility, get more prestige. Teachers can't - you live at the bottom of the barrel in the educational system, and it never gets any better no matter how hard you work or how good you get. I'm not suggesting teachers need more appreciation or even more money - they don't, actually. What they need is for people to recognize that the problem with the teacher shortage is not that we need we need better working conditions. We need respect from administration, we need some voice in the system. I found my experience as a teacher demeaning and generally bad for my self-esteem. I left for a job with one half the pay and was much happier.

Teachers can become principals, administrators, etc. they are definitely not stuck.

No, this is a misconception. First, administrator and principal is the same thing, but it's not a promotion from teaching. One has to get a whole new graduate degree. After getting the degree, a teacher can apply for Assistant Principal positions. If they get one, then they have to spend at least 5 years as AP before applying for a principal job. A lot of people never make it to principal. It's definitely not about being a good teacher, that's for sure, and not something you can get moved up to just by working hard and being good at your job.

Ok but I’m the marketing pro from earlier and do you understand the same career trajectory is also true for me? I work at a law firm. I’m never going to become a partner here. In theory I could become like a CMO, but I’d almost certainly have to get a masters, and in my experience many of the CMOs also have JDs. I could go work in a different industry but I’d lose the value if all my industry knowledge that way. There are lateral moves I can make, into business development maybe, but these don’t come with huge pay increases. There are firms that pay fir my role or where I could move into a slightly more senior position, but realistically the most I’m going to make in my career is around 140k, and that’s with a lot of seniority and probably towards the end of my career. A colleague of mine jokes that eventually they just keep changing your title but you never get raises beyond COLA and it’s not untrue.

I think the person upthread who said some teachers overestimate the pay and other rewards in professional jobs requiring a BA, outside of teaching, was right. Most people I know who make more that 150k and work reasonable hours have graduate degrees. It’s really not that common. I also know lots of people who make this much but still work very long hours.

I see what us challenging about being a teacher and I don’t know if I could do it. Being on your feet all day, the lack of breaks, being responsible for that many kids at once, having so much of your curriculum dictated by others, the way teachers are evaluated. I get it— it’s a hard job and as I said, I really appreciate what teachers do. I also have done actual sense of the job, since I have kids in school, plus I once was a kid in school.

I guarantee you none of my kid’s teachers have any clue what my job is or what is hard about it or how I am treated. I’m sure it looks cushy from the outside because I do get to WFH sometimes (though that is definitely a new phenomenon since Covid and is very curtailed since return to office). My point is: it’s not. I’m not making 150k to just sit around and have two meetings and write 10 emails a day. I don’t get treated great by my mosses and I don’t feel appreciated by society at all.

And I think my experience is pretty average for parents. There are some who have it worse and some who have it better. I don’t think teachers are uniquely underappreciated or disrespected, and in some ways you are much more appreciated and respected than many of the parents of the kids you teach.

DP; you just seem to really hate your job and want to make this thread about you

That's the point though. This thread is actually just about teachers who hate their jobs and want to complain about them, but in the guise of "parents don't appreciate us enough." Like there are teachers on this thread who are acting like teaching is the WORST POSSIBLE JOB when it very clearly is not.

This thread is just a laundry list of things teachers find annoying about their jobs and some are valid and some less so. I don't get what the point is, really.

Then scroll on by. Don’t like the conversation? Good news! No one is forcing you to read it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s teachers make more money than I do and get better benefits. I very much appreciate them, am always polite, do not try to take their time or make their lives harder. But this idea that I somehow inadequately appreciate teachers is weird to me. Or the idea that I owe them lots of gift cards or gifts. I always make a point of sending thank you cards and, if it is in budget, a target gift card. Beyond that I really don’t think anything else should be expected of me as a parent.

Just how appreciative do I need to be? I am honestly not that appreciated in my job.

+10

Teacher here, who posted above about AP workloads. I don’t need appreciation. I don’t expect it at holidays or at the end of the year. I do appreciate thank you letters when I write college recommendations, but I know not to expect them since they come about 2-5% of the time.

