Why does no one acknowledge how overworked teachers are?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Let me crush that dream for you.

I work 60 hours a week x 40 weeks = 2400 hours
I work (minimum) 2 weeks during my unpaid summer = 80 hours
Total: 2480 hours

A 40-hour a week job, 50 weeks a year: 2000 hours —- 480 hours less.

As I see it, my summer vacation is my break for a grueling year. Also, my job is always ON. There are no long lunches, breaks in a friend’s office, etc.

Am I complaining? No. But I am going to say “summers off” is the MOST annoying misconception I hear about my job.

Lol what. I’m not sure where you’re getting this mythical idea of the 40 hours a week, hard stop job…unless you’re talking about factory workers or something, most of us are working more than 40 hours a week. Why would only the hours teachers work on evenings/mornings/weekends count as extra, and not everyone else? (Besides the fact that it plays well into your preferred narrative…)

And to act like getting 3 consecutive months off every year PLUS 3-4 other weeks throughout the year isn’t an amazing and completely one of a kind perk is idiotic

What teacher gets a 3 month summer? Try 2… tops. And it’s unpaid. Why do we ignore the fact teachers are actually 10-month employees? And your “3-4 weeks” extra? Where is that?

Again: you get paid for 12 months of work. Teachers don’t.

If teachers have it so great… apply!!! Clearly people have tried it and realized it isn’t the awesome deal non-teachers think it is.

Right, because I do 12 months of work. You do not. That is the difference, and having THAT much time off every single year is unheard of in any other profession (in America, at least)

It is not time off. Teachers are NOT EMPLOYED during the summer. Seriously… this is not a difficult concept.

I’m doing 12+ months of work in 10 months… and then I am NOT PAID for 2.

You are paid for 12 months of work.

Not getting paid for hours you don't work is how employment works. Did you expect to be paid for your xxxweeks of not working?

I'm confused bc other posters are telling us that our summers off are a huge perk. I'm confused which one it is. I can't imagine too many people would be pumped if their jobs just decided to not pay them 8 weeks/year and say "but you have that time off"

Actually, based on another thread that’s on this site currently, people would be extremely excited about that. And quitting a job then being unemployed while looking for another one is OBVIOUSLY not the same as having time off while having your job held for you, still getting benefits, etc…surely you cannot be serious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting for someone to tell me a unique function of their job that teachers do not do.

I’m sorry….to be clear, you’re claiming that as a teacher you do everything any other job entails?? I….don’t even know where to begin with that except to say that you’re not making yourself sound like a particularly intelligent person

Do you…fly airplanes? Perform surgery? Negotiate legal contracts? Lead board meetings? Perform complex accounting analysis? Sell software? Write code? Dig ditches? Draw blood? Purchase real estate? Represent clients in court in front of a judge? Detail cars? Cut and color hair? Conduct building inspections? Negotiate insurance settlements? Advise clients on the latest banking regulations? Design architecture? Prescribe psychiatric medication? Draft legislation? Lead military training exercises?

Yes, we understand that you put bandaids on booboos, teach math, write reports and have meetings with various people as part of your job. This is nothing special. Most jobs involve wearing different hats and performing a multitude of duties, it’s weird you don’t understand that.

Teacher here, and not the PP. This is so remarkably insulting. I do far more than “put bandaids on booboos.” Wow. You think that little of your kids’ teachers? I have made YOUR child one of my priorities this year. I have put in extra hours helping YOUR child navigate a tricky year. I have worked hard doing what I consider an integral job. I think what I do is valuable, and I am proud of the contribution I make to society. Your post suggests I do nothing of consequence.

Please read the post this was responding to before you get upset.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

I work with people in many fields, so based on this I would say about what teachers don't actually do: have a healthy respect for the difficulties of other professions, with an understanding that other people have skills that I lack.

also GET PAAAAID DOLLA DOLLA BILLS SON, MAKIN THEM STAXX ON STAXXX

YEAH gotem

It’s clear, especially if you have read much of this thread, that there is extreme disrespect for teachers. Extreme.

