RANT: Teachers, why are you so whiny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1000

I agree with this. I am not saying teachers don't have and hard and respectable job, but the way they rant and complain and generally act like they think their job is so much harder than other jobs does NOT do good things to combat the existing "teachers aren't very smart" stereotype.

+1. I've started requesting teachers who are parents themselves. They tend to be a little less clueless about the "horrible" parenting job we're all doing, and less whiney.

As for the post about hard-to-staff teaching positions. .. kind of proves the point, doesn't it? Most teachers can't pass a college math class themselves, and went into teaching so they wouldn't have to. Sure, let's pay teachers better. Let's also make the requirements a lot tougher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher and I agree with a good portion of it. Especially the pay. I make just about what my roommate does in a corporate job, but she is always connected and works from home so many evenings. I definitely work less than her as a middle school teacher. Also, I get sick of colleagues complaining about the workload to get their Masters and then the little payout from it.

I don’t have any helpers to come make copies, but I do employ the peer grading technique for quizzes and small assignments. I only grade tests and even then it’s not that difficult if it’s a scantron test or online test. Bam! Done for me.

Most of my day is spent pretending the kids don’t stink, pretending I’m not eavesdropping on their conversations, and (some days) pretending I’m not as excited for the 3:35 bell as I really am. And also answering the parent emails. You guys email a lot! But, luckily, most questions are repetitive so I can do a fair bit of copying and pasting.

Also, you’ve caught us; the jig is up. We don’t start working on the next year’s plans until last minute.

It sounds like it is much easier to teach MS than ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course Summers off are a perk. And, I well needed rest for teachers to recharge. The pay sucks, and if you think it's fair you are so wrong. The responsibility is tremendous. Teaching children, some of whom may be hungry, some of them have no electricity or heat or air conditioning at home, some who may have addicted parents, some of whom have undiagnosed learning disabilities, you also have to deal with their parents. Parents who maybe didn't have a good experience in school themselves, and are not so great at dealing with the school system. Parents who may be a working two jobs to pay the bills. Parents who maybe have nannies do everything, because they can't be bothered. Parents who are entitled and demand you do all sorts of things for their child. And let's talk about the fact that teachers gave up a contracted raise in 2008 that they still haven't been given back, even though the Board of Education got a raise, the County Council got a raise, and even the Superintemdant got a massive raise after one year on the job.

OP, what you describe is not the reality for most teachers. You are tired and bitter and should not be working in a school, or anywhere near other people's children.

The thing is, you could write a similar laundry list for pretty much ANY job. It's that teachers act like problems with the system/their days not running perfectly smoothly is a unique issue for them that makes them look bad.

+ 1 million. It makes them seem out of touch. "I being work home!" Who doesn't? "I do not get paid enough!" Who does? What do they think the rest of us do? Sit around and eat Bon bons? This has always been the head-scratcher for me.

Is it that teachers don't realize others bring work home or are they simply informing those who say they only work 38 hours a week/ 180 days a year?

[Anonymous]

Is it that teachers don't realize others bring work home or are they simply informing those who say they only work 38 hours a week/ 180 days a year?

I taught for a number of years and then went to work for the federal government.

Here are a few thoughts?

How many people are free to go to the bathroom when the need arises? FWIW, teachers are not. They must leave unsupervised classes at their own risk.
Teachers never have the option of working from home on the day that the plumber needs to come. They must take leave--and personal leave is quite limited.
Most people are free to leave the building at lunch time. Teachers do not have that option. (It has only been in recent years that teachers are given a duty free lunch--and, the current duty free lunch is very brief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Is it that teachers don't realize others bring work home or are they simply informing those who say they only work 38 hours a week/ 180 days a year?

I taught for a number of years and then went to work for the federal government.

Here are a few thoughts?

How many people are free to go to the bathroom when the need arises? FWIW, teachers are not. They must leave unsupervised classes at their own risk.
Teachers never have the option of working from home on the day that the plumber needs to come. They must take leave--and personal leave is quite limited.
Most people are free to leave the building at lunch time. Teachers do not have that option. (It has only been in recent years that teachers are given a duty free lunch--and, the current duty free lunch is very brief.