I’d be happy if I can just get some respect. That might look like not calling my job “easy” and telling me to appreciate my summers off. Those 4-5 weeks aren’t much of a trade-off for the grueling 60-70 hour weeks throughout the year.

Nobody does that. No one.

oh please-they do!!!

But dii ok you get that the jerks who say teachers jobs are easy or “enjoy your summers off” also put other people down for their jobs. I work in marketing, I make 85k a year, I work long hours for some people who are very full of themselves (lawyers). They all think my job is super easy and that anyone can do it, in part because they don’t understand that like 70% of my job is trying to make them happy which is impossible. I’ve heard any manner of snide comments from not just people I meet but people I actually work with about how my job is easy or is just sitting around resizing photos or something. I also do several client retreats a year and people act like this is done kind of relaxing vacation for me (“enjoy your vacation”) because they don’t understand that while the lawyers are out to dinner with clients I’m sitting in my hotel room until 1am collating handouts and finalizing the power point the partners will claim credit for in the morning. And while I’m on these “trips” my DH is pulling double duty at home and I miss my kids.

Is my job as important or necessary as a teacher’s? No, I realize that. But I work very hard, am not particularly well compensated, get treated not great by a bunch of people who make WAY more than me (and more even than the go consultants who do make dumb curriculum decisions that impact teachers) and regularly feel pretty underappreciated.

But no one ever asks “Why does no one acknowledge how overworked marketing professionals are?” And I wouldn’t ask that either, it’s silly. I chose this dumb profession and this dumb job, and while I fantasize about doing something else, the money isn’t horrible for someone with a BA and I get a good employee match on my 401k.

Work is work. Teachers are not uniquely beleaguered and they are NOT underappreciated. I appreciate my kids teachers everyday. Of course there are people who are going to put it down— the world is full of arrogant jerks who don’t think anyone making less than 500k/yr (and especially anyone in a female-dominated profession) is worthwhile. Welcome to the club.

There is a big difference between you and a teacher - you can move up, get more responsibility, get more prestige. Teachers can't - you live at the bottom of the barrel in the educational system, and it never gets any better no matter how hard you work or how good you get. I'm not suggesting teachers need more appreciation or even more money - they don't, actually. What they need is for people to recognize that the problem with the teacher shortage is not that we need we need better working conditions. We need respect from administration, we need some voice in the system. I found my experience as a teacher demeaning and generally bad for my self-esteem. I left for a job with one half the pay and was much happier.

Teachers can become principals, administrators, etc. they are definitely not stuck.

No, this is a misconception. First, administrator and principal is the same thing, but it's not a promotion from teaching. One has to get a whole new graduate degree. After getting the degree, a teacher can apply for Assistant Principal positions. If they get one, then they have to spend at least 5 years as AP before applying for a principal job. A lot of people never make it to principal. It's definitely not about being a good teacher, that's for sure, and not something you can get moved up to just by working hard and being good at your job.

Ok but I’m the marketing pro from earlier and do you understand the same career trajectory is also true for me? I work at a law firm. I’m never going to become a partner here. In theory I could become like a CMO, but I’d almost certainly have to get a masters, and in my experience many of the CMOs also have JDs. I could go work in a different industry but I’d lose the value if all my industry knowledge that way. There are lateral moves I can make, into business development maybe, but these don’t come with huge pay increases. There are firms that pay fir my role or where I could move into a slightly more senior position, but realistically the most I’m going to make in my career is around 140k, and that’s with a lot of seniority and probably towards the end of my career. A colleague of mine jokes that eventually they just keep changing your title but you never get raises beyond COLA and it’s not untrue.

I think the person upthread who said some teachers overestimate the pay and other rewards in professional jobs requiring a BA, outside of teaching, was right. Most people I know who make more that 150k and work reasonable hours have graduate degrees. It’s really not that common. I also know lots of people who make this much but still work very long hours.

I see what us challenging about being a teacher and I don’t know if I could do it. Being on your feet all day, the lack of breaks, being responsible for that many kids at once, having so much of your curriculum dictated by others, the way teachers are evaluated. I get it— it’s a hard job and as I said, I really appreciate what teachers do. I also have done actual sense of the job, since I have kids in school, plus I once was a kid in school.

