Teacher and Admins please share ideas to have merit based pay work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm a teacher and I have never complained about pay. I would like a lower class size. That would be beneficial.

Amen!

This is one of my biggest stressors. We are expected to meet with 2-3 guided reading groups a day. We are expected to meet with students in writing conferences, plan for enrichment/remediation blocks, plan math workshop activities, assess and manage behaviors. All worthwhile expectations, but it is pretty much impossible with 30 third graders. I try to do what I can, but I just don't know my students as readers and writers like I used to.

My child's class has 20 kids, no 30. Agree teachers do not know their kids as my child was privately tested in reading and was several grade levels ahead and teacher tests her below to keep her in a reading group with several other kids. She makes no effort to try at all nor listen to our concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First fix all the schools. Like working AC and heat and peeling paint and opening windows. Make the conditions actually even across counties and states (the physical plant parts). Then pay all teachers more and thereby having more people go into the profession and be able to pick the best ones for the job. Money is needed to make it a respectable profession so you don't lose people to other sectors because the pay is abysmal. Yea there are great teachers now that have the calling but many don't go into k-12 because of conditions and low pay and limited growth. Oh and get rid of administrative bloat and give principals and teachers more autonomy and less testing!

Their pay is equal, if not more to many similar professions only they get better benefits from many other gov't employees and get two months off plus Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break. I am so tired of hearing they are underpaid when they have a much cushier job than social workers, public health and more.

Our teacher was complaining this year about how small her classroom was. I thought it was huge and surprised by the comment.

I am a pp. You say teachers are paid better. Better than what? Someone with a master's degree and 20 years experience? No. That is the education level of most teachers after a few years.

Social workers, nurses and other gov't professionals also have master's degree. Our teacher has a few years experience as do most at our public school. The principal ran off most of the seasoned ones. Teachers are better paid. They don't have to go to the worst parts of town into people's homes on a daily basis and much more. Try being a front line social worker, especially somewhere like SE DC.

you should look at what Masters earn in the federal gov't. Or in other word, try living on a teachers salary. 35 yo's with masters make 6 figures mostly, unless they are teachers.

I was a social worker in DC making under $40,000 a year in SE DC. A teachers salary was higher starting and I had about 7 years experience. Most 35 yo's with masters are not making 6 figures depending on their career field. Teachers are not underpaid and if you feel you are, find a new profession.

As a social worker you were not responsible for educating children. That's the key that makes teaching such a noble and unique profession. This fact was pointed out by another poster earlier in this communication by one that some deliberately overlook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ma'am, I call BS on all of this.

In over 20 years of teaching--different grade levels, states...I have NEVER seen the nonsense you're talking about even ONCE, much less over and over from a variety of teachers.

Of all the teacher ancedotes given on sites like dcurban, there's never been one claiming to see the things you have-much less multiple times.

What type of luck do you have that YOU just happen to be the one who goes into these classrooms to catch teachers sleeping and doing their nails?

Furthermore, coming in late does not make one a bad teacher. Tardy? Yes. Unprofessional? Sure. But that doesn't mean they're not dynamic in the classroom. Means they hit traffic or oversleep. Could also mean that they have a valid reason for being late that the principal--not YOU--is aware of and sanctioned. One of my colleagues was able to come in late weekly after chemo. Another had childcare issues that one day a week. The principal knew and gave permission in both cases.

Ditching team meetings could very well also be pre-excused by an administrator who knows of extenuating circumstances. One of my colleagues happened to need to pump during that time. Another was excused from after school meetings for--well...whatever reason...She never told me--only that it was approved by admin. Or maybe those meetings turn into unproductive bitch sessions against admin, parents, everybody.

Not pitching in as you think they should? Again, doesn't mean they're not great in the classroom. Just not team players. Or very professional. OR....perhaps they're not pitching in to YOUR judgmental, bad luck having (cause you just happen to always get stuck with loser teachers) standards.

How do test scores not match performance? Are we talking about standardized tests? Those can't be cheated on. The times my students took the test I wasn't even in the room. And I definitely didn't score the tests. The state did. Teachers were not allowed to proctor their own students throughout most of my career.

Ever heard of summer learning loss? It's possible students DID make the gains she claimed but walked into your "perfect" class at a learning loss. Again, what bad luck that every single one of your students happened to have that same horrible, test-cheating, lying teacher. Whatever did you do wrong in your past life to deserve this? The bad teachers require YOU to cover their classes. Their students come to YOU. ALL of them. They're sleeping and doing their nails when YOU innocently walk into the room. And you just happen to be on the team where the teachers ditch meetings and won't pitch in.