I have posted on this thread that I work 65+ hour weeks because I teach advanced courses that require additional prep and grading. I also posted that I present 30+ hours a week. I am 100% accountable for the delivery of the material, regardless of disinterest, teenage behaviors, etc. In the SAME post, I wrote that I appreciate how difficult other jobs are, as well, and that I have a healthy respect for the hard work and long hours of other jobs.

The response I got to a balanced post?
“No… everyone else has it harder than you. Stop your ridiculous teacher griping and enjoy your 3 months of vacation.”

That’s the problem with this thread. As if teachers don’t deal with constant disrespect at work, this thread seems to have posters who enjoy piling on more.
It appears to be too difficult to acknowledge teaching can be hard. It isn’t the hardest, but some posters won’t even allow it to be ranked among the difficult jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting for someone to tell me a unique function of their job that teachers do not do.

I’m sorry….to be clear, you’re claiming that as a teacher you do everything any other job entails?? I….don’t even know where to begin with that except to say that you’re not making yourself sound like a particularly intelligent person

Do you…fly airplanes? Perform surgery? Negotiate legal contracts? Lead board meetings? Perform complex accounting analysis? Sell software? Write code? Dig ditches? Draw blood? Purchase real estate? Represent clients in court in front of a judge? Detail cars? Cut and color hair? Conduct building inspections? Negotiate insurance settlements? Advise clients on the latest banking regulations? Design architecture? Prescribe psychiatric medication? Draft legislation? Lead military training exercises?

Yes, we understand that you put bandaids on booboos, teach math, write reports and have meetings with various people as part of your job. This is nothing special. Most jobs involve wearing different hats and performing a multitude of duties, it’s weird you don’t understand that.

Teacher here, and not the PP. This is so remarkably insulting. I do far more than “put bandaids on booboos.” Wow. You think that little of your kids’ teachers? I have made YOUR child one of my priorities this year. I have put in extra hours helping YOUR child navigate a tricky year. I have worked hard doing what I consider an integral job. I think what I do is valuable, and I am proud of the contribution I make to society. Your post suggests I do nothing of consequence.

Please read the post this was responding to before you get upset.

DP whose post you rudely responded to. I don't have the energy to correct all the ways we do those things after teaching today in a 90 degree classroom

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Let me crush that dream for you.

I work 60 hours a week x 40 weeks = 2400 hours
I work (minimum) 2 weeks during my unpaid summer = 80 hours
Total: 2480 hours

A 40-hour a week job, 50 weeks a year: 2000 hours —- 480 hours less.

As I see it, my summer vacation is my break for a grueling year. Also, my job is always ON. There are no long lunches, breaks in a friend’s office, etc.

Am I complaining? No. But I am going to say “summers off” is the MOST annoying misconception I hear about my job.

Well let's compare you to me.

You work 2480 hours
I work 65 hours per week X 49 week per year (I get 3 weeks vacation) = 3185
TOTAL: 3185 hours per year

And I am so sick of teachers saying they are unpaid during the summer. You get an ANNUAL SALARY. If you make $50,000 per year, you make $50,000 per year whether you work 10 months (and choose to take your annual salary over the 10 months) or you work 12 months. You are still getting an ANNUAL salary. How you decide to spend it during the entirety of your year is up to you.

In other words. Let's say you were offered a teaching job at $50,000 per year. Then you counter offer and say, I want to get paid over the summer. So, your employer tells you, Ok, because $50,000 over 12 months is $4167 per month, we'll pay you an additional $8334 (for the extra two months), so your annual salary will be $58,334 per year - but we will be paying you over ten months so you will be getting $5,833.40 per month.

I'll bet you that you all would STILL say that you have unpaid summers. See how that works?

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Let me crush that dream for you.

I work 60 hours a week x 40 weeks = 2400 hours
I work (minimum) 2 weeks during my unpaid summer = 80 hours
Total: 2480 hours

A 40-hour a week job, 50 weeks a year: 2000 hours —- 480 hours less.

As I see it, my summer vacation is my break for a grueling year. Also, my job is always ON. There are no long lunches, breaks in a friend’s office, etc.

