Let’s cut to the chase and furlough teachers.

[Anonymous]

I was a highly motivated and highly accomplished academic that chose to go into special education. The truth is, I certainly could find a higher paying job that would also eliminate parents like those of you criticizing teachers right now. I definitely have many other options, and have done them, but I also know that many of my students need high quality teachers and I find purpose for my life by doing this job. Of course, my husbands salary pays our main bills. That said, one of my teens had expressed interest in education and I talked her out of it. Every year I have to deal with people questioning my intellect, purpose, and drive. Parents like to tell me that they are paying my salary when in reality I am also paying their federal government salary. I could tell you how many incredible teachers I have mentored over the years that left for the business sector within a few years and guess what, they are all successful and happy. If you don’t start respecting and appreciating what teachers are doing every day you will find yourself with no one left to listen to your snotty bs and your kid will not have a good school experience. Oh well, continue on being the self absorbed jerks you are but remember that when your kid turns into the same type of angry person you are, you have only yourself to blame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

I'm 1000% with you, OP. I have been shocked to find out how little teaching teachers actually do. Growing up in remember teachers working on lesson plans, etc. Come to find out now that the schools buy a curriculum with handouts etx and the teachers just spit out the canned lessons that were paid for.
I have yet to hear of a teacher helping a student who had a particular struggle like we had when I was growing up. Now, with DL, I'm convinced the teachers are a total joke.

Teaching should be done with AI that meets kids where they are, automatically customizes to their learning style and prods for their weaknesses and reinforces them.

Teachers are a joke, but when you see what they cost tax payers, its not so funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people think that distance learning this fall will be the same as distance learning last spring. In the spring, there was zero time to plan for DL, and the districts and teachers did the best they could. I expect a lot more learning in my kids’ distance learning this fall because 1) there is more time to prepare and 2) they have this spring’s experience to learn from.

While it’s true that teachers learned from the spring and will have more tricks up their sleeve for fall, they do not get paid for summer work and are likely to do only so much to prepare to do better for fall, especially since they don’t know what exactly they’re supposed to be preparing for. The district isn’t giving them much to go on. Also, the district isn’t making it easier by changing up the tech and putting restrictions on how much synchronous teaching time they can offer. So I wouldn’t hang your hopes on summer prep, in a nutshell.

I 100% agree with these two posters. MCPS is not good at planning and rolling things out. Going back decades: curriculum 2.0, the new ES grading system, edline to parent portal, change to CES centers.

They have not had much time to plan, a few weeks in the summer,awith reduced budgets, and while teachers can take classes about on line education, what is shoveled out to HS students came from central office and was not good. It won't be good in Fall either.

Maybe parents should hire tutors, seriously, to teach their kids a few hours a day. Or hire seniors to teach younger grades. Because the rest of this is laughable. No one is learning a thing. And I have three kids, so sadly I know this is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a highly motivated and highly accomplished academic that chose to go into special education. The truth is, I certainly could find a higher paying job that would also eliminate parents like those of you criticizing teachers right now. I definitely have many other options, and have done them, but I also know that many of my students need high quality teachers and I find purpose for my life by doing this job. Of course, my husbands salary pays our main bills. That said, one of my teens had expressed interest in education and I talked her out of it. Every year I have to deal with people questioning my intellect, purpose, and drive. Parents like to tell me that they are paying my salary when in reality I am also paying their federal government salary. I could tell you how many incredible teachers I have mentored over the years that left for the business sector within a few years and guess what, they are all successful and happy. If you don’t start respecting and appreciating what teachers are doing every day you will find yourself with no one left to listen to your snotty bs and your kid will not have a good school experience. Oh well, continue on being the self absorbed jerks you are but remember that when your kid turns into the same type of angry person you are, you have only yourself to blame.