Poor thing.

Again, I do NOT believe your story. But I DO believe that entire fairytale was your attempt at portraying other teachers as bad without acknowledging you're one of the busybody mean girls.

Definitely not one of the mean girls. And, I told you that most of the teachers were outstanding. You are very lucky if you have not run across poor teachers.

The one who slept every day after lunch was in a Title I school in another state. I know all the other grade level teachers were aware of it.

I agree that coming in late does not make one a bad teacher. Things happen However, when teacher comes in late two or three days a week every week, that is a problem. Lucky you, not to have to deal with this. I am not talking about now and then. I am talking about twenty minutes late on a consistent basis. Sounds to me like you must be one of those. And, it is not all that rare.
It's great that your principal gave permission-I hope the administration stepped up and covered the class rather than having two classes combine every day. That is lost instructional time, you know. But, that is not the type of teacher I am talking about--I am talking about a young woman who consistently overslept.

So, it's okay to ditch team meetings all the time? That means that other duties are covered by your teammates. Not cool if you do it consistently. So, the administrator gives permission--does the administrator also pick up the extra duties? Again, I am talking about someone who always misses. And, in those cases, certainly that information would be shared with the other team members--not just "ditched". And, I agree that team meetings can be unproductive--but, some are necessary--and mandated by administration.

The tests I was referring to were given long before NCLB. And, yes, they were standardized--but in those days there was far less supervision--it was on the honor system. The teacher I am referring to bragged about how advanced her kids were--in those days, it was strictly bragging for ego purposes--not regulations. This particular teacher really impressed our principal. The next year, the teachers who had her kids were stunned with the poor skills from her kids who were so far ahead in grade level. This particular teacher had moved away--perhaps her desire was a glowing recommendation out of this --but, your "lost skills over the summer" point, does not apply here. Her kids were below the others--but the test scores were higher. The likelihood of that much regression from one group of kids is very low. And, I never said I taught her kids. I taught first. She was a second grade teacher and it was the third grade teachers who talked about it. We were all aware of it because she had bragged so much and when these kids did so poorly the next year, it was no secret.

And, the teacher doing her nails? Absolutely happened. My kids were at music when I walked into the office. This was pre computers and email. The principal handed me a note for the teacher since I was "going that way". I took it to her twenty minutes before close of day. She was not at my grade level. Maybe, it was a one time occurrence--but it is doubtful.

So, in many years of teaching, I mentioned four teachers that I thought should not be there. I think it is great that everyone you teach with is terrific. As I said, I taught with outstanding teachers, but I did know four bad apples. But, you are awfully defensive about some issues that seem to touch a nerve.

I am a new responder in this thread after reading through each and every post in this communication carefully. Looking at your exchange with the previous poster objectively, from the outside, I can see both sides and cannot help but wonder why you are so defensive and nasty. I also had a reaction to your disgust for teachers and wondered if you were actually a teacher yourself. Your claims about sorry teachers made you sound like either someone who does not like teachers or the mean girl teacher the person you are responding to wrote about. Another teacher in this communication stated that one of the reasons she left public school teaching was because of the infighting between teachers. I cannot help but wonder if you are one of the types she was referring to. I think teachers get enough of a bad rap from the public without the infighting, thinking that putting down other teachers somehow makes you look better. It only makes the anti-teacher think 'see, I told you so. They're lazy and not deserving of pay or respect'. It doesn't make anyone think 'oh, that teacher is wonderful, give her a bonus'. I'm leaving a school system in a different state that treats its teachers very poorly. They've taken away tenure, pension and raises. All because teachers are now the enemy of children. Your not helping. Now more than ever with Trump's new Secretary of Education teachers really need to stick together.

I must also say that I have taught since pre NCLB as well and in all of my decades of teaching I have also never been exposed to all of the horrible teacher examples that you mentioned. And even if they were horrible if you were focused on doing your job you wouldn't know it. That's the point the other responder was making and one that I understand. My husband is a retired principal and that was his philosophy too. He always found that the teacher who was constantly trying to put others down was never ever in any case better than the teacher they were trying to disparage. And whenever a teacher went to him to complain about another teacher being horrible he always wondered how they could possibly know if they were doing what they were supposed to be doing for their own students. Those teachers never ever impressed principals. I can tell you this from hearing the many stories from my husband and his peers.

