Teachers Not Wanting to Go Back in Person

[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:Teaching was a cushy job a decade ago. Now with so many jobs that can be done from home, there are so many more options.

I find this refreshing. In the past, many teachers chose the profession because of the hours and summers off. Now that covid has come and gone, teachers who have gotten a taste of WFH will seek out other careers. The hope is that those who actually decide on this profession do so because of the joy of teaching, not because of summers off or other conveniences.

Frankly, we've spent the last decade or two completely devaluing the worth of teachers. School systems have added a host of horrible stupid bureaucracy including mandatory training, mandatory meetings, endless streams of documentation of what they are doing that must be provided for district administration, school administration. parents, students. There have been so many guidelines on what is taught and how it is taught that the overhead for their job is adding many hours per week to what they are required to do outside of class time. And throughout this, school systems have decreased compensation. Teachers salaries are not even matching inflation and COLA and they are paid horribly relative to their general level of education. In addition, schools have cut budgets for supplies, classroom resources, and even basics like tissues, hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels. Teachers have had to buy those and supplies like markers, pencils, paper, etc out of pocket to support their classrooms. I know dozens of teachers in multiple school districts (I am not a teacher, I just know many) and I don't know a single one that hasn't had to provide supplies and basics out of pocket to support their students.

At this point, almost all school districts have had rounds of early retirement, abrupt unplanned retirement and teachers leaving the profession. They are understaffed and have more openings than they can find qualified teachers to fill. Hopefully this will make school districts understand that they need to start reprioritizing and maybe start paying teachers what they are worth to fill positions.

Well said!

It's just another person pretending that all of this is so hard. I taught for a decade, went back to school to learn something harder and now have an actual job with deadlines and consequences that actually matter. I've been on both ends. Teachers only think that their jobs are so hard because they completely lack perspective.

Funny. Parents want to say that being without full time in person school is such a crisis that it is causing suicides, while also saying that teaching is a "fake" inconsequential job. Please, tell us about your incredibly important job! I'm sure you're singlehandedly saving the world.

Yup. And they've spent the past year spewing vitriol at teachers, namecalling and mudslinging, all the while continually jumping up and down screaming that they need to get their precious, precious children back into the care of those terrible, horrible, lazy, no-good teachers 30+ hours a week. LOL. Cognitive dissonance at its finest.

There are plenty of important jobs that aren't very hard. Somebody has to pick up the trash.

Come on, are we really comparing teachers to trash collectors now? Not that there's anything wrong with being a trash collector, but...there is certainly more education and skill required to be a teacher. I have a science PhD, and I do not have what it takes to spend an entire day working patiently with children in a classroom. It's not in my skillset, so for me, it would be hard. Just like for many people, doing the mathematical analyses I do at my job would be difficult. I do not think teaching can be done adequately from home, but I'm not going to demean the entire profession.

Somewhat more education than a trash collector, but what you really need is patience. That's not a very specialized skill.

You’re making yourself look so petty and childish. Somewhat more education? You don’t need a high school diploma to pick up trash. You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school. Just stop. This is such a sad campaign.

DP
Yes, the PP was being ridiculous but where are you that you have to have a MA to teach? I’m an ES teacher in Fairfax County and one doesn’t need an MA.

Connecticut, Maryland, and New York all require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree.

Maryland does not require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree, only a bachelors degree.
MCPS, HCPSS, PGCPS, AACPS only require bachelors degrees. Look at their employment pages and posted jobs. There may be specific jobs that require masters, but not general teachers. Additionally, there is a salary cap that you can't go beyond without a masters, so many teachers enter teaching with a bachelors and then take masters courses in order to bump their salary or be eligible for more senior positions that require a masters, but it is not required to teach in these school districts.

[Anonymous]

Then they don’t need to be a teacher or we can outsource to a lower cost of living area if it’s all the same. Think teachers in Middle America are a bunch of hicks? Coastal elites will move when they don’t have a job.

[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:Teaching was a cushy job a decade ago. Now with so many jobs that can be done from home, there are so many more options.

I find this refreshing. In the past, many teachers chose the profession because of the hours and summers off. Now that covid has come and gone, teachers who have gotten a taste of WFH will seek out other careers. The hope is that those who actually decide on this profession do so because of the joy of teaching, not because of summers off or other conveniences.

Frankly, we've spent the last decade or two completely devaluing the worth of teachers. School systems have added a host of horrible stupid bureaucracy including mandatory training, mandatory meetings, endless streams of documentation of what they are doing that must be provided for district administration, school administration. parents, students. There have been so many guidelines on what is taught and how it is taught that the overhead for their job is adding many hours per week to what they are required to do outside of class time. And throughout this, school systems have decreased compensation. Teachers salaries are not even matching inflation and COLA and they are paid horribly relative to their general level of education. In addition, schools have cut budgets for supplies, classroom resources, and even basics like tissues, hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels. Teachers have had to buy those and supplies like markers, pencils, paper, etc out of pocket to support their classrooms. I know dozens of teachers in multiple school districts (I am not a teacher, I just know many) and I don't know a single one that hasn't had to provide supplies and basics out of pocket to support their students.