I guarantee you none of my kid’s teachers have any clue what my job is or what is hard about it or how I am treated. I’m sure it looks cushy from the outside because I do get to WFH sometimes (though that is definitely a new phenomenon since Covid and is very curtailed since return to office). My point is: it’s not. I’m not making 150k to just sit around and have two meetings and write 10 emails a day. I don’t get treated great by my mosses and I don’t feel appreciated by society at all.

And I think my experience is pretty average for parents. There are some who have it worse and some who have it better. I don’t think teachers are uniquely underappreciated or disrespected, and in some ways you are much more appreciated and respected than many of the parents of the kids you teach.

DP; you just seem to really hate your job and want to make this thread about you

That's the point though. This thread is actually just about teachers who hate their jobs and want to complain about them, but in the guise of "parents don't appreciate us enough." Like there are teachers on this thread who are acting like teaching is the WORST POSSIBLE JOB when it very clearly is not.

This thread is just a laundry list of things teachers find annoying about their jobs and some are valid and some less so. I don't get what the point is, really.

Take a look at the entirety of this thread. Teachers are trying to illustrate what the job is like, and posters simply respond with either “it’s actually an easy job” or “others have it harder.” Few posters have said “we see what you’re saying and get it.”

You want solidarity? Then accept that we can have it hard, too. That’s it.

As for complaining, I have posted on this thread several times and not once have I complained. As for “worst job possible” (I refuse to use your caps), nobody has said that. Nobody. Let’s not exaggerate. Teachers HAVE tried to get people to understand exactly how hard it is, a point many have refused to accept.

What's unique about teachers is the endless whining. Sure, some jobs are better and others are worse, but you don't hear those other professionals comp!ain as much. Only teachers always whine about how they're the biggest victims of them all.

No. The biggest group perpetuating the “endless whining” is entitled parents, and it’s often directed at teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

Hi, whiny parent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

I don’t think you can appreciate the stress of teaching unless you’ve done it. Is it the ONLY hard job? Of course not. Are teachers extremely overworked? Yes.

-career changer who has worked in the corporate world. I hard rough weeks in that job, but teaching is considerably more time-consuming and stressful to me.

Fact is that many middling college students who'd rather not get stressed out over grad school self-select into the teaching profession because they think it's an easier gig with lots of vacation time. And then those people get all upset when they realize that teaching is just as hard as many other jobs. So it's not the work per se but the false expectations about teaching that's causing all the whining.

Teachers get very little paid vacation time and that time is dictated to them. They do not have the option of working for more than the ~190 days of the school year without applying for another, different,temporary job. For all practical purposes, they are furloughed every summer.

Not only are teachers furloughed all summer, but there are restrictions on what jobs they can do during those eight weeks. My sister in law had to turn down an offer to tend bar in a strip club. It’s not just morality clauses, either. For example, in my district, a teacher can’t nanny or tutor a child who might end up as a student at their school.

They’re still collecting benefits, namely subsidized health care, over the summer. Perhaps a fair trade would be forgoing the school’s contribution to health care premiums over the summer months in return for removing any restrictions on outside employment.

We should just have health care as a universal right anyway. Can you imagine how much stress that would take off of all workers?

BTW, your idea is already accounted for in the benefits vs. income calculation anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

I don’t think you can appreciate the stress of teaching unless you’ve done it. Is it the ONLY hard job? Of course not. Are teachers extremely overworked? Yes.

-career changer who has worked in the corporate world. I hard rough weeks in that job, but teaching is considerably more time-consuming and stressful to me.

Fact is that many middling college students who'd rather not get stressed out over grad school self-select into the teaching profession because they think it's an easier gig with lots of vacation time. And then those people get all upset when they realize that teaching is just as hard as many other jobs. So it's not the work per se but the false expectations about teaching that's causing all the whining.

