Reply to Why does no one acknowledge how overworked teachers are?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I sometimes think the constant refrain that teachers are overworked and underpaid is simply a very longterm negotiating tactic. Since teachers must renegotiate their contracts over and over, it is best for them to maintain the perception that teachers are all working very long hours and never get paid enough. There will never be a time when that narrative does not serve their interests and they can say "you know what, I actually think I'm paid pretty fairly for the work I do, and that my job has a lot of upside that is not possible in other jobs." Even if that is true for most teachers I know, there is simply no advantage to admitting it when you know your union will be going in to negotiate a raise or benefits or certain working conditions sometime in the next few years.

But I wish this argument was directed at the people who control how much teachers are paid and what their working conditions are (administrators and politicians). Instead it's just directed at parents and that's why there's conflict over it. Like as a parent, I really appreciate all my kid's teachers. I want them to be paid well and I want their working conditions to be as good as possible since in most cases, those are also my kid's learning conditions. So yeah, I will advocate for better facilities and better resources. And I want qualified, well compensated teachers who are not burned out and miserable.

But I have limited control. I get to vote for a few politicians who make these decisions, and it seems even when I vote for the ones endorsed by the teachers unions or who seem very invested in public education, it's still always a problem.

So yes, I acknowledge that teachers work hard (I think how overworked they are is dependent on the teacher, the school, the district, and merits comparison to some other jobs where people also work very hard) and deserve to be well compensated. But I don't pay teachers. Go yell at the mayor, the school board, the state board of education, the district office, etc.[b] I do not sign your checks.[/b][/quote]

I appreciate most of what you said but if I had even a penny every time someone posted on here about how they pay our salaries I'd never need to work again[/quote]

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