Be honest - what do you think of teachers?

[Anonymous]

I am very happy I have my summers off, as I can't imagine finding childcare year round. (We're very lucky to have a nanny who will agree to 10 months.)

However, having said that, our lives are not balanced. During the summer, I make up for many hours I've missed with my children during the school year. (teacher married to teacher, btw.) I'm at work by 7 am and home by 4 (on a good day), only to do the typical tasks of preparing for dinner, laundry, helping out with homework, and THEN spending an additional 2 hours grading and/or planning.

So I'd say we deserve our summers off. MY kids deserve to see me more than they do from August through June.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the people I knew in college who majored in education weren't terribly bright. Many of them seemed more interested in getting married than having a career.With that said, I do believe there are lots of bright, committed teachers out there and I don't believe the profession gets the pay or respect it deserves.

Since I don't have school-aged kids I don't feel like I have a clear sense of how demanding the job is. I'd imagine parents can be very difficult to deal with at times.

Agree. I also felt like a lot of them went into the profession in order to have summers off (not my words, theirs).

[Anonymous]

In education in the last 20 years we have seen a downward shift because women have other options. Smart women can go into anything, and only some choose teaching (or nursing). Of teachers under 40 I know, many lack general ambition and are there mostly for the "family friendly" job.

That's not the end of the world, they can still be pretty smart, but the smartest women don't go into K-12 education anymore, and they used to.

I think in the next generation, we will see smarter men and women going into K-12 as people do the math. 10 months a year/ 55K/ plus a sweet health and retirement plan. Near complete job security. Fulfilling work. And able to be with your own kids by early evening and all summer?

C'mon, it's a sweet deal for a job you can get straight out of undergrad. I know public interest JD's from Yale who would kill for those numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have great respect and admiration for those who undertake teaching. However I also have a distaste for teachers unions and tenure. Jobs should be performance based like any other. And I think it's wrong that teachers have gone without pay increases in recent years.

Children and quotas are apples and oranges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In education in the last 20 years we have seen a downward shift because women have other options. Smart women can go into anything, and only some choose teaching (or nursing). Of teachers under 40 I know, many lack general ambition and are there mostly for the "family friendly" job.

That's not the end of the world, they can still be pretty smart, but the smartest women don't go into K-12 education anymore, and they used to.

I think in the next generation, we will see smarter men and women going into K-12 as people do the math. 10 months a year/ 55K/ plus a sweet health and retirement plan. Near complete job security. Fulfilling work. And able to be with your own kids by early evening and all summer?

C'mon, it's a sweet deal for a job you can get straight out of undergrad. I know public interest JD's from Yale who would kill for those numbers.

You're completely delusional, especially when you mention ". . . And able to be with your own kids by early evening . . ." in body only, sweetie -as much of the evening is spent grading and planning

fulfilling work if you're in private, as public is driven by NCLB

sweet health and retirement plan? Have you been keeping up? no COLAs and steps for the past 3 years, an extra 2% cut from pensions to be used to balance the MD state budget and health benefits on the chopping block

delusional . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In education in the last 20 years we have seen a downward shift because women have other options. Smart women can go into anything, and only some choose teaching (or nursing). Of teachers under 40 I know, many lack general ambition and are there mostly for the "family friendly" job.

That's not the end of the world, they can still be pretty smart, but the smartest women don't go into K-12 education anymore, and they used to.

I think in the next generation, we will see smarter men and women going into K-12 as people do the math. 10 months a year/ 55K/ plus a sweet health and retirement plan. Near complete job security. Fulfilling work. And able to be with your own kids by early evening and all summer?

C'mon, it's a sweet deal for a job you can get straight out of undergrad. I know public interest JD's from Yale who would kill for those numbers.

What teacher gets 55k? My starting salary at a public high school in Chicago was 32K. It's a requirement for CPS teachers to live within the city limit but the average teacher's salary could not buy the average house. Sad isn't it?