Am I complaining? No. But I am going to say “summers off” is the MOST annoying misconception I hear about my job.

Well let's compare you to me.

You work 2480 hours
I work 65 hours per week X 49 week per year (I get 3 weeks vacation) = 3185
TOTAL: 3185 hours per year

And I am so sick of teachers saying they are unpaid during the summer. You get an ANNUAL SALARY. If you make $50,000 per year, you make $50,000 per year whether you work 10 months (and choose to take your annual salary over the 10 months) or you work 12 months. You are still getting an ANNUAL salary. How you decide to spend it during the entirety of your year is up to you.

In other words. Let's say you were offered a teaching job at $50,000 per year. Then you counter offer and say, I want to get paid over the summer. So, your employer tells you, Ok, because $50,000 over 12 months is $4167 per month, we'll pay you an additional $8334 (for the extra two months), so your annual salary will be $58,334 per year - but we will be paying you over ten months so you will be getting $5,833.40 per month.

I'll bet you that you all would STILL say that you have unpaid summers. See how that works?

I'm laughing bc you're not worth any other emotion or reaction

[Anonymous]

PP again - and what if we all got a lump sum payment January 1 for our annual salary? Would you teachers be happy then? You would still get your whole salary, just all of it on January 1 to spend for the whole year. Then we'd all get our annual salaries but you'd STILL get two months off every year - PLUS Christmas week off PLUS spring break off.

As I said in my pp - I get 3 weeks per year. I take Christmas week (because kids are home), I take spring break off (because kids are home) but then, I don't get 2 months off my job - I just get one extra week for the summer. So, compare your schedule to mine and you'll understand why I don't have much sympathy.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Great news! You too can absolutely live your dream, buddy. Just quit your job, be unemployed for a few months, then find a new job! It's exactly the same! Just budget better so you can do this every year, I've heard it's not hard to do. Oh, but your old job is still going to make you do trainings. They aren't going to pay you, but you will still need to do them. You're also going to have to deal with idiots telling you that your "vacation" makes you super lucky and invalidates any complaints you may have.

Summers are not "time off" for teachers any more than any period of unemployment is time off. It's weird that you consider being unemployed a vacation.

It's not exactly the same to become unemployed over the summer and then look for another job. Come on. Teachers have guaranteed positions and benefits that continue from year to year. You undercut legitimate complaints with a bogus comparison.

Y'all real mad they pay us at all, huh? I guess you're right-- as long as we are paid anything at all, there are no valid or legitimate complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Great news! You too can absolutely live your dream, buddy. Just quit your job, be unemployed for a few months, then find a new job! It's exactly the same! Just budget better so you can do this every year, I've heard it's not hard to do. Oh, but your old job is still going to make you do trainings. They aren't going to pay you, but you will still need to do them. You're also going to have to deal with idiots telling you that your "vacation" makes you super lucky and invalidates any complaints you may have.

Summers are not "time off" for teachers any more than any period of unemployment is time off. It's weird that you consider being unemployed a vacation.

It's not exactly the same to become unemployed over the summer and then look for another job. Come on. Teachers have guaranteed positions and benefits that continue from year to year. You undercut legitimate complaints with a bogus comparison.

Y'all real mad they pay us at all, huh? I guess you're right-- as long as we are paid anything at all, there are no valid or legitimate complaints.

You are clearly not a teacher, because you can't read. If you are, well . . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again - and what if we all got a lump sum payment January 1 for our annual salary? Would you teachers be happy then? You would still get your whole salary, just all of it on January 1 to spend for the whole year. Then we'd all get our annual salaries but you'd STILL get two months off every year - PLUS Christmas week off PLUS spring break off.

As I said in my pp - I get 3 weeks per year. I take Christmas week (because kids are home), I take spring break off (because kids are home) but then, I don't get 2 months off my job - I just get one extra week for the summer. So, compare your schedule to mine and you'll understand why I don't have much sympathy.

You are so angry about this you wrote a freaking dissertation. Touch grass bud

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Let me crush that dream for you.

