MCPS Parents -- What would you tell teachers if you could?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

This is such a strange perspective. I do all these things for my job but I don't feel the need to act like a martyr.

You devote 30 hours to work over the weekend? Really? You get only 30 minutes of uninterrupted work time a day, during which you have to get ALL your work done? Really?

No, you don’t. We both know that.

[Anonymous]

To the Mandarin teacher in high school:

Stop acting like you are some awesome teacher. You are teaching Mandarin to native speakers. You suck. That’s why most kids drop out. If you were so great, you would be able to teach non-native speakers how to speak Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Or…
We can make the demands of this job more reasonable. Perhaps we can change them so teachers only have to work 50 hours a week instead of 65. Perhaps we can give them a whole hour of uninterrupted planning/grading/email/data collecting/lunch/bathroom time a day instead of having teachers cram that into 30 minutes.

Teachers shouldn’t have to agree to being martyrs. That’s the problem with your statement. All I hear is “be a martyr for me or leave.” Why can’t I stay under reasonable expectations instead of Herculean ones?

Lots of teachers only work their scheduled hours, a select group work much more and go above and beyond. This is not a parent issue. They need to address it with mcps.

Not all subjects and levels of teaching are the same. Some take more time than others. Also, are you satisfied with the work of those who are not going above and beyond?

We've only had a handful of teachers go above and beyond so it's really subjective. We've had some really good teachers but most are meh and a few really bad. Few respond to emails from either the kids or parents, which is sad when they say reach out when you need help. The few amazing deserve so much and then some but in reality most have done the absolute minimum and we've always had to supplement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

That’s such a ridiculous response. If this teacher and others choose to leave, who will teach our kids?

Maybe you can. Or, our kids just go without or MCPS will figure it out. Our kids have gone years without teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Most teachers I know do everything online, so there's almost 0 grading. Also, most are chronically absent. I just don't get all this complaining by people who work at best 160 real days a year with all the personal days off.

Okay. Let’s say I have 140 students in my class. When they submit papers, I now have 140 papers to comment on and score. Let’s assume it takes an average of 15 minutes a paper. That’s 30 HOURS of uninterrupted grading. I don’t get ANY additional time at work to get this done. If I only use my paltry 30 minutes of uninterrupted time during the work day, it’s going to take me 60 work days to get those graded and I won’t be using planning periods to plan, grade other assignments, answer emails, eat lunch, attend meetings, or do anything else I have to get done during that time.

Therefore, I have to use my weekends. I devote a Friday and ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday to getting them done so I can return them in a week. I hate that I have to do that, but the alternative is students will wait for many weeks before they get that paper back. How can they learn from mistakes and grow if I take that much time?

That’s what I want parents to know. When you see papers come home with comments, that happened on a teacher’s Friday night or on a Saturday when she missed her own child’s sporting event to grade.

This is ultimately why I’ll be quitting. The workload isn’t sustainable. If I want to be the teacher the students deserve, I have to give up too much. I’m starting to resent it, and I’m starting to take back my life. That’s why I won’t be assigning so many papers in AP, and that’s why your children won’t get as much instruction and writing support.

You need to go to your child's event. Stop using that as an excuse. If you are a rare teacher who gives feedback, then thank you, but you are a very rare teacher if you do.

[Anonymous]

So are we whining martyrs or lazy do-nothings? Just want to be clear when I am self-flagellating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Most teachers I know do everything online, so there's almost 0 grading. Also, most are chronically absent. I just don't get all this complaining by people who work at best 160 real days a year with all the personal days off.

Okay. Let’s say I have 140 students in my class. When they submit papers, I now have 140 papers to comment on and score. Let’s assume it takes an average of 15 minutes a paper. That’s 30 HOURS of uninterrupted grading. I don’t get ANY additional time at work to get this done. If I only use my paltry 30 minutes of uninterrupted time during the work day, it’s going to take me 60 work days to get those graded and I won’t be using planning periods to plan, grade other assignments, answer emails, eat lunch, attend meetings, or do anything else I have to get done during that time.

Therefore, I have to use my weekends. I devote a Friday and ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday to getting them done so I can return them in a week. I hate that I have to do that, but the alternative is students will wait for many weeks before they get that paper back. How can they learn from mistakes and grow if I take that much time?

