Be honest - what do you think of teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I respect the many hard working teachers that dedicate their lives to educating and caring for our children. There are many in our society that have the energy or interest to instill in their children an appreciation for education and the school end up being a babysitting service. Teachers are saddled with pupils who do not come to school ready and eager to learn and on top of that are pressured to make them pass tests per the No Child Left Behind legacy. It is sad. It would be nice to be able to recruit, retain, and reward excellent and well educated teachers and pay them a fantastic salary. They have one of the most important jobs in the world and yet for many their education levels don't reflect it.

Teachers are required to have a BA (plus Praxis tests) to get licensed, and required to obtain a master's (typically within 5 years of teaching). I got my BA in elementary education then my MA and had to take a total of 7 Praxis tests.

[Anonymous]

I have an undergrad degree from one of the top three Ivies, a law degree from a top ten law school, and am soon to have a master's in education (so I can teach elementary school). Not all of us are "under-educated." Despite these degrees, I've learned the most about teaching from watching other teachers and interning in their classes. I think new teachers (or perhaps student teachers) should be employed as assistant teachers in master teachers' classrooms for at least a year.

[Anonymous]

I think teachers have hard jobs and one of the most important jobs out there. I think they are underpaid (per hour). It's a tough job. I respect anyone who wants to do it.

That said, I do get tired of the complaining. Teachers do know the downsides of the profession when they take the job. Further, despite the claims of many teachers on this board about how they take the job home and do things during the summer (for e.g.) I have yet to see this true in real life. And, I know a LOT of teachers. What I see are teachers posting on FB about how they are hoping for snow days, at the pool all summer and don't want work to start again. There's nothing wrong with any of that. But, it undercuts many of the claims I see on here. (We are in Fairfax, fwiw). And, why should they paid for 12 months when they're are only really working for 9?

[Anonymous]

In MCPS, teachers are paid for 10 months, not 12. They are not paid at all over the summer, unless they have saved their money themselves throughout the year in a special summer pay account through the credit union. To really compare a teacher's salary (let's say about $45k, which is what a new teacher makes) to someone in the private sector, you would have to adjust the teacher's salary by 20% for those other two months. So, as a twelve month employee, that new young teacher would be making $54k. I have no idea how that compares to other entry level jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, teachers are paid for 10 months, not 12. They are not paid at all over the summer, unless they have saved their money themselves throughout the year in a special summer pay account through the credit union. To really compare a teacher's salary (let's say about $45k, which is what a new teacher makes) to someone in the private sector, you would have to adjust the teacher's salary by 20% for those other two months. So, as a twelve month employee, that new young teacher would be making $54k. I have no idea how that compares to other entry level jobs.

My association pays college grads between 30 - 45k per year for entry level jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught in the NYC public schools. I am no longer teaching. Have a master's degree from an ivy and the salary still wasn't enough to carry rent and food comfortably (and I wasn't living in a posh apt, or eating out, I assure you!) I was, and am, a good teacher, (or so I've been told) and have thought about what should be done to help keep teachers teaching. From the posts I've been reading, it sounds as though many feel as I have in that it's a wonderful profession that many of us are drawn to, and it's a shame that we either have to have a spouse with a heftier income to help support our teaching, or we have to be resigned to a truly austere lifestyle until several years down the road when we've reached some seniority. My solution? (And now that I'm no longer teaching, it can't be deemed self-serving...) Keep teacher salaries the same, but make them tax-exempt. Doing so would serve two purposes. It would increase teacher salaries (and not do much in the way of the economy, since the salaries are so low--we're not talking high-end here...), and it would elevate teachers to a special status, as elite because of what they do. My guess is that we'd have more people entering the field, and the requirements would start getting tougher to get into the programs. Just an idea. In the meantime, my BA is not in education, although my masters is in curriculum development and teaching, so I wasrequired to teach quite a bit, and to create several curricula prior to ever setting foot in a classroom.

I think that's a great idea.

[Anonymous]

I think tax-exemption is a great idea, too, and I agree that any job that is public service should be tax exempt--military, teachers, fire, police, EMTs.

[Anonymous]

non-teacher here

Q1. What do you think of people who choose to enter the teaching profession?

A: I respect and admire those who choose to teach from a position of passion and love for the job.

I detest those who teach because they are incompetent and can't really do anything but copy words onto a chalkboard. They are the worst kind.

I don't respect those who teach because their degree is basically worthless in the marketplace (art history, for instance) and think putting in the hours til retirement is just fine.

I utterly despise those who teach from a position of social justice/activism to try and mold children's minds to fit some dumb theory.


2. What do you think about teaching as a career - in terms of how demanding it is or what it requires.

A: I think it is demanding and thankless but if done for the right reasons, extremely rewarding knowing you have helped people by inspiring a love of learning and knowledge in some students who will go on to better themselves and perhaps society. You may have another Pasteur or Shakespeare sitting in your class, you just don't know it yet and you are the one pointing that student in the right direction.