[Anonymous]

am a new responder in this thread after reading through each and every post in this communication carefully. Looking at your exchange with the previous poster objectively, from the outside, I can see both sides and cannot help but wonder why you are so defensive and nasty. I also had a reaction to your disgust for teachers and wondered if you were actually a teacher yourself. Your claims about sorry teachers made you sound like either someone who does not like teachers or the mean girl teacher the person you are responding to wrote about. Another teacher in this communication stated that one of the reasons she left public school teaching was because of the infighting between teachers. I cannot help but wonder if you are one of the types she was referring to. I think teachers get enough of a bad rap from the public without the infighting, thinking that putting down other teachers somehow makes you look better. It only makes the anti-teacher think 'see, I told you so. They're lazy and not deserving of pay or respect'. It doesn't make anyone think 'oh, that teacher is wonderful, give her a bonus'. I'm leaving a school system in a different state that treats its teachers very poorly. They've taken away tenure, pension and raises. All because teachers are now the enemy of children. Your not helping. Now more than ever with Trump's new Secretary of Education teachers really need to stick together.

I must also say that I have taught since pre NCLB as well and in all of my decades of teaching I have also never been exposed to all of the horrible teacher examples that you mentioned. And even if they were horrible if you were focused on doing your job you wouldn't know it. That's the point the other responder was making and one that I understand. My husband is a retired principal and that was his philosophy too. He always found that the teacher who was constantly trying to put others down was never ever in any case better than the teacher they were trying to disparage. And whenever a teacher went to him to complain about another teacher being horrible he always wondered how they could possibly know if they were doing what they were supposed to be doing for their own students. Those teachers never ever impressed principals. I can tell you this from hearing the many stories from my husband and his peers.

Suspect you are the same responder and it sounds like I touched a nerve. Did another teacher complain about you? And, who said anything about going to the principal and complaining? That was not in my playbook. I mentioned four incidents which did not require being out of the classroom or away from my duties. As for tone, check yourself. Seriously:
Walking my class down the hallway and seeing a teacher (with classroom door open) asleep at her desk? This takes time away from my class?
Covering for a teacher who was constantly late? How is that being a busybody? It required me to watch two classes. And, the administrator knew about it.
I saw the teacher "doing her nails" on a request by my principal. I was walking back to my classroom from dropping my kids off at music and he asked me to take the note to the teacher.
The teacher who bragged about her test scores did so in a faculty meeting. How did I know about how untrue that was: from friends who were also on the faculty. It came up the next year and the third grade teachers were discussing it. Sorry, I guess you think teachers do not discuss work outside of school.

Four examples in years of teaching.







The one with the teacher who bragged about the test scores was a little different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm a teacher and I have never complained about pay. I would like a lower class size. That would be beneficial.

Amen!

This is one of my biggest stressors. We are expected to meet with 2-3 guided reading groups a day. We are expected to meet with students in writing conferences, plan for enrichment/remediation blocks, plan math workshop activities, assess and manage behaviors. All worthwhile expectations, but it is pretty much impossible with 30 third graders. I try to do what I can, but I just don't know my students as readers and writers like I used to.

My child's class has 20 kids, no 30. Agree teachers do not know their kids as my child was privately tested in reading and was several grade levels ahead and teacher tests her below to keep her in a reading group with several other kids. She makes no effort to try at all nor listen to our concerns.

I'm sorry you feel your child's teacher makes no effort. The fact remains that my grade level has 30-31 students and I work my butt off trying to meet their needs.

Nice job trying to spin what I wrote. Saying "I try to do what I can, but I just don't know my students as readers and writers like I used to" due to class size is not even close to "teachers do not know their kids".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

am a new responder in this thread after reading through each and every post in this communication carefully. Looking at your exchange with the previous poster objectively, from the outside, I can see both sides and cannot help but wonder why you are so defensive and nasty. I also had a reaction to your disgust for teachers and wondered if you were actually a teacher yourself. Your claims about sorry teachers made you sound like either someone who does not like teachers or the mean girl teacher the person you are responding to wrote about. Another teacher in this communication stated that one of the reasons she left public school teaching was because of the infighting between teachers. I cannot help but wonder if you are one of the types she was referring to. I think teachers get enough of a bad rap from the public without the infighting, thinking that putting down other teachers somehow makes you look better. It only makes the anti-teacher think 'see, I told you so. They're lazy and not deserving of pay or respect'. It doesn't make anyone think 'oh, that teacher is wonderful, give her a bonus'. I'm leaving a school system in a different state that treats its teachers very poorly. They've taken away tenure, pension and raises. All because teachers are now the enemy of children. Your not helping. Now more than ever with Trump's new Secretary of Education teachers really need to stick together.