I think you need to go into a new line of work. Something that doesn't deal with people and doesn't require any grammar skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

I'm 1000% with you, OP. I have been shocked to find out how little teaching teachers actually do. Growing up in remember teachers working on lesson plans, etc. Come to find out now that the schools buy a curriculum with handouts etx and the teachers just spit out the canned lessons that were paid for.
I have yet to hear of a teacher helping a student who had a particular struggle like we had when I was growing up. Now, with DL, I'm convinced the teachers are a total joke.

Teaching should be done with AI that meets kids where they are, automatically customizes to their learning style and prods for their weaknesses and reinforces them.

Teachers are a joke, but when you see what they cost tax payers, its not so funny.

This post definitely makes me think that the quality of teachers will decline significantly in the future. More capable graduates will not be likely to choose teaching as a profession.

[Anonymous]

None of you seem to have ever been a teacher or been in a classroom besides your child's Valentine's Day parties. Yes the county has purchased curriculums (far better than 2.0) but we still have to differentiate and scaffold for our students. It is not easy and it is not perfect. The fact that you think we just roll up to school, open a teacher edition and lecture shows how little you know about teaching. No wonder we have such shitty reputations when this is the kind of garbage being spread about. As a 3rd grade teacher, my students' reading levels varied from Kindergarten - 4th grade. I taught a 3rd grade curriculum but had to fill some major gaps and try to enrich my few students who genuinely read above grade level. We always want to do more for our kids but as you know, time is limited. I would love to have an additional 30min added to the school day just to get through all the content and have more time to provide 1:1 support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

I'm 1000% with you, OP. I have been shocked to find out how little teaching teachers actually do. Growing up in remember teachers working on lesson plans, etc. Come to find out now that the schools buy a curriculum with handouts etx and the teachers just spit out the canned lessons that were paid for.
I have yet to hear of a teacher helping a student who had a particular struggle like we had when I was growing up. Now, with DL, I'm convinced the teachers are a total joke.

Teaching should be done with AI that meets kids where they are, automatically customizes to their learning style and prods for their weaknesses and reinforces them.

Teachers are a joke, but when you see what they cost tax payers, its not so funny.

This post definitely makes me think that the quality of teachers will decline significantly in the future. More capable graduates will not be likely to choose teaching as a profession.

You're absolutely correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: DL in Maryland is a joke. Let’s face it and save our money for a real education when public health permits it. The school can keep posting the random worksheets it doesn’t grade and the YouTube videos of other teachers. One teacher can do that for each grade in that state while we furlough the others. Then those teachers won’t need to whine about how hard it is to teach with their child care responsibilities.

We can treat these teachers equally to school nurses, bus drivers, custodians and paraeducators who have been struggling. And we can balance our budget this year and save the $ for real improvement in the future. I would much rather return to regular school but until that can be done let’s treat all our education professionals equally. Or if teachers want to actually teach live and grade like they really want to educate I am all for paying them. But paying them to sit at home and whine about how online is hard while they each post the same videos as the other 200 teachers in the district without follow up is not ok.

Flame away but we don’t have the extra money for fluff anymore. There are lots of virtual teaching jobs out there for those who actually teach that could be had by teachers who , as they say, actually want to teach.

I'm 1000% with you, OP. I have been shocked to find out how little teaching teachers actually do. Growing up in remember teachers working on lesson plans, etc. Come to find out now that the schools buy a curriculum with handouts etx and the teachers just spit out the canned lessons that were paid for.
I have yet to hear of a teacher helping a student who had a particular struggle like we had when I was growing up. Now, with DL, I'm convinced the teachers are a total joke.

Teaching should be done with AI that meets kids where they are, automatically customizes to their learning style and prods for their weaknesses and reinforces them.

Teachers are a joke, but when you see what they cost tax payers, its not so funny.

This post definitely makes me think that the quality of teachers will decline significantly in the future. More capable graduates will not be likely to choose teaching as a profession.

You're absolutely correct.

Yeah, probably not many well qualified people who want a job where people call you a "joke" and say that you just "spit out canned lessons that were paid for"-you need to get a life, honestly. Teaching should be done with AI? Okay, then why do you dislike distance learning? I would think that anything that brings teaching closer to automation would please you. Who will watch your children all day, since that seems to be the only function of teachers that you care for? Our robot replacements?

