I feel like MCPS sucks the joy out of teaching

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to derail too much but I’ve heard from a PTA previously that they wouldn’t supply those things because the schools should be providing them. Not the PTA.

That is not the reality now, obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also mcea could care less that we are made to write 40 hrs in our timesheets however every teacher that teachers a core class needs around 40 hrs a week just to grade and plan let alone delivering it. Thanks mcea for taking my money but having no motivation to actually support us.

And this is why I never joined the union. I need the $1,000 per year MCEA wanted to take out of my pocket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also mcea could care less that we are made to write 40 hrs in our timesheets however every teacher that teachers a core class needs around 40 hrs a week just to grade and plan let alone delivering it. Thanks mcea for taking my money but having no motivation to actually support us.

And this is why I never joined the union. I need the $1,000 per year MCEA wanted to take out of my pocket.

I thought we had to be part of the union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also mcea could care less that we are made to write 40 hrs in our timesheets however every teacher that teachers a core class needs around 40 hrs a week just to grade and plan let alone delivering it. Thanks mcea for taking my money but having no motivation to actually support us.

And this is why I never joined the union. I need the $1,000 per year MCEA wanted to take out of my pocket.

Nope. You still get the benefits of the contract. Honestly. I’m ready to leave it too.
I thought we had to be part of the union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You did an excellent job of describing teaching right now. It’s always been like this except the kids are more needy. And the thing that is lacking now is the joy we used to have from the kids who used to be engaged in learning. Now it’s just how quickly can they get back to their phones (even advanced kids).

It’s the same in other public schools for sure (I have friends in a variety of other districts.) You might have more flexibility in private school, which may also have less needy kids. But there can be different issues in private.

FCPS too. I also feel like the kids are miserable with school too....some still want to be engaged, but everything is so overwhelming and underwhelming at the the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to love my job but increasingly each year MCPS is changing things so that I hate it. It is soul sucking and I can't wait to leave. It's not the kids. It's not the actual job. It's the paperwork, the politics, feeling powerless. Surveys to ask my opinion on what I want changed but then nothing gets changed from what the teachers want. Having to pay for the water coolers, having to sign into staff meetings for attendance. Software that doesn't work or is glitchy.

On the plus side, MCPS is finally getting an online payroll system so I no longer will have to fill out a paper timesheet or leave slip

I will add having to buy our own copy paper to this list. WHY IS THERE NO PAPER AVAILABLE IN OUR BUILDING? I teach two classes of students, so every time I need to copy anything I use 50 pieces of paper. This is ridiculous. We never received pencils from our MCPS warehouse order this year (or last year). Now I’m buying pencils for my students as well.

We were told that pencils are back ordered and if we give a kid a pencil, we need to get it back from them at the end of class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those teachers buying your own supplies, do you have a decent PTA? Our PTA supplies snacks for teachers — if the teachers at our school are buying their own pencils and paper, I’d want to know and I’d chip in for those.

The snacks sound great. I am at a DCC school and the PTA does not have the funds or volunteers to do much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also mcea could care less that we are made to write 40 hrs in our timesheets however every teacher that teachers a core class needs around 40 hrs a week just to grade and plan let alone delivering it. Thanks mcea for taking my money but having no motivation to actually support us.

And this is why I never joined the union. I need the $1,000 per year MCEA wanted to take out of my pocket.

I thought we had to be part of the union.

Nope. Don’t let them guilt you into staying either if you want to get out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So MCPS makes you put in the exact hours a day you are scheduled for and not the time you work? At my work they tell us to put in actual hours worked, which is always more than the scheduled time. No overtime pay, but they still want to know. And there is know what I'm putting in 8 hours when I'm actually working 10 or more. -Nonprofit employee

Yes. I think that’s why many of us are so incensed about the workload. We are reminded every two weeks we are only paid for so many hours and are not allowed to account for the actual hours worked.

Even though we are paid out our hourly rate for summer school or for certain trainings/events. As another former nonprofit employee, it really doesn’t sit well with me - this type of accounting.

Even if you are only paid of a certain amount of hours, someone still needs to know the full hours worked. That's what allows you to plan future initiatives properly and show need for additional resources. The BOE did a study this summer of the actual hours they put, maybe they should request one for Staff.

This makes a lot of sense. But I don’t think MCPS wants to know how much teachers actually work as they want to pretend it can all be done during school hours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to love my job but increasingly each year MCPS is changing things so that I hate it. It is soul sucking and I can't wait to leave. It's not the kids. It's not the actual job. It's the paperwork, the politics, feeling powerless. Surveys to ask my opinion on what I want changed but then nothing gets changed from what the teachers want. Having to pay for the water coolers, having to sign into staff meetings for attendance. Software that doesn't work or is glitchy.