Shh. People don't like to acknowledge this.

One thing that bothered me as a Para, and one reason I could never teach. The kids with problems we knew needed to be addressed but nothing was done.

I also couldn't deal with so many people telling me how to do my job. From people making educational decisions with no training to parents who think they know how to do the job better than those who are trained.

OP... sounds like you work in a pretty crappy environment. Perhaps you need a change. I've met some teachers like you describe but certainly not any entire school.

[Anonymous]

My husband's brother and his wife are teachers, make great money, and never complain, because they truly love their jobs. They are getting ready to retire. This is her last year, he retires after next year. Her parents were teachers in our county for 45 years, and loved it. They left lasting positive impressions on their students, and when her father passed away a few years ago, there were so many people who came to pay their respects that they could not fit in the funeral home chapel (which is very large). Some teachers do not have their hearts in their jobs. Some put their whole lives into it. It's their calling. Those are the ones who you want. The others need to go somewhere else, and do something different, because their attitudes definitely affect their ability to teach. But do not lump all teachers into the same category. I have seen some wonderful ones, who truly love what they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Is it that teachers don't realize others bring work home or are they simply informing those who say they only work 38 hours a week/ 180 days a year?

I taught for a number of years and then went to work for the federal government.

Here are a few thoughts?

How many people are free to go to the bathroom when the need arises? FWIW, teachers are not. They must leave unsupervised classes at their own risk.
Teachers never have the option of working from home on the day that the plumber needs to come. They must take leave--and personal leave is quite limited.
Most people are free to leave the building at lunch time. Teachers do not have that option. (It has only been in recent years that teachers are given a duty free lunch--and, the current duty free lunch is very brief.

They have 1/2 hour, enough to enjoy a t-bone stake with a salad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband's brother and his wife are teachers, make great money, and never complain, because they truly love their jobs. They are getting ready to retire. This is her last year, he retires after next year. Her parents were teachers in our county for 45 years, and loved it. They left lasting positive impressions on their students, and when her father passed away a few years ago, there were so many people who came to pay their respects that they could not fit in the funeral home chapel (which is very large). Some teachers do not have their hearts in their jobs. Some put their whole lives into it. It's their calling. Those are the ones who you want. The others need to go somewhere else, and do something different, because their attitudes definitely affect their ability to teach. But do not lump all teachers into the same category. I have seen some wonderful ones, who truly love what they do.

I agree with you, actually. There are some amazing teachers out there, and they certainly aren't the ones complaining ALL the damn time. It really can be a calling, and we are all grateful for these teachers. However: there are a good chunk that went into it thinking it would be an easy cush gig (good hours, summers and school breaks off, good benefits, low stress) and then they find it is not a good fit. But they don't want to give up the good schedule and are unwilling to change professions, so they just whine endlessly instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher and I agree with a good portion of it. Especially the pay. I make just about what my roommate does in a corporate job, but she is always connected and works from home so many evenings. I definitely work less than her as a middle school teacher. Also, I get sick of colleagues complaining about the workload to get their Masters and then the little payout from it.

I don’t have any helpers to come make copies, but I do employ the peer grading technique for quizzes and small assignments. I only grade tests and even then it’s not that difficult if it’s a scantron test or online test. Bam! Done for me.

Most of my day is spent pretending the kids don’t stink, pretending I’m not eavesdropping on their conversations, and (some days) pretending I’m not as excited for the 3:35 bell as I really am. And also answering the parent emails. You guys email a lot! But, luckily, most questions are repetitive so I can do a fair bit of copying and pasting.

Also, you’ve caught us; the jig is up. We don’t start working on the next year’s plans until last minute.

It sounds like it is much easier to teach MS than ES.

I think so.

My elementary school teacher friends deal with more vomit and pee and I deal with more BO and period mishaps. The kids are easier. There’s not a special fun activity needed for every holiday. That takes up so much of their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Is it that teachers don't realize others bring work home or are they simply informing those who say they only work 38 hours a week/ 180 days a year?