I must also say that I have taught since pre NCLB as well and in all of my decades of teaching I have also never been exposed to all of the horrible teacher examples that you mentioned. And even if they were horrible if you were focused on doing your job you wouldn't know it. That's the point the other responder was making and one that I understand. My husband is a retired principal and that was his philosophy too. He always found that the teacher who was constantly trying to put others down was never ever in any case better than the teacher they were trying to disparage. And whenever a teacher went to him to complain about another teacher being horrible he always wondered how they could possibly know if they were doing what they were supposed to be doing for their own students. Those teachers never ever impressed principals. I can tell you this from hearing the many stories from my husband and his peers.

Suspect you are the same responder and it sounds like I touched a nerve. Did another teacher complain about you? And, who said anything about going to the principal and complaining? That was not in my playbook. I mentioned four incidents which did not require being out of the classroom or away from my duties. As for tone, check yourself. Seriously:
Walking my class down the hallway and seeing a teacher (with classroom door open) asleep at her desk? This takes time away from my class?
Covering for a teacher who was constantly late? How is that being a busybody? It required me to watch two classes. And, the administrator knew about it.
I saw the teacher "doing her nails" on a request by my principal. I was walking back to my classroom from dropping my kids off at music and he asked me to take the note to the teacher.
The teacher who bragged about her test scores did so in a faculty meeting. How did I know about how untrue that was: from friends who were also on the faculty. It came up the next year and the third grade teachers were discussing it. Sorry, I guess you think teachers do not discuss work outside of school.

Four examples in years of teaching.







The one with the teacher who bragged about the test scores was a little different.

I am not the same responder. As mentioned earlier in my response I noted that I am a new responder to the thread. I am not even a teacher in Va but in another state planning to teach in a VA school system. That is what brought me to this forum. But you continue to have the nasty 'I can't possibly be wrong, it must be that I struck a nerve. The responder must be late everyday or a teacher must have complained about her' attitude that the previous responder and I both picked up on. Like the other responder I have always been a superb educator. With a husband as a principal I would have had no choice. Please do not see me as a nemesis but take my accept my position as earnestly as you would like for someone to accept yours. I am only trying to be helpful. Whether you complain to the principal or not they know who the busybdoes who think they're better than the other teachers are. They know who the gossips are. They know who's always running around talking about other teachers trying to make them look bad. And it only looks bad for you. Please understand that. If there are teachers sleeping in class and coming in late everyday the principal knows that too! Like the other responder said I cannot help but wonder what type of environments you worked in that allowed this type of consistent blatant misbehavior to go on. Your stories do not add up. Your just digging in to your position. I cannot imagine being a parent having to deal with you. You are so right. The other teachers are wrong and need to be fired. And anyone who doesn't agree must be a bad teacher too. That makes no sense. As educators we must be better at understanding more and judging less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First fix all the schools. Like working AC and heat and peeling paint and opening windows. Make the conditions actually even across counties and states (the physical plant parts). Then pay all teachers more and thereby having more people go into the profession and be able to pick the best ones for the job. Money is needed to make it a respectable profession so you don't lose people to other sectors because the pay is abysmal. Yea there are great teachers now that have the calling but many don't go into k-12 because of conditions and low pay and limited growth. Oh and get rid of administrative bloat and give principals and teachers more autonomy and less testing!

Their pay is equal, if not more to many similar professions only they get better benefits from many other gov't employees and get two months off plus Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break. I am so tired of hearing they are underpaid when they have a much cushier job than social workers, public health and more.

Our teacher was complaining this year about how small her classroom was. I thought it was huge and surprised by the comment.

I am a pp. You say teachers are paid better. Better than what? Someone with a master's degree and 20 years experience? No. That is the education level of most teachers after a few years.

Social workers, nurses and other gov't professionals also have master's degree. Our teacher has a few years experience as do most at our public school. The principal ran off most of the seasoned ones. Teachers are better paid. They don't have to go to the worst parts of town into people's homes on a daily basis and much more. Try being a front line social worker, especially somewhere like SE DC.

you should look at what Masters earn in the federal gov't. Or in other word, try living on a teachers salary. 35 yo's with masters make 6 figures mostly, unless they are teachers.