On the plus side, MCPS is finally getting an online payroll system so I no longer will have to fill out a paper timesheet or leave slip

Parents also share these frustrations!

I can’t imagine how bad it is for teachers to work in such a dysfunctional space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your situation sounds like every job I’ve had, including my first one, where I was paid less than teachers. I put in 10-12 hours or more a day, worked weekends, was on call during holidays, and had to represent myself as an expert to customers on a subject I had only cursory knowledge of….

I don't disagree. Had the same experience myself but were you responsible for teaching something important to 150 young minds whose only knowledge of a subject might be the words that come from you? I never took chem ever again after high school as an example and literally the only thing I know when hearing the news is from that high school teacher. Good thing she was a good one.

I’m the poster you responded to. No, I didn’t teach children. Instead, if my work went wrong, people’s lives were at risk within minutes. When something didn’t work properly, deaths occurred quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your situation sounds like every job I’ve had, including my first one, where I was paid less than teachers. I put in 10-12 hours or more a day, worked weekends, was on call during holidays, and had to represent myself as an expert to customers on a subject I had only cursory knowledge of….

I don't disagree. Had the same experience myself but were you responsible for teaching something important to 150 young minds whose only knowledge of a subject might be the words that come from you? I never took chem ever again after high school as an example and literally the only thing I know when hearing the news is from that high school teacher. Good thing she was a good one.

I’m the poster you responded to. No, I didn’t teach children. Instead, if my work went wrong, people’s lives were at risk within minutes. When something didn’t work properly, deaths occurred quickly.

We get it your lame point-everyone else's jobs are so much more important than teachers. Blah, blah, blah-hope this made you feel better about yourself though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your situation sounds like every job I’ve had, including my first one, where I was paid less than teachers. I put in 10-12 hours or more a day, worked weekends, was on call during holidays, and had to represent myself as an expert to customers on a subject I had only cursory knowledge of….

I don't disagree. Had the same experience myself but were you responsible for teaching something important to 150 young minds whose only knowledge of a subject might be the words that come from you? I never took chem ever again after high school as an example and literally the only thing I know when hearing the news is from that high school teacher. Good thing she was a good one.

I’m the poster you responded to. No, I didn’t teach children. Instead, if my work went wrong, people’s lives were at risk within minutes. When something didn’t work properly, deaths occurred quickly.

We get it your lame point-everyone else's jobs are so much more important than teachers. Blah, blah, blah-hope this made you feel better about yourself though!

You read too much. Nobody said that. Jobs are just often tough. Teachers work hard and do better, but many other jobs also have abuse and stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to love my job but increasingly each year MCPS is changing things so that I hate it. It is soul sucking and I can't wait to leave. It's not the kids. It's not the actual job. It's the paperwork, the politics, feeling powerless. Surveys to ask my opinion on what I want changed but then nothing gets changed from what the teachers want. Having to pay for the water coolers, having to sign into staff meetings for attendance. Software that doesn't work or is glitchy.

On the plus side, MCPS is finally getting an online payroll system so I no longer will have to fill out a paper timesheet or leave slip

I will add having to buy our own copy paper to this list. WHY IS THERE NO PAPER AVAILABLE IN OUR BUILDING? I teach two classes of students, so every time I need to copy anything I use 50 pieces of paper. This is ridiculous. We never received pencils from our MCPS warehouse order this year (or last year). Now I’m buying pencils for my students as well.

We were told that pencils are back ordered and if we give a kid a pencil, we need to get it back from them at the end of class

And this is the thing you all should have MCEA calling BS on. Pencils can be ordered everyday. Amazon has a bulk orders that can be purchased. So why is their vendor saying it’s backordered? Is every school missing pencil orders or just yours?

That’s just like the issue of Chromebook chords.

If ya”ll union won’t bring up the little practical things, loudly if needed, why do ya”ll keep supporting them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So MCPS makes you put in the exact hours a day you are scheduled for and not the time you work? At my work they tell us to put in actual hours worked, which is always more than the scheduled time. No overtime pay, but they still want to know. And there is know what I'm putting in 8 hours when I'm actually working 10 or more. -Nonprofit employee

Yes. I think that’s why many of us are so incensed about the workload. We are reminded every two weeks we are only paid for so many hours and are not allowed to account for the actual hours worked.

Even though we are paid out our hourly rate for summer school or for certain trainings/events. As another former nonprofit employee, it really doesn’t sit well with me - this type of accounting.

Even if you are only paid of a certain amount of hours, someone still needs to know the full hours worked. That's what allows you to plan future initiatives properly and show need for additional resources. The BOE did a study this summer of the actual hours they put, maybe they should request one for Staff.

This makes a lot of sense. But I don’t think MCPS wants to know how much teachers actually work as they want to pretend it can all be done during school hours

There’s a way to stop that…