[Anonymous]

I was a teacher for several years. I think it is very very difficult to be a good teacher, but pretty easy to be a mediocre one. I think teachers run the gamut from crazy-smart (I've had some people who were literally former rocket scientists as teachers, not to mention people with advanced degrees from top schools) to really on the lower end academically. I think the structure of many schools does not encourage teachers to keep learning or improving, so only the most motivated actually do that. But that is a problem with the system, not the people in it. I think teacher salaries are actually pretty decent given the option to have summers off, but I think there is not enough room for advancement, so that the top 10% of classroom teachers in terms of competence are probably very underpaid. I think it should be possible for someone who is really excellent to stay in the classroom and yet still be paid as a master teacher of some sort, making substantially more than seniority would dictate.

[Anonymous]

15:44,

How did you end up to be so ignorant?

The PP who responded to you is correct. Overall starting salaries are not that high. And what a joke $55K is when you have a family to support.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In education in the last 20 years we have seen a downward shift because women have other options. Smart women can go into anything, and only some choose teaching (or nursing). Of teachers under 40 I know, many lack general ambition and are there mostly for the "family friendly" job.

That's not the end of the world, they can still be pretty smart, but the smartest women don't go into K-12 education anymore, and they used to.

I think in the next generation, we will see smarter men and women going into K-12 as people do the math. 10 months a year/ 55K/ plus a sweet health and retirement plan. Near complete job security. Fulfilling work. And able to be with your own kids by early evening and all summer?

C'mon, it's a sweet deal for a job you can get straight out of undergrad. I know public interest JD's from Yale who would kill for those numbers.

What teacher gets 55k? My starting salary at a public high school in Chicago was 32K. It's a requirement for CPS teachers to live within the city limit but the average teacher's salary could not buy the average house. Sad isn't it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm disgusted you're still in education, as you seem like a real ass.

I really am not an ass. I am the child of two retired teachers, one of whom now teaches graduate classes in education at a university, someone who spend much of her childhood around her parent's teacher friends, and a former teacher myself. I think I have a pretty good handle on both the pros and cons of the teaching profession. I am grateful that my parents have a secure retirement and secure health insurance.

I enjoyed being a high school teacher, did not think of it as "shift" work, put in plenty of hours at home in the evening, planned extra field trips, volunteered to direct the school play (for no extra money), and was generally really capable and competent. I do think that some schools are better fits for some teachers, so a good teacher in one school can be a pretty mediocre teacher in another and vice versa.

On the topic of compensation, my point was that teaching as a profession is now pretty competitively paid given the other compensation that come with the job (vacation, retirement, health benefits.) I made $30,000 my first year teaching. I think that was pretty good given the fact that I had no experience and a BA. Sure I couldn't have supported a family on that, but I was 22. If I had stayed in that job, I woud be making $57,000 a year now, which I know because a friend who started with me is still there and I asked her. That is still pretty good. I left teaching, went to graduate school, got a Ph.D, got a tenure-track job, and I now make ---- $52,000. And I'm not complaining. My DH is a lawyer and my sister is a surgeon. They make way more than me --- but they also work way more than me, even given the hours I spend every evening trying to finish my tenure book.

Teaching is a great profession, so embrace the perks and enjoy your life. Those people who make more money than you have to go to work tomorrow and will have to work until their 70.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stay away from teachers because they are immune to all of the little viruses they carry, but they still pass them on

Just kidding of course. I think teachers who have a hard job, make it a hard job for themselves and that means they are doing their job well.

The exception is schools where the parents make the teachers' lives hell. I was a coach and long term substitute teacher before law school. I realized that most teachers a really bright and dedicated- and all of them are crazy! Middle school teachers are like the Navy SEALS of teaching.

I think I am in love with you. Thank you.

Signed,
A former middle school teacher who was very good (so I am told), but will probably not return to teaching because of many, many reasons.

[Anonymous]

Elementary school teacher of 10 years here. I have a PhD and now make 90K. I work my ass off for that, but totally appreciate the time off and ability to be with my kids so much. I don't think I'm underpaid, but in this area 90K doesn't go that far.