At this point, almost all school districts have had rounds of early retirement, abrupt unplanned retirement and teachers leaving the profession. They are understaffed and have more openings than they can find qualified teachers to fill. Hopefully this will make school districts understand that they need to start reprioritizing and maybe start paying teachers what they are worth to fill positions.

Well said!

It's just another person pretending that all of this is so hard. I taught for a decade, went back to school to learn something harder and now have an actual job with deadlines and consequences that actually matter. I've been on both ends. Teachers only think that their jobs are so hard because they completely lack perspective.

Funny. Parents want to say that being without full time in person school is such a crisis that it is causing suicides, while also saying that teaching is a "fake" inconsequential job. Please, tell us about your incredibly important job! I'm sure you're singlehandedly saving the world.

Yup. And they've spent the past year spewing vitriol at teachers, namecalling and mudslinging, all the while continually jumping up and down screaming that they need to get their precious, precious children back into the care of those terrible, horrible, lazy, no-good teachers 30+ hours a week. LOL. Cognitive dissonance at its finest.

There are plenty of important jobs that aren't very hard. Somebody has to pick up the trash.

Come on, are we really comparing teachers to trash collectors now? Not that there's anything wrong with being a trash collector, but...there is certainly more education and skill required to be a teacher. I have a science PhD, and I do not have what it takes to spend an entire day working patiently with children in a classroom. It's not in my skillset, so for me, it would be hard. Just like for many people, doing the mathematical analyses I do at my job would be difficult. I do not think teaching can be done adequately from home, but I'm not going to demean the entire profession.

Somewhat more education than a trash collector, but what you really need is patience. That's not a very specialized skill.

You’re making yourself look so petty and childish. Somewhat more education? You don’t need a high school diploma to pick up trash. You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school. Just stop. This is such a sad campaign.

DP
Yes, the PP was being ridiculous but where are you that you have to have a MA to teach? I’m an ES teacher in Fairfax County and one doesn’t need an MA.

Connecticut, Maryland, and New York all require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree.

Maryland does not require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree, only a bachelors degree.
MCPS, HCPSS, PGCPS, AACPS only require bachelors degrees. Look at their employment pages and posted jobs. There may be specific jobs that require masters, but not general teachers. Additionally, there is a salary cap that you can't go beyond without a masters, so many teachers enter teaching with a bachelors and then take masters courses in order to bump their salary or be eligible for more senior positions that require a masters, but it is not required to teach in these school districts.

Any data out there if higher degreed teachers are better teachers?

[Anonymous]

^^ if by higher degree you mean a Master of Education, with no state, regional, or nation quality control, or agreed upon standard, in an era most graduate programs are money sinks...

Almost every teacher I know who has continued their education was to check the box and multiplier on the union pay scale.

[Anonymous]

As someone with an M.Ed., I can tell you that most of my cohort had jello for brains. I would be surprised if the data showed that it improved education.

[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:Teaching was a cushy job a decade ago. Now with so many jobs that can be done from home, there are so many more options.

I find this refreshing. In the past, many teachers chose the profession because of the hours and summers off. Now that covid has come and gone, teachers who have gotten a taste of WFH will seek out other careers. The hope is that those who actually decide on this profession do so because of the joy of teaching, not because of summers off or other conveniences.

Frankly, we've spent the last decade or two completely devaluing the worth of teachers. School systems have added a host of horrible stupid bureaucracy including mandatory training, mandatory meetings, endless streams of documentation of what they are doing that must be provided for district administration, school administration. parents, students. There have been so many guidelines on what is taught and how it is taught that the overhead for their job is adding many hours per week to what they are required to do outside of class time. And throughout this, school systems have decreased compensation. Teachers salaries are not even matching inflation and COLA and they are paid horribly relative to their general level of education. In addition, schools have cut budgets for supplies, classroom resources, and even basics like tissues, hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels. Teachers have had to buy those and supplies like markers, pencils, paper, etc out of pocket to support their classrooms. I know dozens of teachers in multiple school districts (I am not a teacher, I just know many) and I don't know a single one that hasn't had to provide supplies and basics out of pocket to support their students.

At this point, almost all school districts have had rounds of early retirement, abrupt unplanned retirement and teachers leaving the profession. They are understaffed and have more openings than they can find qualified teachers to fill. Hopefully this will make school districts understand that they need to start reprioritizing and maybe start paying teachers what they are worth to fill positions.