I was a social worker in DC making under $40,000 a year in SE DC. A teachers salary was higher starting and I had about 7 years experience. Most 35 yo's with masters are not making 6 figures depending on their career field. Teachers are not underpaid and if you feel you are, find a new profession.

Both jobs are underpaid. Just because you make less than a teacher doesn't mean that the teacher doesn't also deserve a good salary. The same goes for firefighters, cops, etc.

[Anonymous]

am not the same responder. As mentioned earlier in my response I noted that I am a new responder to the thread. I am not even a teacher in Va but in another state planning to teach in a VA school system. That is what brought me to this forum. But you continue to have the nasty 'I can't possibly be wrong, it must be that I struck a nerve. The responder must be late everyday or a teacher must have complained about her' attitude that the previous responder and I both picked up on. Like the other responder I have always been a superb educator. With a husband as a principal I would have had no choice. Please do not see me as a nemesis but take my accept my position as earnestly as you would like for someone to accept yours. I am only trying to be helpful. Whether you complain to the principal or not they know who the busybdoes who think they're better than the other teachers are. They know who the gossips are. They know who's always running around talking about other teachers trying to make them look bad. And it only looks bad for you. Please understand that. If there are teachers sleeping in class and coming in late everyday the principal knows that too! Like the other responder said I cannot help but wonder what type of environments you worked in that allowed this type of consistent blatant misbehavior to go on. Your stories do not add up. Your just digging in to your position. I cannot imagine being a parent having to deal with you. You are so right. The other teachers are wrong and need to be fired. And anyone who doesn't agree must be a bad teacher too. That makes no sense. As educators we must be better at understanding more and judging less.

So, we now have two teachers on this forum who have never seen a poor teacher in their schools. Sorry you don't believe me. The stories are all true. Four anecdotes in years of teaching. Of course, the principals knew about it. And, perhaps the principals made the effort. I don't know--you do know it would be unprofessional for the principal to share that information? As far as the teacher who ditched meetings and was frequently late, that principal was not the best. The one doing her nails? Socially, very close to the principal and his wife. With the sleeping teacher, I don't know. We had a good principal, but there was an element involved here that would make it especially difficult to correct or fire the teacher.

'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
As a social worker you were not responsible for educating children. That's the key that makes teaching such a noble and unique profession. This fact was pointed out by another poster earlier in this communication by one that some deliberately overlook.

This is such a weird line of reasoning. Social workers can be responsible for keeping children alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping elderly people alive and safe. Disabled people alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping people functional and capable of living in society. They can be responsible for helping people be successful.

Sanitation workers are responsible for making sure we don't all live in filth and die of disease. I mean, really, what jobs do you think people hold that aren't important on some level?

Ok, mine. I'm a scientist. I contribute to general knowledge, but I'm not working in areas of health and safety, so I'm worthless on your scale of importance. But most of the people I know are in jobs that contribute to the general welfare in some way. My DH works for the phone company, making sure you can call for help in emergencies. My mother's a teacher (apparently the most sacred of professions) and my father's an engineer making sure the bridges you drive over don't crumble beneath your car and kill you. Which one of them should get the most money?

How strange some of you people are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like fcps to propose additional stipends for curriculum help and lead teacher work this year as part of teacher salary raises.

I agree. Pay extra for team leaders and curriculum leads. I'm okay with my base pay.

I'd like to see better retiree healthcare benefits (ex. School board pick up some of the premium).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like fcps to propose additional stipends for curriculum help and lead teacher work this year as part of teacher salary raises.

I agree. Pay extra for team leaders and curriculum leads. I'm okay with my base pay.

I'd like to see better retiree healthcare benefits (ex. School board pick up some of the premium).

As a teacher what mechanism do you have to make sure this is part of the salary increase this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like fcps to propose additional stipends for curriculum help and lead teacher work this year as part of teacher salary raises.

I agree. Pay extra for team leaders and curriculum leads. I'm okay with my base pay.

I'd like to see better retiree healthcare benefits (ex. School board pick up some of the premium).

As a teacher what mechanism do you have to make sure this is part of the salary increase this year.

Nothing that has much weight. Email school board and BOS. Speak to SB members.

I doubt if they'll look to improve benefits anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a social worker you were not responsible for educating children. That's the key that makes teaching such a noble and unique profession. This fact was pointed out by another poster earlier in this communication by one that some deliberately overlook.

This is such a weird line of reasoning. Social workers can be responsible for keeping children alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping elderly people alive and safe. Disabled people alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping people functional and capable of living in society. They can be responsible for helping people be successful.