I work 60 hours a week x 40 weeks = 2400 hours
I work (minimum) 2 weeks during my unpaid summer = 80 hours
Total: 2480 hours

A 40-hour a week job, 50 weeks a year: 2000 hours —- 480 hours less.

As I see it, my summer vacation is my break for a grueling year. Also, my job is always ON. There are no long lunches, breaks in a friend’s office, etc.

Am I complaining? No. But I am going to say “summers off” is the MOST annoying misconception I hear about my job.

Lol what. I’m not sure where you’re getting this mythical idea of the 40 hours a week, hard stop job…unless you’re talking about factory workers or something, most of us are working more than 40 hours a week. Why would only the hours teachers work on evenings/mornings/weekends count as extra, and not everyone else? (Besides the fact that it plays well into your preferred narrative…)

And to act like getting 3 consecutive months off every year PLUS 3-4 other weeks throughout the year isn’t an amazing and completely one of a kind perk is idiotic

What teacher gets a 3 month summer? Try 2… tops. And it’s unpaid. Why do we ignore the fact teachers are actually 10-month employees? And your “3-4 weeks” extra? Where is that?

Again: you get paid for 12 months of work. Teachers don’t.

If teachers have it so great… apply!!! Clearly people have tried it and realized it isn’t the awesome deal non-teachers think it is.

Right, because I do 12 months of work. You do not. That is the difference, and having THAT much time off every single year is unheard of in any other profession (in America, at least)

It is not time off. Teachers are NOT EMPLOYED during the summer. Seriously… this is not a difficult concept.

I’m doing 12+ months of work in 10 months… and then I am NOT PAID for 2.

You are paid for 12 months of work.

You are paid for ten months of work and you are employed year-round, with job protection to boot. Does your health insurance lapse during the summers? No, of course not - because you are an employee every month of the year.

You have the choice (in MCPS anyway) to be paid over the summer, or to do your own budgeting and be paid only during the school year. Either way, you are paid for 180 teaching days. If you work extra in the summer (again, in MCPS), you are paid for that.

~a fellow teacher whose lawyer spouse works a lot harder and for less pay, broken down into hours

Thank you. Very well explained.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you think teaching is easy be a sub for one day in public American schools and you will be eaten alive as kids treat you like Jackie Robinson on his first game ever in MLB throwing trash and cussing you out as you lose your voice trying to talk over them. Then your principal comes in and berates you for being terrible at your job and being stupid for not being able to control students. It's horrible horrible horrible. The helplessness and zero life control give teachers pstd.

My job has meetings in the middle of the night occasionally. I survived.

Given the choice, I’ll take middle-of-the-night meetings any day over teaching. You also mention they happen “occasionally,” whereas the stress/panic of teaching happens all day, every day.

Except you’re not teaching all day, every day during the year, are you? Look, I get it, teaching is hard and maybe you don’t like your career decision. That’s totally ok. But wild exaggerations like that don’t help. We all know your get massive amounts of time off. You’re up at night in the middle of July or on Christmas Eve with night terrors about something that happened at work that day? That actually is some people’s reality. So let’s at least try to have some perspective.

This is why DCUM is so toxic. Guess what? I go to therapy because of teaching. I have been for years. This job can be so abusive and can break the toughest of people. Also: I am always working. ALWAYS. If I’m not at work, I’m at home prepping for work. That’s on weekends. That’s over the summer.

You can tell me to gain perspective, and I’m going to ask the same of you. There’s a reason DCUM is filled with threads like this one. It’s because teaching is HARD, and it’s only those who haven’t tried it who think otherwise.

I am a career changer. I came from a tough corporate job. It was a breeze compared to what I do now.

New to this thread, but man. Teachers really do think they have the hardest job in the world, don't they? Why does it always have to be crappy job Olympics? I haven't once seen a teacher say something like "wow, that is not a problem we have to deal with!" or "gee that also sounds hard!"

It's like someone can say that their job is high-stress dangerous muck diving in sewage to re-weld old plumbing (a job which exists!), and a teacher will be like "well at least you have a muck diving suit! I accidentally touched poop with my bare hands once!!!!"

