Reply to MCPS Reaches Agreement with MCEA to Raise Teachers' Wages

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a 2nd career educator, I must ask those debating on this forum to please understand our core issues are really not about pay. Our dear leaders at MCPS feel this is the easiest way to recruit and retain teachers is to throw a few grand at us. It's actually quite insulting in my personal opinion. Of course, I cannot speak for all, but MOST of us are fine with the pay when we onboard (it's not exactly a surprise since it's publically posted). What we DO have a problem with are the working conditions.  We had no idea what it would be like, especially after COVID. The hours to get things prepared, while taking away contracted planning time is pretty serious.  It causes extreme burnout and apathy when you are constantly worked to the bone. It's a very high-stress environment day in and day out.  It's going to take a lot more than pay to retain teachers. I can absolutely tell you as a working professional, I definitely harbored some resentment towards educators with 15-20+ years plus. They made so much more money than me, but I was doing probably 10x the work to get where they already are.  It's counterintuitive for each new educator to have to reinvent the wheel for every class they teach when the person before them had to do the same thing...so in and so forth. The curriculum they provide is not very good quality because they write it in house with educators who have little to no experience in curriculum writing. (I know because I was one of them). They should just purchase a standard-aligned, well-vetted, engaging curriculum that is universal across the district.  Right now, it's a terrible system that is designed to break people. And I am saying this as someone with a STEM degree who worked for a very highly regarded research institute.  I know my subject matter very very well. But the workload is more than I have ever experienced in my entire life (even during grant season). They really need to support early career educators much more than they do now (which is barely).  [/quote]

Then the topics that should be elevated the loudest are increased Counselors and Counselors pay, increased Para support and increase in substitute pay.  Also, standardized of some class content and new teacher training and support.  All of those things are part of what MCEA call for and even the BOE but it’s not what is the loudest topic.  And it exactly why the County Council folks called out MCPS and MCEA.

Everyone needs to figure out what the real priorities are in speak on that.[/quote]

Everyone here just loves to argue. It would be wonderful for someone here to take a moment, try to empathize (that means put yourself in someone else’s shoes) and try to not brush this off as someone else’s problem.  There is nothing I can do as an educator to change this. More counselors won’t change this. I have spoken up. It falls on deaf ears. So my choices are to accept this or leave.  I am choosing to leave. If the community really cares about quality education than EVERYONE need to figure that out and speak on that.  Otherwise you get what you get.  [/quote]

I agree everyone needs to figure that out.  But what I’m saying is MCEA is the teacher’s union not the public’s. Principals and counselors also have their own associations.  If the problems in schools are bigger than salary(and I expect it’s really multifaceted issues) what should be being elevated in discussion with the BOE, Council and public is the things that will provide the needed environment.  Additionally, teachers aren’t barred from creating their own groups to get the issues in the public sphere and stop making salary the biggest item.

I also think teachers need to be mindful of contradictory arguments.  For example as you state it is counterintuitive for each person to recreate the curriculum.  However, when provide very scripted curriculum and told to teach something a very specific way educators complain about not having autonomy.  However when given just a framework we see varying levels of expectations, grading, and outcomes across a school district.  That then raises parental concern, questions, and potentially lawsuits for bias. Now I’ll agree that teachers themselves aren’t the only problem in the above situation but they also aren’t absent from the problem.[/quote]

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