Sanitation workers are responsible for making sure we don't all live in filth and die of disease. I mean, really, what jobs do you think people hold that aren't important on some level?

Ok, mine. I'm a scientist. I contribute to general knowledge, but I'm not working in areas of health and safety, so I'm worthless on your scale of importance. But most of the people I know are in jobs that contribute to the general welfare in some way. My DH works for the phone company, making sure you can call for help in emergencies. My mother's a teacher (apparently the most sacred of professions) and my father's an engineer making sure the bridges you drive over don't crumble beneath your car and kill you. Which one of them should get the most money?

How strange some of you people are.

And without TEACHERS none of those professions would be possible.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not one of the mean girls. And, I told you that most of the teachers were outstanding. You are very lucky if you have not run across poor teachers.

The one who slept every day after lunch was in a Title I school in another state. I know all the other grade level teachers were aware of it.

---Definitely not one of the mean girls but knew all the other grade level teachers were aware of it. Hmmm....So how does that work? Unless you're gossiping like a meangirl, how would you know this? Sounds like you all got together to talk about this one teacher.

I agree that coming in late does not make one a bad teacher. Things happen However, when teacher comes in late two or three days a week every week, that is a problem. I am talking about twenty minutes late on a consistent basis.

So now she's gone from being late once a week to 2-3 days every week? Okay.

Sounds to me like you must be one of those.


Based on what? The fact that I'm too busy doing my own work to know who's coming in when? And instead of putting the behavior to an end the principal simply accommodated it by asking poor long-suffering you to constantly cover? Okay.

So, it's okay to ditch team meetings all the time? That means that other duties are covered by your teammates. Not cool if you do it consistently. So, the administrator gives permission--does the administrator also pick up the extra duties? Again, I am talking about someone who always misses. And, in those cases, certainly that information would be shared with the other team members--not just "ditched". And, I agree that team meetings can be unproductive--but, some are necessary--and mandated by administration.

What duties are involved with attending meetings? I'm so confused? And if you don't know why the person was missing...

The tests I was referring to were given long before NCLB. And, yes, they were standardized--but in those days there was far less supervision--it was on the honor system. The teacher I am referring to bragged about how advanced her kids were--in those days, it was strictly bragging for ego purposes--not regulations. This particular teacher really impressed our principal. The next year, the teachers who had her kids were stunned with the poor skills from her kids who were so far ahead in grade level. This particular teacher had moved away--perhaps her desire was a glowing recommendation out of this --but, your "lost skills over the summer" point, does not apply here. Her kids were below the others--but the test scores were higher. The likelihood of that much regression from one group of kids is very low. And, I never said I taught her kids. I taught first. She was a second grade teacher and it was the third grade teachers who talked about it. We were all aware of it because she had bragged so much and when these kids did so poorly the next year, it was no secret.



Um...Okay.

And, the teacher doing her nails? Absolutely happened.


I'm exhausted just from reading this. It's amazing you stayed in education as long as you did. Don't know if I'd be able to take the role seriously if I saw all of this taking place.

So, in many years of teaching, I mentioned four teachers that I thought should not be there.
Not your call to make.


I think it is great that everyone you teach with is terrific.

Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. The point is that I was too busy being a terrific teacher to notice.



[b]
But, you are awfully defensive about some issues that seem to touch a nerve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a social worker you were not responsible for educating children. That's the key that makes teaching such a noble and unique profession. This fact was pointed out by another poster earlier in this communication by one that some deliberately overlook.

This is such a weird line of reasoning. Social workers can be responsible for keeping children alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping elderly people alive and safe. Disabled people alive and safe. They can be responsible for keeping people functional and capable of living in society. They can be responsible for helping people be successful.

Sanitation workers are responsible for making sure we don't all live in filth and die of disease. I mean, really, what jobs do you think people hold that aren't important on some level?

Ok, mine. I'm a scientist. I contribute to general knowledge, but I'm not working in areas of health and safety, so I'm worthless on your scale of importance. But most of the people I know are in jobs that contribute to the general welfare in some way. My DH works for the phone company, making sure you can call for help in emergencies. My mother's a teacher (apparently the most sacred of professions) and my father's an engineer making sure the bridges you drive over don't crumble beneath your car and kill you. Which one of them should get the most money?

How strange some of you people are.

And without TEACHERS none of those professions would be possible.

And without water sanitation engineers and workers, teachers wouldn't have anyone to teach. How weird do you want to get?