Well considering we also have to deal with bathroom issues, at least in ES, this is a bad example. I think the reason you never see teachers say the bolded is because our job is all encompassing. We are lawyers and doctors, we are managers and low level data entry employees, we are secretaries and diplomats (and plumbers). Im curious what part of your jobs that you think are unique that teachers don't actually do!

NP. Look, I agree teaching is a hard job but it’s this kind of melodramatic exaggeration that makes people roll their eyes and then discredit any actual point you may be trying to make.

I notice that you didn't actually address the point of my post. What is unique to other jobs that teachers do not do?

they don’t work summers

You know you've lost the argument when you revert to coming at teachers unpaid summer time

Thr time off in the summer IS THE ACTUAL win to the argument. It's the whole argument. Unpaid is irrelevant - just budget better. For most people in the workforce, The idea of having literal weeks, maybe even months of not working is an actual dream. An unlivable dream.

Great news! You too can absolutely live your dream, buddy. Just quit your job, be unemployed for a few months, then find a new job! It's exactly the same! Just budget better so you can do this every year, I've heard it's not hard to do. Oh, but your old job is still going to make you do trainings. They aren't going to pay you, but you will still need to do them. You're also going to have to deal with idiots telling you that your "vacation" makes you super lucky and invalidates any complaints you may have.

Summers are not "time off" for teachers any more than any period of unemployment is time off. It's weird that you consider being unemployed a vacation.

It's not exactly the same to become unemployed over the summer and then look for another job. Come on. Teachers have guaranteed positions and benefits that continue from year to year. You undercut legitimate complaints with a bogus comparison.

Y'all real mad they pay us at all, huh? I guess you're right-- as long as we are paid anything at all, there are no valid or legitimate complaints.

You are clearly not a teacher, because you can't read. If you are, well . . . .

What I read was 52 pages of people being pissed that teachers are complaining about anything because "they get summers off!" and "they still get paid!" We make $0.62 for every $1.00 similarly educated professionals make, but go off about how good teachers have it.

[Anonymous]

All the teachers posting three paragraph responses, are you counting your time on DCUM in your 60 hr work weeks?

[Anonymous]

Returning to this thread:

If you read the first 20-odd pages, there are a lot of people saying that indeed teachers do work hard. The first few posts are about how people DO, in fact, acknowledge how hard teachers work.

There are a couple of posters who did poop on teachers, true.

There were also posters that said, "hey we are all overworked." (Which is not saying that teachers AREN'T overworked, its' saying other people are overworked as well.)

There are also a couple of teachers who are ridiculously dug in to the narrative that they have the hardest job ever (worse apparently than poop scuba divers).

Oh yeah, there's the "parents suck" teacher as well, who always chimes in to just keep everything positive.

This is just a summary so no one thinks this entire thread is just "teachers have easy jobs."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Returning to this thread:

If you read the first 20-odd pages, there are a lot of people saying that indeed teachers do work hard. The first few posts are about how people DO, in fact, acknowledge how hard teachers work.

There are a couple of posters who did poop on teachers, true.

There were also posters that said, "hey we are all overworked." (Which is not saying that teachers AREN'T overworked, its' saying other people are overworked as well.)

There are also a couple of teachers who are ridiculously dug in to the narrative that they have the hardest job ever (worse apparently than poop scuba divers).

Oh yeah, there's the "parents suck" teacher as well, who always chimes in to just keep everything positive.

This is just a summary so no one thinks this entire thread is just "teachers have easy jobs."

Yet there are plenty of posts that refuse to acknowledge that teaching can be demanding, and the tired “but summers” argument is the usual go-to.

There are staggering misconceptions about teaching throughout this thread. I wouldn’t presume to know what it’s like to be a doctor or a “poop scuba diver,” but it’s clearly okay to assume what teaching is like. We’ve all been in classrooms, after all. We’ve all seen teachers in our daily lives. I guess that makes all of us on this thread clear experts in the education field. Sigh.