Well said!

It's just another person pretending that all of this is so hard. I taught for a decade, went back to school to learn something harder and now have an actual job with deadlines and consequences that actually matter. I've been on both ends. Teachers only think that their jobs are so hard because they completely lack perspective.

Funny. Parents want to say that being without full time in person school is such a crisis that it is causing suicides, while also saying that teaching is a "fake" inconsequential job. Please, tell us about your incredibly important job! I'm sure you're singlehandedly saving the world.

Yup. And they've spent the past year spewing vitriol at teachers, namecalling and mudslinging, all the while continually jumping up and down screaming that they need to get their precious, precious children back into the care of those terrible, horrible, lazy, no-good teachers 30+ hours a week. LOL. Cognitive dissonance at its finest.

There are plenty of important jobs that aren't very hard. Somebody has to pick up the trash.

Come on, are we really comparing teachers to trash collectors now? Not that there's anything wrong with being a trash collector, but...there is certainly more education and skill required to be a teacher. I have a science PhD, and I do not have what it takes to spend an entire day working patiently with children in a classroom. It's not in my skillset, so for me, it would be hard. Just like for many people, doing the mathematical analyses I do at my job would be difficult. I do not think teaching can be done adequately from home, but I'm not going to demean the entire profession.

Somewhat more education than a trash collector, but what you really need is patience. That's not a very specialized skill.

You’re making yourself look so petty and childish. Somewhat more education? You don’t need a high school diploma to pick up trash. You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school. Just stop. This is such a sad campaign.

DP
Yes, the PP was being ridiculous but where are you that you have to have a MA to teach? I’m an ES teacher in Fairfax County and one doesn’t need an MA.

Connecticut, Maryland, and New York all require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree.

Ok, super. Of course some places require it. The PP made a blanket statement: You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school.

[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:Teaching was a cushy job a decade ago. Now with so many jobs that can be done from home, there are so many more options.

I find this refreshing. In the past, many teachers chose the profession because of the hours and summers off. Now that covid has come and gone, teachers who have gotten a taste of WFH will seek out other careers. The hope is that those who actually decide on this profession do so because of the joy of teaching, not because of summers off or other conveniences.

Frankly, we've spent the last decade or two completely devaluing the worth of teachers. School systems have added a host of horrible stupid bureaucracy including mandatory training, mandatory meetings, endless streams of documentation of what they are doing that must be provided for district administration, school administration. parents, students. There have been so many guidelines on what is taught and how it is taught that the overhead for their job is adding many hours per week to what they are required to do outside of class time. And throughout this, school systems have decreased compensation. Teachers salaries are not even matching inflation and COLA and they are paid horribly relative to their general level of education. In addition, schools have cut budgets for supplies, classroom resources, and even basics like tissues, hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels. Teachers have had to buy those and supplies like markers, pencils, paper, etc out of pocket to support their classrooms. I know dozens of teachers in multiple school districts (I am not a teacher, I just know many) and I don't know a single one that hasn't had to provide supplies and basics out of pocket to support their students.

At this point, almost all school districts have had rounds of early retirement, abrupt unplanned retirement and teachers leaving the profession. They are understaffed and have more openings than they can find qualified teachers to fill. Hopefully this will make school districts understand that they need to start reprioritizing and maybe start paying teachers what they are worth to fill positions.

Well said!

It's just another person pretending that all of this is so hard. I taught for a decade, went back to school to learn something harder and now have an actual job with deadlines and consequences that actually matter. I've been on both ends. Teachers only think that their jobs are so hard because they completely lack perspective.

Funny. Parents want to say that being without full time in person school is such a crisis that it is causing suicides, while also saying that teaching is a "fake" inconsequential job. Please, tell us about your incredibly important job! I'm sure you're singlehandedly saving the world.

Yup. And they've spent the past year spewing vitriol at teachers, namecalling and mudslinging, all the while continually jumping up and down screaming that they need to get their precious, precious children back into the care of those terrible, horrible, lazy, no-good teachers 30+ hours a week. LOL. Cognitive dissonance at its finest.

There are plenty of important jobs that aren't very hard. Somebody has to pick up the trash.

Come on, are we really comparing teachers to trash collectors now? Not that there's anything wrong with being a trash collector, but...there is certainly more education and skill required to be a teacher. I have a science PhD, and I do not have what it takes to spend an entire day working patiently with children in a classroom. It's not in my skillset, so for me, it would be hard. Just like for many people, doing the mathematical analyses I do at my job would be difficult. I do not think teaching can be done adequately from home, but I'm not going to demean the entire profession.

Somewhat more education than a trash collector, but what you really need is patience. That's not a very specialized skill.