I have less and less concern for working parents as I see these threads ranting and raving about how teachers are lazy, dumb, whiners who you would like to lay off en masse. Okay, good luck with your children in the fall! Clearly, you don't need us. You're so angry that there is no school due to a global crisis that is completely out of our hands. You have zero respect for the people who run the schools and who raise YOUR children so you can work without feeling guilty about it. How about thanking the teachers who have made it possible for you and your partner to work for all these years? All these parents who say that schools are the economic engine of our country, yet who refuse to acknowledge that schools don't run themselves. You know what? Pay me for putting myself in harm's way and I'll consider it. Otherwise, I'm going to keep advocating to keep myself and MY family safe-you can do the same for yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of you seem to have ever been a teacher or been in a classroom besides your child's Valentine's Day parties. Yes the county has purchased curriculums (far better than 2.0) but we still have to differentiate and scaffold for our students. It is not easy and it is not perfect. The fact that you think we just roll up to school, open a teacher edition and lecture shows how little you know about teaching. No wonder we have such shitty reputations when this is the kind of garbage being spread about. As a 3rd grade teacher, my students' reading levels varied from Kindergarten - 4th grade. I taught a 3rd grade curriculum but had to fill some major gaps and try to enrich my few students who genuinely read above grade level. We always want to do more for our kids but as you know, time is limited. I would love to have an additional 30min added to the school day just to get through all the content and have more time to provide 1:1 support.

You sound like a great teacher. But as in all profession, there are capable people, incapable people, and lazy+nasty people. And unfortunately sometimes the last group is the most vocal one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of you seem to have ever been a teacher or been in a classroom besides your child's Valentine's Day parties. Yes the county has purchased curriculums (far better than 2.0) but we still have to differentiate and scaffold for our students. It is not easy and it is not perfect. The fact that you think we just roll up to school, open a teacher edition and lecture shows how little you know about teaching. No wonder we have such shitty reputations when this is the kind of garbage being spread about. As a 3rd grade teacher, my students' reading levels varied from Kindergarten - 4th grade. I taught a 3rd grade curriculum but had to fill some major gaps and try to enrich my few students who genuinely read above grade level. We always want to do more for our kids but as you know, time is limited. I would love to have an additional 30min added to the school day just to get through all the content and have more time to provide 1:1 support.

You sound like a great teacher. But as in all profession, there are capable people, incapable people, and lazy+nasty people. And unfortunately sometimes the last group is the most vocal one.

Same with parents, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher with experience in public and private schools in 3 states and overseas, I can clearly say that certain principals have a strong preference for young graduates who can come up with specific looking lessons. These teachers spend the majority of their time making lessons look “techie” and pretty to wow principals who frankly don’t care about the delivery of the lesson. Even during distant learning, I was recording myself teaching on a white board at home, going over older concepts and teaching new concepts in a differentiated manner. These lessons were being played during Zoom sessions and being posted online. What did my principal say? She wanted them to be posted on “modules” instead of “pages” and that my homepage would look prettier if I used “bitmojis”, the way the younger teachers were doing to make their homepage more aesthetically pleasing. When I told her I was using the announcement tabs for the weekly announcements and the discussions tab for interactions, she practically told me I needed to do what the straight out of college kids were doing. There was no mentions about the quality of my lessons or the delivery of instruction. So please don’t blame the teachers without knowing what goes on behind the scenes.

