Can we hear from the teachers please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

Luckily, people still have 5 weeks and I know teachers who are interviewing during lunch and getting offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

Luckily, people still have 5 weeks and I know teachers who are interviewing during lunch and getting offers.

If teachers have other options besides teaching in MCPS that work better for them, they should take them. Vote with your feet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

Luckily, people still have 5 weeks and I know teachers who are interviewing during lunch and getting offers.

If teachers have other options besides teaching in MCPS that work better for them, they should take them. Vote with your feet.

I agree. But in reality, we all know this is an empty threat. This threat happened at almost every district that returned, and spoiler alert: there were enough teachers left to teach.

I think any teacher that leaves for a private sector job is in for a rude awakening. Whenever their boss tells them they are needed for a weekend. Or whenever their job description changes. Or whenever their benefits package changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a 5th-grade teacher. We have not heard a word from our administration, even when we ask. We are being told that she wants to wait to tell us anything until there are clear directions from the higher-ups.

Only around 25% of my school elected to come back for hybrid, so I am not sure how that changes things.

As a parent, this is also frustrating. I see friends from other schools have details on numbers returning and the model they will use. Meanwhile, our principal says that they aren't permitted to reveal anything until after the 2/9 meeting and our school will have a town hall shortly thereafter.

Consistent and transparent messaging from MCPS would have gone a LONG way in keeping both sides of this debate calmer.

Agreed.

Agreed. And the way to get that is to specifically address this concern to the person responsible for Communications and Community Engagement, Derek Turner. Send him emails and letters with the Superintendent and your school Principal cc’d clearly articulating that the delay to allow school administrators to present their plans to their specific communities is a big cause of confusion, angst, and further lack of trust in everyone involved.

[Anonymous]

How many teachers & paraeducators are in MCPS? I have tried to find that answer, but my google attempts have failed.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

It has nothing to do with teachers being special or not. Numbers in Montgomery County are higher than in other areas in the country. Even higher than other counties in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many teachers & paraeducators are in MCPS? I have tried to find that answer, but my google attempts have failed.

Thanks.

For general idea

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/about/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

It has nothing to do with teachers being special or not. Numbers in Montgomery County are higher than in other areas in the country. Even higher than other counties in Maryland.

Most of the places with schools open have higher numbers and are NOT prioritizing teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

14-16 hour days? Give me a break. One of my neighbors is a MCPS teacher and I see her out walking her dog multiple times a day. What could they possibly be doing for that much time with so little actual class time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

14-16 hour days? Give me a break. One of my neighbors is a MCPS teacher and I see her out walking her dog multiple times a day. What could they possibly be doing for that much time with so little actual class time.

Obviously seeing one person taking a break to walk their dog means that you know what every single person is mcps is doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

14-16 hour days? Give me a break. One of my neighbors is a MCPS teacher and I see her out walking her dog multiple times a day. What could they possibly be doing for that much time with so little actual class time.

14 -16 does seem like an exaggeration to me and I'm a teacher. That being said, during the month of October I tracked my hours down to 15 minute increments. I averaged 60 - 70 hours each week. One week it was 55 hours, but that was the least and it was because I spent Sunday attending a funeral instead of planning and grading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

Luckily, people still have 5 weeks and I know teachers who are interviewing during lunch and getting offers.

If teachers have other options besides teaching in MCPS that work better for them, they should take them. Vote with your feet.

I agree. But in reality, we all know this is an empty threat. This threat happened at almost every district that returned, and spoiler alert: there were enough teachers left to teach.

I think any teacher that leaves for a private sector job is in for a rude awakening. Whenever their boss tells them they are needed for a weekend. Or whenever their job description changes. Or whenever their benefits package changes.

MCPS has a large percentage of teachers who are career changers with advanced degrees in fields other than education. We know what the private sector is like. There’s also still public sector jobs that are WFH or following social distancing with only 50% of staff on site at one time and all meetings over Zoom. My DH just accepted a non-teaching position.

There will be teachers left, but they may not be the ones you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been back in the classroom since August without a vaccine. What makes MCPS teachers so special?

Well that was their choice

And they sound like idiots for accepting that kind of treatment.

Even DL teachers have been chumps since last September. Many were working 14-16 hour days and spending thousands of dollars of upgrading home technology in order to do the job their employer told them to do.

Must be nice to be able to quit your job with nothing else lined up!

Luckily, people still have 5 weeks and I know teachers who are interviewing during lunch and getting offers.

If teachers have other options besides teaching in MCPS that work better for them, they should take them. Vote with your feet.

I agree. But in reality, we all know this is an empty threat. This threat happened at almost every district that returned, and spoiler alert: there were enough teachers left to teach.

I think any teacher that leaves for a private sector job is in for a rude awakening. Whenever their boss tells them they are needed for a weekend. Or whenever their job description changes. Or whenever their benefits package changes.

Going a bit off topic, but this probably pretty true, at least for MCPS teachers.

Most private sector jobs do not have the type of benefits and bargaining power that teachers here have.

That said, I would never want to be a teacher just because I find working with kids really hard, and I'm super grateful for those teachers who are sticking it out. My kids (HS/MS) have had some really good teachers who seem to be trying to lift up everyone's spirits. There are a handful, though, who seem to be just dialing it in.