You’re making yourself look so petty and childish. Somewhat more education? You don’t need a high school diploma to pick up trash. You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school. Just stop. This is such a sad campaign.

DP
Yes, the PP was being ridiculous but where are you that you have to have a MA to teach? I’m an ES teacher in Fairfax County and one doesn’t need an MA.

Connecticut, Maryland, and New York all require K-12 teachers to hold a masters degree.

Ok, super. Of course some places require it. The PP made a blanket statement: You need a masters to teach, unless you work in a private school.

My children's elementary school teachers did not have a masters in AACounty. She has had 3 teachers and all had bachelors. My oldest child's high school is an independent private school and yes, all of his teachers have masters degrees. I think that you can find examples of both in the school systems and private schools. We choose private schools for our children because they were open on campus for the entire year and the students are given a high bar for behavior and academics. We didn't find that in public school regardless of what level of degree a teacher had. I have no idea why anyone would put up with public schools after this year of closures. You absolutely get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

I guess they will have to wait to see what the teacher's unions tell them to do.......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess they will have to wait to see what the teacher's unions tell them to do.......

NP. Someone needs to explain to this joker that he's the freaking president of the country. He is the one who makes the decisions and the rules. He shouldn't be bending over for public school unions. It's so embarrassing. Imagine how bad he'd be with a real threat like NK or China.

Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess they will have to wait to see what the teacher's unions tell them to do.......

NP. Someone needs to explain to this joker that he's the freaking president of the country. He is the one who makes the decisions and the rules. He shouldn't be bending over for public school unions. It's so embarrassing. Imagine how bad he'd be with a real threat like NK or China.

Ridiculous.

Biden should pull the funding for any school that isn't open full time in person. If they still want to provide an alternative for some students, they can. But the teachers' unions in this country should not be controlling the country!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess they will have to wait to see what the teacher's unions tell them to do.......

NP. Someone needs to explain to this joker that he's the freaking president of the country. He is the one who makes the decisions and the rules. He shouldn't be bending over for public school unions. It's so embarrassing. Imagine how bad he'd be with a real threat like NK or China.

Ridiculous.

Biden should pull the funding for any school that isn't open full time in person. If they still want to provide an alternative for some students, they can. But the teachers' unions in this country should not be controlling the country!

Schools are not primarily funded by the federal government, and Biden has no power to do that. The teachers unions are not controlling this country. If we had that kind of power, teachers would make a lot more money. I certainly wouldn’t be spending $1,000 a year on my classroom, would not go home every night and work hours of unpaid overtime, or work in a school without soap in the bathroom or a counselor. I’m so sick of these ridiculous, uninformed diatribes against teachers.

[Anonymous]

Time to go back to work or quit already. Teaching kids in a classroom is the job you signed up for. This endless making excusing is getting really embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time to go back to work or quit already. Teaching kids in a classroom is the job you signed up for. This endless making excusing is getting really embarrassing.

Who are you talking to and what excuses are currently being made? We are a two teacher household. I teach in a large elementary school (almost 1,000 students) and I can count on one hand the number of staff who are not working in the building right now. Everyone we know who works in the schools wants to be in schools with students 5 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Who are you talking to and what excuses are currently being made? We are a two teacher household. I teach in a large elementary school (almost 1,000 students) and I can count on one hand the number of staff who are not working in the building right now. Everyone we know who works in the schools wants to be in schools with students 5 days a week.

DP, but there are still some teachers who do not want to be in schools. An acquaintance of mine is in school against her wishes, teaching hybrid, and is upset/scared that they are allowing more kids to join classes. She is vaccinated, but still anxious about it. Granted, she is an elementary music teacher, and music teaching has to be a big bummer with covid cautions (no singing, no shared things, etc.). But I really don't understand the (genuine) anxiety. She wants to look outside of teaching, but does not have good career options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Who are you talking to and what excuses are currently being made? We are a two teacher household. I teach in a large elementary school (almost 1,000 students) and I can count on one hand the number of staff who are not working in the building right now. Everyone we know who works in the schools wants to be in schools with students 5 days a week.

DP, but there are still some teachers who do not want to be in schools. An acquaintance of mine is in school against her wishes, teaching hybrid, and is upset/scared that they are allowing more kids to join classes. She is vaccinated, but still anxious about it. Granted, she is an elementary music teacher, and music teaching has to be a big bummer with covid cautions (no singing, no shared things, etc.). But I really don't understand the (genuine) anxiety. She wants to look outside of teaching, but does not have good career options.

So you have an acquaintance if yours in school against her wishes. Of course there are a few. The PP makes it sound like everyone is at home making excuses to not go in and that’s even close to being accurate. Even your acquaintance is in-person.