[Anonymous]

I have three kids in MCPS - two of them barely called it in with online teaching. One of them went above and beyond. Like every profession there are some good ones and some bad ones. I have to work and cannot claim child care duties for not putting in effort. I don’t see why this is not the same for teachers as well. You are still drawing a salary so please put in the work. If not please sit it out till you can manage to find some help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a highly motivated and highly accomplished academic that chose to go into special education. The truth is, I certainly could find a higher paying job that would also eliminate parents like those of you criticizing teachers right now. I definitely have many other options, and have done them, but I also know that many of my students need high quality teachers and I find purpose for my life by doing this job. Of course, my husbands salary pays our main bills. That said, one of my teens had expressed interest in education and I talked her out of it. Every year I have to deal with people questioning my intellect, purpose, and drive. Parents like to tell me that they are paying my salary when in reality I am also paying their federal government salary. I could tell you how many incredible teachers I have mentored over the years that left for the business sector within a few years and guess what, they are all successful and happy. If you don’t start respecting and appreciating what teachers are doing every day you will find yourself with no one left to listen to your snotty bs and your kid will not have a good school experience. Oh well, continue on being the self absorbed jerks you are but remember that when your kid turns into the same type of angry person you are, you have only yourself to blame.

I think you need to go into a new line of work. Something that doesn't deal with people and doesn't require any grammar skills.

I am not the PP but your comment is gross and full of contempt. I’m a professional editor, and I can’t stand the grammar police on social media sites. Maybe she was typing quickly, or maybe not. Either way, big deal if she missed an apostrophe or a comma or added an extra article. This isn’t her dissertation, and she argues her point convincingly. She doesn’t need a new line of work, she needs so-called adults like you to back off and let her work with kids. She deserves to be treated with respect. I’m worried that my own kids will have no good teachers by high school because anyone with options is going to look for jobs that don”t come with this much judgment and criticism.

[Anonymous]

Can't teachers (or even one teacher in MCPS) record and post video lessons?

Can't someone (or several who rotate) record lessons for 7th grade Science for example? Then students can access it when they have time and teachers can record it when they have help with childcare or when their children are sleeping.

Also, MCPS teachers should know that we understand working from home means a kid screaming in the background or a dog barking. It's just the way it is. We just do the best we can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most teachers would be better off financially if furloughed. Currently, teachers can’t get unemployment over the summer because they aren’t unemployed technically. Furlough teachers and not only they will get 10 months of unemployment, but two extra months of income. And DCUM likes to remind teachers that they are too lazy, stupid, and incompetent to be hired for anything else so it should be easy to recertify eligibility each month.

Meanwhile teachers won’t be spending on supplies and snacks for their students.

What’s the financial downside again?

Yeah, I'd love to collect that pandemic unemployment plus $600. I would literally make more money doing nothing than teaching your kids packed into a filthy, unventilated school. I don't know who you think ultimately pays the cost of unemployment, but surprise! It's tax payers.

You aren't going to win this. If teachers lose their jobs, your child will receive less instruction than they did before. You know who that one teacher would be, posting worksheets? The most senior person in the school, so the person least technologically adept and the least likely to care. They definitely would not be available for questions, complaints, or comments, and there would be no synchronous learning. You think firing all her colleagues would inspire this one teacher to suddenly provide your child and 100 others with a world class education? Get real. She would be looking for an out.

If I were furloughed, I would take it as a sign that it was just time to leave the profession. There aren't a lot of perks in education, but job security is one of them. I would absolutely take my M.S. and go elsewhere. I work with students with disabilities, in a position that has a huge problem with attrition. I am rated highly effective. I'm young and computer literate and I can easily take my skills elsewhere. Good luck finding someone to replace me after the furlough-we currently have 10+ vacancies at my school, but I'm sure there are many other passionate educators waiting with bated breath to step in.

LOL. Go for it. Good luck.

If we transition to distance learning and teachers quit, wouldn't that still be ok because we need fewer teachers anyway?
I value our teachers but the one thing I do not understand is why they are untouchable. Every other profession has some risk right now so why not teachers? I'm not wishing this for them but we can't protect just one profession. They aren't more essential than doctors or nurses and in some areas, they are suffering and nobody bails them out.

I'm pretty sure most teachers won't walk. If most schools are DL, where are they going? Eventually it all works out so teachers either accept what's going on or not.

That said, I do not think they should have to return to work if there is still a high risk of catching the virus. I think they need flexibility in doing zoom classes since they have kids at home and I think they need support from the districts to adjust to this new way of teaching.