That’s what I want parents to know. When you see papers come home with comments, that happened on a teacher’s Friday night or on a Saturday when she missed her own child’s sporting event to grade.

This is ultimately why I’ll be quitting. The workload isn’t sustainable. If I want to be the teacher the students deserve, I have to give up too much. I’m starting to resent it, and I’m starting to take back my life. That’s why I won’t be assigning so many papers in AP, and that’s why your children won’t get as much instruction and writing support.

You need to go to your child's event. Stop using that as an excuse. If you are a rare teacher who gives feedback, then thank you, but you are a very rare teacher if you do.

I give extensive feedback on every essay. Students can only learn to write if they are given the chance to review mistakes and revise. That’s how I learned, and it’s what our students need. It just isn’t sustainable unless teachers are given time to do it.

You say I’m one of the few who still do it, and you’re correct. Most of my colleagues have demanded a work/life balance. They’re correct, and I’m joining them. It means more students are going to go without, but the alternative is I quit. I figure it’s better for me to be there doing less than for students to have yet another long term sub.

[Anonymous]

It’s astonishing to me that teachers are complaining about having to grade essays and provide comments. That’s literally your job. WTH?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s astonishing to me that teachers are complaining about having to grade essays and provide comments. That’s literally your job. WTH?!

I’m frustrated that ALL my grading (10-20 hours a week as an AP teacher) has to be done on my OWN time.

If your job meant that you had to work 12-14 hours Saturday AND Sunday in order to get work done, wouldn’t you question it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Most teachers I know do everything online, so there's almost 0 grading. Also, most are chronically absent. I just don't get all this complaining by people who work at best 160 real days a year with all the personal days off.

Okay. Let’s say I have 140 students in my class. When they submit papers, I now have 140 papers to comment on and score. Let’s assume it takes an average of 15 minutes a paper. That’s 30 HOURS of uninterrupted grading. I don’t get ANY additional time at work to get this done. If I only use my paltry 30 minutes of uninterrupted time during the work day, it’s going to take me 60 work days to get those graded and I won’t be using planning periods to plan, grade other assignments, answer emails, eat lunch, attend meetings, or do anything else I have to get done during that time.

Therefore, I have to use my weekends. I devote a Friday and ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday to getting them done so I can return them in a week. I hate that I have to do that, but the alternative is students will wait for many weeks before they get that paper back. How can they learn from mistakes and grow if I take that much time?

That’s what I want parents to know. When you see papers come home with comments, that happened on a teacher’s Friday night or on a Saturday when she missed her own child’s sporting event to grade.

This is ultimately why I’ll be quitting. The workload isn’t sustainable. If I want to be the teacher the students deserve, I have to give up too much. I’m starting to resent it, and I’m starting to take back my life. That’s why I won’t be assigning so many papers in AP, and that’s why your children won’t get as much instruction and writing support.

You need to go to your child's event. Stop using that as an excuse. If you are a rare teacher who gives feedback, then thank you, but you are a very rare teacher if you do.

I give extensive feedback on every essay. Students can only learn to write if they are given the chance to review mistakes and revise. That’s how I learned, and it’s what our students need. It just isn’t sustainable unless teachers are given time to do it.

You say I’m one of the few who still do it, and you’re correct. Most of my colleagues have demanded a work/life balance. They’re correct, and I’m joining them. It means more students are going to go without, but the alternative is I quit. I figure it’s better for me to be there doing less than for students to have yet another long term sub.

It is impressive you do it but you also need to put your kids and family first. A burnt out teacher doesn't help anyone. We very rarely have had a teacher who gives feedback. Hopefully most of the kids by the time they get to you can write well but clearly not or you wouldn't need to give as much feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s astonishing to me that teachers are complaining about having to grade essays and provide comments. That’s literally your job. WTH?!

It is their job but what they are saying is if they are teaching 5-6 classes with 120-140 students plus doing a club or extras, and they are a good teacher who provides support at lunch, when are you expecting them to grade those papers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Most teachers I know do everything online, so there's almost 0 grading. Also, most are chronically absent. I just don't get all this complaining by people who work at best 160 real days a year with all the personal days off.