Teachers get very little paid vacation time and that time is dictated to them. They do not have the option of working for more than the ~190 days of the school year without applying for another, different,temporary job. For all practical purposes, they are furloughed every summer.

Not only are teachers furloughed all summer, but there are restrictions on what jobs they can do during those eight weeks. My sister in law had to turn down an offer to tend bar in a strip club. It’s not just morality clauses, either. For example, in my district, a teacher can’t nanny or tutor a child who might end up as a student at their school.

They’re still collecting benefits, namely subsidized health care, over the summer. Perhaps a fair trade would be forgoing the school’s contribution to health care premiums over the summer months in return for removing any restrictions on outside employment.

We should just have health care as a universal right anyway. Can you imagine how much stress that would take off of all workers?

BTW, your idea is already accounted for in the benefits vs. income calculation anyway.

The school is still paying the same share of the premiums over the summer as they do the rest of the year. Did you really think you were paying the full premium over the summer? Or that they were taking the full premiums for the summer out of your paychecks during the school year?

[Anonymous]

I do agree we should just have universal healthcare, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a former teacher. My perspective is 1) teachers underestimate how overworked everyone else is. They think they’re uniquely working unpaid overtime when just about anyone in a salaried role is feeling the same pressure, especially if they want to be regarded as good as their job. Same as teachers. 2) A ton of this, teachers bring on themselves. Take decorating rooms. No one is making them do that. You choose to go blow $200 at Michaels and then spend a weekend taping kitschy crap to the walls.

Actually, my MCPS principal does make us decorate our rooms. It’s pretty ridiculous to micromanage how many posters are on a wall or how a glass board outside the door is decorated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a former teacher. My perspective is 1) teachers underestimate how overworked everyone else is. They think they’re uniquely working unpaid overtime when just about anyone in a salaried role is feeling the same pressure, especially if they want to be regarded as good as their job. Same as teachers. 2) A ton of this, teachers bring on themselves. Take decorating rooms. No one is making them do that. You choose to go blow $200 at Michaels and then spend a weekend taping kitschy crap to the walls.

Actually, my MCPS principal does make us decorate our rooms. It’s pretty ridiculous to micromanage how many posters are on a wall or how a glass board outside the door is decorated.

Did you ask directly with what budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I think this video is an important reminder for parents and administrators

https://fb.watch/hcxdi1BUVj/?mibextid=0LFGlp

Largely because people in the private sector work far more hours.

The "extra hours for free" and "unpaid overtime" comments make me roll my eyes. Do teachers realize that other professionals are classified as "exempt" and do not get paid overtime? "Overtime" is a concept for non-exempt employees.

Oh, and summers? MCPS pays teachers for spending time on workshops, etc. Is that not "overtime"?

Back to add, and union protection? Other professionals do not have this.

That's because they don't need it. Only people with crappy jobs need unions.

You are really over the top. You really have no idea how other salaried professionals live and work.

Yeah, those poor, minimum wage airline pilots with their unions.

Yep. They need unions so they aren't worked to death which puts the general public at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

I don’t think you can appreciate the stress of teaching unless you’ve done it. Is it the ONLY hard job? Of course not. Are teachers extremely overworked? Yes.

-career changer who has worked in the corporate world. I hard rough weeks in that job, but teaching is considerably more time-consuming and stressful to me.

Fact is that many middling college students who'd rather not get stressed out over grad school self-select into the teaching profession because they think it's an easier gig with lots of vacation time. And then those people get all upset when they realize that teaching is just as hard as many other jobs. So it's not the work per se but the false expectations about teaching that's causing all the whining.

Teachers get very little paid vacation time and that time is dictated to them. They do not have the option of working for more than the ~190 days of the school year without applying for another, different,temporary job. For all practical purposes, they are furloughed every summer.

Not only are teachers furloughed all summer, but there are restrictions on what jobs they can do during those eight weeks. My sister in law had to turn down an offer to tend bar in a strip club. It’s not just morality clauses, either. For example, in my district, a teacher can’t nanny or tutor a child who might end up as a student at their school.

