Reply to I barely have an idea what is being taught in child's 1st grade class

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow, to some of these comments. It's disgusting how entitled some people sound. Do you have any idea how hard your child's teacher is most likely working? You can't imagine how much some of you are asking of teachers. Weekly email reports??  Hilarious.  Did you forget that teaching is not a desk job?  [b]Realty check: the majority of teachers spend a MINIMUM of 10-15 hours of personal (unpaid) time per week just to keep up with the job.[/b] You can't imagine the amount of time planning, grading, prepping, organizing, communicating with other staff, meetings, (did I mention TEACHING?) etc etc go into the demands of this job, especially with overcrowded classrooms which exasorbate behavior issues. Yes, in case it weren't obvious I am a teacher, and [b]I speak with close to 20 years of experience.[/b] I can name on less than one hand the number of teachers who actually DON'T bring work home, and/or stay well beyond their duty day, and/or arrive early. To the commenter who complained that no reading took place in your child's classroom other than before report cards are sent, you surely misunderstood. Formal assessments only take place 3 times per year, as should be the case given that they take the teacher away from instruction and it is not necessary more frequently than that anyway. Reading instruction and guided groups should take place every day.  And for the commenter who suggested 3 conferences including one with the reading specialist to evaluate your child, good luck with that. There is a special education process that you should look into because what you are suggesting is not how it works, nor should it work that way for good reason. Otherwise, we'd be wasting a lot of time formally evaluating children who would not qualify for an IEP.  [b]If your child's teacher had more time to communicate with you she would. Instead, it's probably her priority to get ready for the next day of lessons. You just can't imagine.[/b] The only time I ever have to communicate with parents is on my own personal time from home in the evenings. If she says your child is doing fine then trust that or otherwise ask for a parent conference (which you are perfectly entitled to and which a good teacher will call for herself if she feels it is needed), but know that your child's next lesson will probably not be as organized because of the planning time the conference costs the teacher. Yes, that's how it works.)  Look on the MCPS website to investigate the specifics of the curriculum. [b]Doesn't anyone ever wonder why it is such a high burn-out job in spite of the vacation and benefits?  Yes I am disgruntled. Nobody gets it besides other teachers. [/b] The ones who manage to stick it out for the long haul do so because we love kids and have passion for the art of teaching.  So try to show a little more respect, especially because something like 80% of the elementary teaching workforce today are in their first 5 years (meaning fresh out of college). If we want to increase the number of seasoned teachers, we need to make life a little less stressful for them, however possible. [/quote]

1.  Learn to use paragraphs.

2.  You are a salaried employee, so time worked outside of the actual teaching time is *paid* time, not "personal" time.  You are not a clock-puncher, you are a professional - right?  Professionals are exempt from clock-punching and do what it takes to get the job done.

3.  I do know how hard teachers work.  My husband of 20 years is a teacher.  He works far fewer hours than I (a lawyer) do, MUCH less.  He is home by 5 every day and has plenty of vacation time.  If you broke down our salaries by the hour, he makes more, no question.

4.  He meets with parents before or after school at their request, no problem.  (What are you doing that you cannot do that, that you must communicate with them in the evenings and cannot meet with them?)

5.  He will be the first to tell you that his pay is fair, his benefits are good, and his hours are reasonable.  If you have 20 years of experience I imagine you make a similar amount to what he does.

If you think you are underpaid, or any more stressed-out than any other working professional, you are deluded.[/quote]

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