I think not getting depressed knowing that some students are going to be stupid and not apply their brains to learn could be a challenge to teachers, seeing a student waste their potential.

I also think it would be depressing trying to teach kids who you know are basically morons and ought to be handed a shovel now so they can go out and do something useful as that is about all their rotten brains are capable of handling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, teachers are paid for 10 months, not 12. They are not paid at all over the summer, unless they have saved their money themselves throughout the year in a special summer pay account through the credit union. To really compare a teacher's salary (let's say about $45k, which is what a new teacher makes) to someone in the private sector, you would have to adjust the teacher's salary by 20% for those other two months. So, as a twelve month employee, that new young teacher would be making $54k. I have no idea how that compares to other entry level jobs.

Yes, I get paid 12 months a year, however, I get less $ each month because I choose to spread my payment throughout the entire year.
If I had chosen to be paid for 10 months instead, I would get more per paycheck, but in the summertime would receive nothing.
With either scenario, I still get the same yearly salary. In other words, I am taking a "pay cut" Sept through June, so I can also be paid throughout July and August. I am really not being "given extra" by being paid year round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think tax-exemption is a great idea, too, and I agree that any job that is public service should be tax exempt--military, teachers, fire, police, EMTs.

Every government employee???? Tech, they are all public sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think tax-exemption is a great idea, too, and I agree that any job that is public service should be tax exempt--military, teachers, fire, police, EMTs.

Every government employee???? Tech, they are all public sector.

No, not all public sector employees. The list pp gave gives a good idea of what s/he's talking about. Bleeding heart liberal kinds of services - emergency, child education, military...

I hope the never tax exempt pastor's salaries though, we have enough kooky cults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think teachers have hard jobs and one of the most important jobs out there. I think they are underpaid (per hour). It's a tough job. I respect anyone who wants to do it.

That said, I do get tired of the complaining. Teachers do know the downsides of the profession when they take the job. Further, despite the claims of many teachers on this board about how they take the job home and do things during the summer (for e.g.) I have yet to see this true in real life. And, I know a LOT of teachers. What I see are teachers posting on FB about how they are hoping for snow days, at the pool all summer and don't want work to start again. There's nothing wrong with any of that. But, it undercuts many of the claims I see on here. (We are in Fairfax, fwiw). And, why should they paid for 12 months when they're are only really working for 9?

Technically it's 10 months, not 9. And some opt to have their pay spread out over 12 months instead of condensed into 10 so they have a steady source of income and are not going without income for 2 months. Some teachers also work an additional part time job over the summer.

They aren't getting paid more by being paid for those 2 months - it's the same annual amount, just spread out over 12 months instead of 10.

[Anonymous]

I think that teachers usually are people that have a calling to it - because it is a crapy job (I really could not deal with all those kids all day long) and judging by this thread they are usually undervalued. You have to love what you do - and really be gifted at it.

Most of the teachers I have met are caring, kind people - but somewhat burned out. Also, because of the low pay, I see a lot of good teachers leave when they have kids themselves (no research...just from my experience).

I wish we could pay them more, because they deserve it.

[Anonymous]

[b]

Anonymous wrote:I think that teachers usually are people that have a calling to it - because it is a crapy job (I really could not deal with all those kids all day long) and judging by this thread they are usually undervalued. You have to love what you do - and really be gifted at it.

Most of the teachers I have met are caring, kind people - but somewhat burned out. Also, because of the low pay, I see a lot of good teachers leave when they have kids themselves (no research...just from my experience).

I wish we could pay them more, because they deserve it.

We could pay them more. We choose not to.

MoCo chose to subsidize Costco, a highly profitable company, in putting a store in Wheaton.

MoCo also chose to subsidize the Fillmore (slated for downtown Silver Spring, opening soon), not only for startup costs but also for (uncapped!) overruns.

These are choices.

[Anonymous]

9:27 - comparing first year teachers to entry level employees is completely inappropriate. Teachers are expected to hit the ground running regardless of how much prior experience they have. Some well-funded school districts are fortunate enough to have money for master teachers/mentors to provide first-years with support. Most do not.

First year teachers have the same class load, without extra prep periods (in most districts), same issues with paperwork and IEPs needing to be done, same piles of homework and exams to correct, as more experienced teachers. Newer teachers do not get a pass because of their inexperience.

Entry-level employees have considerably different responsibilities compared to higher positions. They are not thrown into an office their first day on the job and given the exact same responsibilities as people much higher on the totem pole.

I'm not arguing about the relative worth of teachers. I'm just saying that comparing new teachers to entry level positions in other industries doesn't make a whole lot of sense.