I taught for a number of years and then went to work for the federal government.

Here are a few thoughts?

How many people are free to go to the bathroom when the need arises? FWIW, teachers are not. They must leave unsupervised classes at their own risk.
Teachers never have the option of working from home on the day that the plumber needs to come. They must take leave--and personal leave is quite limited.
Most people are free to leave the building at lunch time. Teachers do not have that option. (It has only been in recent years that teachers are given a duty free lunch--and, the current duty free lunch is very brief.

I guess it's just like...none of this should come as any sort of surprise for them? That seems pretty much like a given for anyone who goes into teaching - you probably shouldn't go in expecting long leisurely lunches at fancy restaurants. Ditto on flex schedules - it's shift work...I'd say the same thing about a nurse, who would go into that kind of job expecting to be able to take mornings off last minute? And they don't get weeks of vacation time during the year because they have THREE months (plus a week at spring break, plus 2 weeks at Christmas, etc...) off...this just kind of makes sense. Of course it's not a flexible schedule job but this is obvious to anyone who has ever BEEN to school...

Fwiw most lawyers I know regularly work through lunch. But you don't hear them complaining about it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1000

I agree with this. I am not saying teachers don't have and hard and respectable job, but the way they rant and complain and generally act like they think their job is so much harder than other jobs does NOT do good things to combat the existing "teachers aren't very smart" stereotype.

YES!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course Summers off are a perk. And, I well needed rest for teachers to recharge. The pay sucks, and if you think it's fair you are so wrong. The responsibility is tremendous. Teaching children, some of whom may be hungry, some of them have no electricity or heat or air conditioning at home, some who may have addicted parents, some of whom have undiagnosed learning disabilities, you also have to deal with their parents. Parents who maybe didn't have a good experience in school themselves, and are not so great at dealing with the school system. Parents who may be a working two jobs to pay the bills. Parents who maybe have nannies do everything, because they can't be bothered. Parents who are entitled and demand you do all sorts of things for their child. And let's talk about the fact that teachers gave up a contracted raise in 2008 that they still haven't been given back, even though the Board of Education got a raise, the County Council got a raise, and even the Superintemdant got a massive raise after one year on the job.

OP, what you describe is not the reality for most teachers. You are tired and bitter and should not be working in a school, or anywhere near other people's children.

The thing is, you could write a similar laundry list for pretty much ANY job. It's that teachers act like problems with the system/their days not running perfectly smoothly is a unique issue for them that makes them look bad.

+ 1 million. It makes them seem out of touch. "I being work home!" Who doesn't? "I do not get paid enough!" Who does? What do they think the rest of us do? Sit around and eat Bon bons? This has always been the head-scratcher for me.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband's brother and his wife are teachers, make great money, and never complain, because they truly love their jobs. They are getting ready to retire. This is her last year, he retires after next year. Her parents were teachers in our county for 45 years, and loved it. They left lasting positive impressions on their students, and when her father passed away a few years ago, there were so many people who came to pay their respects that they could not fit in the funeral home chapel (which is very large). Some teachers do not have their hearts in their jobs. Some put their whole lives into it. It's their calling. Those are the ones who you want. The others need to go somewhere else, and do something different, because their attitudes definitely affect their ability to teach. But do not lump all teachers into the same category. I have seen some wonderful ones, who truly love what they do.

There will always be a teacher shortage if the criteria for teaching is for it to be a calling that one must put their whole life into. Why can't it be just a job? We don't demand attorneys, engineers, and accountants to treat their jobs as a "calling".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP is smearing an entire profession.

In any universe, is that cool?

No, it's not.

Don't even get into an argument about whether the degree is easy or hard. That is not the point.

Boo hoo.

-signed, a lawyer and lobbyist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

+1000

I agree with this. I am not saying teachers don't have and hard and respectable job, but the way they rant and complain and generally act like they think their job is so much harder than other jobs does NOT do good things to combat the existing "teachers aren't very smart" stereotype.

YES!

Yup. Which is evidenced by a poster that things everyone else gets leisurely long lunches, can come and go to meet the plumber and endless pee breaks.