Okay. Let’s say I have 140 students in my class. When they submit papers, I now have 140 papers to comment on and score. Let’s assume it takes an average of 15 minutes a paper. That’s 30 HOURS of uninterrupted grading. I don’t get ANY additional time at work to get this done. If I only use my paltry 30 minutes of uninterrupted time during the work day, it’s going to take me 60 work days to get those graded and I won’t be using planning periods to plan, grade other assignments, answer emails, eat lunch, attend meetings, or do anything else I have to get done during that time.

Therefore, I have to use my weekends. I devote a Friday and ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday to getting them done so I can return them in a week. I hate that I have to do that, but the alternative is students will wait for many weeks before they get that paper back. How can they learn from mistakes and grow if I take that much time?

That’s what I want parents to know. When you see papers come home with comments, that happened on a teacher’s Friday night or on a Saturday when she missed her own child’s sporting event to grade.

This is ultimately why I’ll be quitting. The workload isn’t sustainable. If I want to be the teacher the students deserve, I have to give up too much. I’m starting to resent it, and I’m starting to take back my life. That’s why I won’t be assigning so many papers in AP, and that’s why your children won’t get as much instruction and writing support.

You need to go to your child's event. Stop using that as an excuse. If you are a rare teacher who gives feedback, then thank you, but you are a very rare teacher if you do.

I give extensive feedback on every essay. Students can only learn to write if they are given the chance to review mistakes and revise. That’s how I learned, and it’s what our students need. It just isn’t sustainable unless teachers are given time to do it.

You say I’m one of the few who still do it, and you’re correct. Most of my colleagues have demanded a work/life balance. They’re correct, and I’m joining them. It means more students are going to go without, but the alternative is I quit. I figure it’s better for me to be there doing less than for students to have yet another long term sub.

It is impressive you do it but you also need to put your kids and family first. A burnt out teacher doesn't help anyone. We very rarely have had a teacher who gives feedback. Hopefully most of the kids by the time they get to you can write well but clearly not or you wouldn't need to give as much feedback.

Seriously? Even college kids could use feedback on their writing and analysis. Sounds like you have very low standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Or…
We can make the demands of this job more reasonable. Perhaps we can change them so teachers only have to work 50 hours a week instead of 65. Perhaps we can give them a whole hour of uninterrupted planning/grading/email/data collecting/lunch/bathroom time a day instead of having teachers cram that into 30 minutes.

Teachers shouldn’t have to agree to being martyrs. That’s the problem with your statement. All I hear is “be a martyr for me or leave.” Why can’t I stay under reasonable expectations instead of Herculean ones?

Lots of teachers only work their scheduled hours, a select group work much more and go above and beyond. This is not a parent issue. They need to address it with mcps.

Not all subjects and levels of teaching are the same. Some take more time than others. Also, are you satisfied with the work of those who are not going above and beyond?

+100. I personally feel like to be a really good teacher you need to work a lot more than required hours. Even things like college recommendations - these take a lot of time to do well and I do them all on the weekends. I usually have 20-30 recommendations to write every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please focus on teaching our kids and not pushing cultural Maoism on our children. There is no reason to devote time to in vogue topic of the Left--Critical Race Theory, Gender Identity, Intersectionality, the bashing of America and meritocracy. Thanks

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If parents knew what went on in public schools in America we would say that we appreciate teachers sacrifice and we wish our schools had a sustainable supportive system so teachers could be looked at as professionals and not have their careers ruined by mismanagement and political corruption.

Sacrifice?

Yes. Sacrifice.

I sacrifice every weekend of the school year to get my grading done. I sacrifice time with my own family to be prepared every work day. I sacrifice my own health since I can’t take easy leave to make it to appointments. I sacrifice my own money to purchase supplies - even classroom sets of books - for my classroom.

So yes, we sacrifice. And if we choose not to by demanding a work/life balance, we are told we are uncommitted and lazy.

100% of the teachers who have quit my school in the last 3 years have said they are leaving because they are tired of the emotional, physical, and financial toll. Most have gone on to jobs that pay more and require fewer hours. Those of us who are remaining (for now) see this. We’re also thinking of jumping ship because we know it can be done.

You understand this is the job you agreed to. You are welcome to find a different profession, which is why many leave. If you feel its best to jump ship, it sounds like a good move for you.

Oh, STFU, you nasty snot.

DP, not a teacher