They’re still collecting benefits, namely subsidized health care, over the summer. Perhaps a fair trade would be forgoing the school’s contribution to health care premiums over the summer months in return for removing any restrictions on outside employment.

We should just have health care as a universal right anyway. Can you imagine how much stress that would take off of all workers?

BTW, your idea is already accounted for in the benefits vs. income calculation anyway.

The school is still paying the same share of the premiums over the summer as they do the rest of the year. Did you really think you were paying the full premium over the summer? Or that they were taking the full premiums for the summer out of your paychecks during the school year?

I mean they take our pay anyway and ask if we want 10 months of payments or 12 months of payment. It is just how you look at it and how they decide to do the accounting. They can stretch it out however. If you think getting thousands of employees (bus drivers, teachers, assistants, cafeteria workers etc) on to COBRA for 2 months out of the year would be cost and time efficient, I would definitely disagree.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Teachers need to quit whining. Even this thread is about why nobody supposedly acknowledges how overworked teachers are. We get it, you feel stressed out, but so are many other professionals. We've already heard you complain about it 1000 times. Why do you think you're special and get to whine louder than everyone else?

I don’t think you can appreciate the stress of teaching unless you’ve done it. Is it the ONLY hard job? Of course not. Are teachers extremely overworked? Yes.

-career changer who has worked in the corporate world. I hard rough weeks in that job, but teaching is considerably more time-consuming and stressful to me.

Fact is that many middling college students who'd rather not get stressed out over grad school self-select into the teaching profession because they think it's an easier gig with lots of vacation time. And then those people get all upset when they realize that teaching is just as hard as many other jobs. So it's not the work per se but the false expectations about teaching that's causing all the whining.

Teachers get very little paid vacation time and that time is dictated to them. They do not have the option of working for more than the ~190 days of the school year without applying for another, different,temporary job. For all practical purposes, they are furloughed every summer.

Not only are teachers furloughed all summer, but there are restrictions on what jobs they can do during those eight weeks. My sister in law had to turn down an offer to tend bar in a strip club. It’s not just morality clauses, either. For example, in my district, a teacher can’t nanny or tutor a child who might end up as a student at their school.

They’re still collecting benefits, namely subsidized health care, over the summer. Perhaps a fair trade would be forgoing the school’s contribution to health care premiums over the summer months in return for removing any restrictions on outside employment.

We should just have health care as a universal right anyway. Can you imagine how much stress that would take off of all workers?

BTW, your idea is already accounted for in the benefits vs. income calculation anyway.

The school is still paying the same share of the premiums over the summer as they do the rest of the year. Did you really think you were paying the full premium over the summer? Or that they were taking the full premiums for the summer out of your paychecks during the school year?

I mean they take our pay anyway and ask if we want 10 months of payments or 12 months of payment. It is just how you look at it and how they decide to do the accounting. They can stretch it out however. If you think getting thousands of employees (bus drivers, teachers, assistants, cafeteria workers etc) on to COBRA for 2 months out of the year would be cost and time efficient, I would definitely disagree.

They take your share of the premiums out of your pay to cover the summer months— the district is still paying their share during the summer months. That’s a lot of money. A few small outside employment conditions is still an incredibly good deal for the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Wow. After reading these responses, teachers sound like they have a sweet deal. People should be lining up to teach with these perks. Oh, wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The school is still paying the same share of the premiums over the summer as they do the rest of the year. Did you really think you were paying the full premium over the summer? Or that they were taking the full premiums for the summer out of your paychecks during the school year?

In my school district, yes, that's how we are paid.

I earn a salary of $83,320/year. I'm paid for 22 pay periods. My yearly health care insurance premiums, long term disability, pension contributions, etc are divided up for the year by 22 and the amount is paid from that paycheck. The school district's share of our premiums and contribution to our pensions comes during those 22 pay periods, as well.

From each paycheck about 1/6 of my gross pay (actually 18%) is withheld (after taxes). They keep that for teachers in a "Summer Pay" fund. We get 4 paychecks in the summer from that fund. But all our premiums are paid from the 22 salary paychecks. Not from the 4 summer fund paychecks.