Do private school teachers get free tuition for their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:True for staff, too? I am guessing staff make more than teachers. Begs the questions...what are the going salaries for teachers and staff at privates these days?

Percentage off for me. On the one hand, I am grateful as I love the school and our two salary family is doing well. I do think the percentage off for non FA teachers/staff should be staggered in some way. The Head (assuming the Head is doing pretty well salary wise) and other high earning staff should not have the same percentage off as employees making quite a bit less. I guess the complication would be if higher earners are married to non earners and lower earners to millionaires. Better financial minds can prevail here, but I do see opportunity for more remission equity. We have employees scraping by just above the FA line getting the same remission as "1 percent" employees - all love the school and are loyal, but that does not seem quite fair.

This is why most schools rely on financial aid for teachers/staff, rather than remission.

Remission is a fantastic benefit that encourages /allows our children to attend. That being said, while some of us qualify for FA - after that, it is the same remission (ours is certainly not 50%) for a pretty modest income teaching family and some very wealthy school employee families. The remission could be redistributed so more was going to those with greater need. I sound like Bernie Sanders!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Oh, you "work in education" do you? Do you have this much contempt for all educators, or only those at independent schools?

I not only "work in education", I actually teach in a private school, so I feel quite qualified to say that your little screed is a whole lotta bullshit.

I do not have contempt for private school teachers, nor do I think that a great many of them aren't good at what they do regardless of not having teaching credentials. I do find it laughable that certain private school parents such as yourself (sorry, I don't believe for a second you teach at a private) have bought hook, line, and sinker the private school claim that teaching there is so appealing that their staff is willingly choosing to do so instead of making 25-50% more at a public

LOL. Why? Don't look now, but your contempt for teachers is showing again...

But you're correct that I am a private school parent, as well. Which is why I have been posting in this thread.

I suppose you can ask Jeff about it-- I am a long time poster in the private school forum, posting as a teacher. I have worked in both public and private and I CHOOSE to work in private. I suppose I could have been putting on a giant ruse... for years...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Oh, you "work in education" do you? Do you have this much contempt for all educators, or only those at independent schools?

I not only "work in education", I actually teach in a private school, so I feel quite qualified to say that your little screed is a whole lotta bullshit.

I do not have contempt for private school teachers, nor do I think that a great many of them aren't good at what they do regardless of not having teaching credentials. I do find it laughable that certain private school parents such as yourself (sorry, I don't believe for a second you teach at a private) have bought hook, line, and sinker the private school claim that teaching there is so appealing that their staff is willingly choosing to do so instead of making 25-50% more at a public

Get in a room with kids in private and kids in public and ask them what they think of their teachers. The responses speak volumes.

??are you assuming that public school kids don't like their teachers? Or that private school kids don't like their teachers? I guess I know as little about your school as you do about mine.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Are you calling me a liar? I am the PP you responded to here. I assure you what I posted is true. I didn't say it's true for every teacher, I said it is true for me.

When my kids were younger, I was happy to trade that 20% salary for more time with them. Now, I tutor during the extra hours and make up the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Are you calling me a liar? I am the PP you responded to here. I assure you what I posted is true. I didn't say it's true for every teacher, I said it is true for me.

When my kids were younger, I was happy to trade that 20% salary for more time with them. Now, I tutor during the extra hours and make up the difference.

In my 15+ years of teaching in private schools, unfortunately I have come across plenty of parents like the PP. They give you the "oh, little Johnny loves your class" to your face, but it's quite obvious that they look at you and see someone who has "lack(s) better options". After all, who would dream of CHOOSING to be in a low-paying profession? Money is king, of course.

Sad, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Are you calling me a liar? I am the PP you responded to here. I assure you what I posted is true. I didn't say it's true for every teacher, I said it is true for me.

When my kids were younger, I was happy to trade that 20% salary for more time with them. Now, I tutor during the extra hours and make up the difference.

In my 15+ years of teaching in private schools, unfortunately I have come across plenty of parents like the PP. They give you the "oh, little Johnny loves your class" to your face, but it's quite obvious that they look at you and see someone who has "lack(s) better options". After all, who would dream of CHOOSING to be in a low-paying profession? Money is king, of course.

Sad, really.

I never once looked a my kids teachers like that. If the teacher were not good I would never pay what we are paying.
On the other hand I might have look at some parents in disbelief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Oh, you "work in education" do you? Do you have this much contempt for all educators, or only those at independent schools?

I not only "work in education", I actually teach in a private school, so I feel quite qualified to say that your little screed is a whole lotta bullshit.

I do not have contempt for private school teachers, nor do I think that a great many of them aren't good at what they do regardless of not having teaching credentials. I do find it laughable that certain private school parents such as yourself (sorry, I don't believe for a second you teach at a private) have bought hook, line, and sinker the private school claim that teaching there is so appealing that their staff is willingly choosing to do so instead of making 25-50% more at a public

Get in a room with kids in private and kids in public and ask them what they think of their teachers. The responses speak volumes.

??are you assuming that public school kids don't like their teachers? Or that private school kids don't like their teachers? I guess I know as little about your school as you do about mine.....

Ahhh....I purposely wrote it so you wouldn't know which I know to be true. Go ahead - ask the students and the answers will tell you what I know to be true already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Oh, you "work in education" do you? Do you have this much contempt for all educators, or only those at independent schools?