[Anonymous]

I taught in the NYC public schools. I am no longer teaching. Have a master's degree from an ivy and the salary still wasn't enough to carry rent and food comfortably (and I wasn't living in a posh apt, or eating out, I assure you!) I was, and am, a good teacher, (or so I've been told) and have thought about what should be done to help keep teachers teaching. From the posts I've been reading, it sounds as though many feel as I have in that it's a wonderful profession that many of us are drawn to, and it's a shame that we either have to have a spouse with a heftier income to help support our teaching, or we have to be resigned to a truly austere lifestyle until several years down the road when we've reached some seniority. My solution? (And now that I'm no longer teaching, it can't be deemed self-serving...) Keep teacher salaries the same, but make them tax-exempt. Doing so would serve two purposes. It would increase teacher salaries (and not do much in the way of the economy, since the salaries are so low--we're not talking high-end here...), and it would elevate teachers to a special status, as elite because of what they do. My guess is that we'd have more people entering the field, and the requirements would start getting tougher to get into the programs. Just an idea. In the meantime, my BA is not in education, although my masters is in curriculum development and teaching, so I wasrequired to teach quite a bit, and to create several curricula prior to ever setting foot in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think it was a good job for the money (and I worked mostly at private schools where the pay is lower than public.) It bothers me when teachers complain about how hard the profession is or how little they get paid. There are professions that pay better, but honestly those people do mostly work harder (and longer) for their extra income.

This is always the issue I have when teachers in high paying Counties complain about their pay. When you calculate their overall benefit package (great retirement, health insurance, 10 month jobs, holiday, vacation, sick, ST/LTD, relatively stable work hours, etc.) and compare that to [/b]their level of education,[b] I feel that they are generally well compensated for their work. I'm not saying anyone can do their job, and there are a lot of demands on them from students, administrators and parents, but compare a teacher to say a computer specialist, an accountant, or a hr generalist, all who probably work longer hours and with less overall compensation (full benefit comparison) in the private sector.

Many of the teachers I know are married to lawyers and no longer teaching, but that could be due to my current stage in life (pre-school aged kids). In general I would say they are nurturing, creative, and good at communicating with young kids (again, my stage in life) and have a great deal more patience than me!


Most teachers either have a masters degree or are pursuing one.

[Anonymous]

"I have a lot of respect for someone who wants to spend all day with hyperactive, snotty brats!!"

Unless they're SAHMs...

[Anonymous]

What are you doing now?

Anonymous wrote:I taught in the NYC public schools. I am no longer teaching. Have a master's degree from an ivy and the salary still wasn't enough to carry rent and food comfortably (and I wasn't living in a posh apt, or eating out, I assure you!) I was, and am, a good teacher, (or so I've been told) and have thought about what should be done to help keep teachers teaching. From the posts I've been reading, it sounds as though many feel as I have in that it's a wonderful profession that many of us are drawn to, and it's a shame that we either have to have a spouse with a heftier income to help support our teaching, or we have to be resigned to a truly austere lifestyle until several years down the road when we've reached some seniority. My solution? (And now that I'm no longer teaching, it can't be deemed self-serving...) Keep teacher salaries the same, but make them tax-exempt. Doing so would serve two purposes. It would increase teacher salaries (and not do much in the way of the economy, since the salaries are so low--we're not talking high-end here...), and it would elevate teachers to a special status, as elite because of what they do. My guess is that we'd have more people entering the field, and the requirements would start getting tougher to get into the programs. Just an idea. In the meantime, my BA is not in education, although my masters is in curriculum development and teaching, so I wasrequired to teach quite a bit, and to create several curricula prior to ever setting foot in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have great respect and admiration for those who undertake teaching. However I also have a distaste for teachers unions and tenure. Jobs should be performance based like any other. And I think it's wrong that teachers have gone without pay increases in recent years.

Agreed. But a good, fair, accurate system of evaluating performance needs to be developed first. Evaluating teachers solely on their students performance is unfair. Like evaluating doctors solely on the health of their patients. Yes, outcome is a factor. But it the outcome is not solely based on the performance of a single teacher.