RANT: Teachers, why are you so whiny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't count the number of FB posts I've seen lately from public school teachers crying for a "vacation" - didn't the school year just start?

They will get 3 days to a week for Thanksgiving and 2-3 weeks for Christmas in most places, so they haven't got long to wait.

We do? I get 2 days for Thanksgiving and one week and one day for winter break.

You poor dear. The rest of the working world gets 1 day at Thanksgiving and 1 day at Christmas.

Enjoy your 6 extra days.

Not the PP, but when somebody corrects a misconception it’s not a complaint. This happens a lot. Somebody will make a statement about teachers that isn’t accurate. The teacher points out that the statement is incorrect and then the teacher is seen as complaining.

Example:
Statement: It must be nice to get free healthcare.
Teacher’s Correction: Actually, I do have to pay $$$ of the premium.
Response: Well, don’t complain. A lot of people don’t have what you have.
Teacher’s Thought: (I’m not complaining.)

Example:
Statement: You get free healthcare for life.
Teacher’s Correction: Well, I can keep it but I have to pay $$$$/month.
Response: (See above)
Teacher’s Thought: (See above)

Example:
Statement: Will you do 20 years and be done?
Teacher’s Correction: I’ll probably have to go 34.
Response: Pffft. That’s still young! Don’t complain.
Teacher’s Thought: (I’m not complaining.)

Your point is valid but the comparisons are not equal. Everyone has to pay for health care or work longer than they'd hope. Nobody believes that pointing out these facts is complaining.

Teachers are exclusive in elongated holiday breaks and freebie snow days and weeks-long summer breaks. I can't think of a single other profession that has these.

Yet teachers can't. stop. grumbling. about how these significant perks aren't enough.

I recognize teachers work hard and spend their own money on lots of classroom items (my mom was a 25+ year teacher and I witnessed it). I wish our tax dollars were more generously allocated to the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beautiful post. I read every word. I think people who don’t like the post have been groomed by society to feel bad for teachers. I was raised the same way. Always hearing and reading that teachers don’t get paid enough, woe is me. The point is, I respect teachers and the work they do, but I am not fooled into believing they’ve got a bad hand in life. I don’t know who started the complaining and the campaign for “it’s a hard knock life for teachers”, but it’s gone too far. Wake up call: most people don’t get paid enough for what they do. Yet, only the teachers have held that card for years.
Most people don’t have pensions anymore. Most people don’t have guaranteed wages. Most people don’t get summers off, holidays, and snow days. Most people pay a lot of money for their medical and 401k plans. Most salary people work beyond their schedule. My SO is on call 24/7. Website goes down at 2 am, he’s up to fix it and is still expected to work his 50 hours that week...year round. He works on vacation and sick days. He feels adequately paid at 70k a year. I beg to differ. Again, I feel most people don’t get paid enough. Just tired of hearing about teachers. Firemen are roughly in the same salary range in my city. Risking life and limb, but I don’t hear their collective voices crying about the injustice.

Another thing that bogs my mind...most of the curriculum is set out for you. Most of it is standardized. Your job is just to teach it. Why do they have these ridiculous tiers you have to go through to make more money? Did those classes make you better at teaching? Will that course be used in your classes? No. So what’s the point?!

I say pay the teacher. Stop the levels.

Wrong. In the past this was mainly true, teachers could just teach out of a textbook, but it's not that way anymore. Teachers are given standards they have to teach, but they are not given notes, powerpoints, quizzes, tests and other resources to teach it. They spend a ridiculous amount of time at home trying to come up with all this stuff.

All students aren’t doing the same thing. Teachers (at least in elementary) are planning for a wide range of needs, meeting students where they are academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amen. No other white collar professional whines like a teacher.

Amen x 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, early 30s. I'll clear $125k this year. No whining from me

Where do you work?

Wait. “Clear” $125k? Hard to believe. More details please.

I’m in Fairfax County with a relatively high cost of living. This is my 27th year with a MA and if what you say is true I’ll gross $26k less than you’ll clear?

BTW, that’s not a complaint, just a question and statement.

[Anonymous]

This thread is 22 pages of mostly non/teachers complaining about teachers complaining. There are actually few teacher complaints on here. ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't count the number of FB posts I've seen lately from public school teachers crying for a "vacation" - didn't the school year just start?

They will get 3 days to a week for Thanksgiving and 2-3 weeks for Christmas in most places, so they haven't got long to wait.

We do? I get 2 days for Thanksgiving and one week and one day for winter break.

You poor dear. The rest of the working world gets 1 day at Thanksgiving and 1 day at Christmas.

Enjoy your 6 extra days.

Those days are unpaid, FYI. Enjoy your paid holidays.

[Anonymous]

Exactly. I don’t get any paid holidays. I will enjoy them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't count the number of FB posts I've seen lately from public school teachers crying for a "vacation" - didn't the school year just start?

They will get 3 days to a week for Thanksgiving and 2-3 weeks for Christmas in most places, so they haven't got long to wait.

We do? I get 2 days for Thanksgiving and one week and one day for winter break.

You poor dear. The rest of the working world gets 1 day at Thanksgiving and 1 day at Christmas.

Enjoy your 6 extra days.

Those days are unpaid, FYI. Enjoy your paid holidays.

Please. Your holidays are paid just like mine. Is your December paycheck less than other months? Do they detract pay on snow days? You are an exempt employee. Learn some labor laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, early 30s. I'll clear $125k this year. No whining from me

Troll post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, early 30s. I'll clear $125k this year. No whining from me

Troll post?

I think even the highest paying states do not pay enough for you to clear that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amen. No other white collar professional whines like a teacher.

Untrue. People are whiners these days, regardless of profession.

-not a teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, early 30s. I'll clear $125k this year. No whining from me

Troll post?

I think even the highest paying states do not pay enough for you to clear that much.

Maybe with benefits? Some states calculate overall compensation package by adding on value of health plan, etc. I’m in CA. Teachers can easily earn 100k in the districts around me (not including benefits). They just have to put in their time. It’s a nice job!! Not easy because of all the IEP’s these days, but certainly they are rewarded.

[Anonymous]

All students aren’t doing the same thing. Teachers (at least in elementary) are planning for a wide range of needs, meeting students where they are academically.

And so are MS and HS teachers, with a much, much larger group of students and thus even more disparity between them academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, early 30s. I'll clear $125k this year. No whining from me

Troll post?

I think even the highest paying states do not pay enough for you to clear that much.

Maybe with benefits? Some states calculate overall compensation package by adding on value of health plan, etc. I’m in CA. Teachers can easily earn 100k in the districts around me (not including benefits). They just have to put in their time. It’s a nice job!! Not easy because of all the IEP’s these days, but certainly they are rewarded.

Sure, but the PP said they clear $125k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amen. No other white collar professional whines like a teacher.

Amen.

The life of a teacher in a very rough school might be hard, but my experience is that the teachers at the public “test schools” are much whinier and lazier than the teachers at schools with low test scores. At the high school level, some expect the kids to do many hours of homework per day, then don’t have enough respect for the students to get any grades back till the end of the term. The language arts teachers don’t mark papers for spelling, grammar or punctuation.