I not only "work in education", I actually teach in a private school, so I feel quite qualified to say that your little screed is a whole lotta bullshit.

I do not have contempt for private school teachers, nor do I think that a great many of them aren't good at what they do regardless of not having teaching credentials. I do find it laughable that certain private school parents such as yourself (sorry, I don't believe for a second you teach at a private) have bought hook, line, and sinker the private school claim that teaching there is so appealing that their staff is willingly choosing to do so instead of making 25-50% more at a public

Get in a room with kids in private and kids in public and ask them what they think of their teachers. The responses speak volumes.

??are you assuming that public school kids don't like their teachers? Or that private school kids don't like their teachers? I guess I know as little about your school as you do about mine.....

Ahhh....I purposely wrote it so you wouldn't know which I know to be true. Go ahead - ask the students and the answers will tell you what I know to be true already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


ETA, the only exceptions to this that I am familiar with are some teachers who chose to teach in religious schools due to their own deep religious convictions. And even they had bread winner husbands.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Lack of better options, like being senior partner at a law firm? You give off this official air, like your opinion is unquestionable, but your view has too many holes to count.

This makes no sense whatsoever.

It would if you were familiar with some of my kid's teachers.

Really? Care to name the school that has a teacher on staff who was a senior partner at a big law firm?

Latin Teacher at Basic DC

[Anonymous]

At Holton, the teachers kids got 50% off. Not sure if that is still true. And then, I remember a single mom who got FA on top of that.

[Anonymous]

This thread is fascinating. Private school teachers and public
School teachers fighting over who is better. I mean, can we create a matrix or something? i want to know, definitively, which ones are better.

Truth- there are good teachers and bad teachers in both types of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is fascinating. Private school teachers and public
School teachers fighting over who is better. I mean, can we create a matrix or something? i want to know, definitively, which ones are better.

Truth- there are good teachers and bad teachers in both types of schools.

Where in the world do you see teachers fighting over "who is better"? I see private school teachers being rightfully insulted by the assertion that we have no better options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is fascinating. Private school teachers and public
School teachers fighting over who is better. I mean, can we create a matrix or something? i want to know, definitively, which ones are better.

Truth- there are good teachers and bad teachers in both types of schools.

Where in the world do you see teachers fighting over "who is better"? I see private school teachers being rightfully insulted by the assertion that we have no better options.

Easy nellie....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking with some experience in this area, it is much easier to be enthusiastically on board with the school's mission and community when your family can be part of it as well. Alternatively, it can be disheartening to be part of providing a much better education to the children in your school than you can provide for your own children. The former is good for the school and the latter is bad.

I agree with this. Seems to beg the question why more don't. How can you not strive to offer your service to your own employees? I personally found it a selling point when visiting schools and learning that the teachers kids also attended. That tells me they believe in what the school is doing. I could imagine teachers being resentful that they have to teach other people's kids this great curriculum and can't provide it for their own kids. If a school can offer FA to outsiders, why not one of their own? I can't imagine every teacher would even need the assistance because all aren't going to have school aged children at the same time.

Oh but there's an amazing coincidence of teachers moving on once their last child graduates! It really is effectively part of the compensation package.

Being certified does not make one a better teacher. It simply means you passed a state test. After all look at the load of crappy teachers DCPS and PGCS have. Give me a break. Teaching and certification have very little do with each other. There is a reason teacher certification is not a required professional certification to hold yourself out as a teacher as is being a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc.

This is true, however teaching at a private school is really not a career choice that anyone plans for. This is obvious by the fact that certified teacher never choose to work there because the pay and benefits are so low. It really ends up being liberal arts grads who pi don't have better paying options that work there.

I chose to teach private, even though I am fully certified in a high demand field. I left public because I wanted a job with more freedom and reasonable hours.


Those are the talking points that private schools use to try to assure parents that yes, their teachers really want to work there despite horrendous pay and benefits; but I work in education and this is absolutely not true. Private school teachers overwhelmingly are not certified teachers and for various reasons fell into teaching for lack of better options. Although yes, it's quite possible that once they started teaching the enjoyed the work and decided to make a career out of it.

Are you calling me a liar? I am the PP you responded to here. I assure you what I posted is true. I didn't say it's true for every teacher, I said it is true for me.

When my kids were younger, I was happy to trade that 20% salary for more time with them. Now, I tutor during the extra hours and make up the difference.

In my 15+ years of teaching in private schools, unfortunately I have come across plenty of parents like the PP. They give you the "oh, little Johnny loves your class" to your face, but it's quite obvious that they look at you and see someone who has "lack(s) better options". After all, who would dream of CHOOSING to be in a low-paying profession? Money is king, of course.

Sad, really.

Sorry you have been made to feel that way. I never have looked at my children's teachers that way, In fact, I have the utmost respect for the really good teachers because they have a skill that I do not have. To be an effective teacher and have the kids love you at the same time is something that I truly admire in my children's teachers. Some have been better than others but regardless I have never looked down on them for being teachers. I admire it.

[Anonymous]

No offense, but I do t really understand why the fact that your kid's Latin teacher used to be s senior big law partner is a draw. Wouldn't you want your kid's teacher trained in teaching? I wouldn't care if my tennis instructor used to be a baker. I guess, unless he brought muffins to my lesson. I understand that a law career indicates that generally, it's a smart person who did well in school, but I would prefer my kid's teachers have training in somethings related to what they are teaching.