Reply to Do HS teachers prefer certain schools in FCPS (i.e. higher SES schools)?

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Reply to "Do HS teachers prefer certain schools in FCPS (i.e. higher SES schools)?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote][quote]
Dude. It's a JOB. People teach where they can make the most money and have the least headaches. That might very week be a low SES school. Whatever.

Are you a teacher? I doubt it. Teachers understand that teaching is a calling, not just a job. Teachers do not make a lot of money anywhere, so your suggestion that money drives it is pretty silly.

To the OP, teachers rarely have control over which classes they teach. That is the administrator's decision, but, as in any field, people with more experience and seniority often have better choices. Also, some teachers want to stay in low SES schools because they feel they can make a genuine difference there. Parents at high SES schools can be vicious and demanding, and no amount of "treats" are going to paper that over.

That's why you aren't respected as a profession. You act like a martyr and others will be happy to go along.

Seriously. Calling. Jesus, it's not the priesthood. It's a job with pros and cons just like everyone else's. And give me a fucking break on the pay. Starting teacher pay in FCPS are pushing $50K for a 10-month work year. I know plenty of entry level professionals who don't make that AND have to work year-round. Is managing a class of pushing-30 kids all day easy? Nope. But, hey, good retirement, it's nearly impossible to get fired, and summers/holidays off. Don't like it? Climb down off the cross and get another job. 
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One of my kid's teachers retired this year after putting in her 30 years, and pretty much told us when we had her a few years ago that she was just marking the years to retirement and wasn't that interested in parent/teacher conferences unless your kid was setting the room on fire -- and that was one of the better ones, at least she taught and could bribe the class to behave with candy. Much better than the one who ignored the kid's IEP or actively disliked my child and made no secret of it. Guess they didn't get the memo about the "calling".

+1 I'm getting sick of the pay arguments. Can't believe they are still arguing over pay with one of the highest retirement amounts in the area and a 3.5% raise. Go out and find another profession if it's so bad and maybe we can stop pretending that teachers actually teach each child they have.

[/quote]Such bitterness here toward teachers! Why? Be glad someone is willing to do this very important work![/quote]

Did you not read the posts above?  Or any of the school or special needs subfora that might answer the "why?"?  There are plenty of teachers who are in the job but NOT willing to do this "very important work".  I agree that it's very important - that it's so important is why I am super pissed off about how poorly it's done.  I don't think it's getting done well in more instances than we'd like to admit.  I wish that there was a non-seniority-based system in place to reward good teachers, incentivize people who'd be better at it to enter the profession, and get rid of the crappy teachers.  We had an absolutely amazing teacher this year, and that man was worth his weight in gold.  I told him that, I told the principal that, and I think very highly of him.  He's been an outlier, though.

I was a huge proponent of public schools and teachers until my kids started public school - at one that's rated a 10 on Great Schools, nonetheless, and found that really good teachers are the minority.  We tried to be understanding for a couple of years -- larger classes, our kid has an IEP, etc.  But, in the end, we have much lower expectations than a lot of our peers and are still disappointed.  Really basic stuff like not returning emails for nearly a week, not following through on very easy accommodations in an IEP (like making a checklist or signing a homework planner), and not taking five minutes to email us about a persistent problem we could have worked on at home.  We have had to pull one kid and send them to private because I sent public school a kid that was performing above grade level, and they've turned them into one that can't pass SOL tests in less than two years.

So, combine our experience with the martyr complex and the expectation that we venerate teachers as though they are doing the work of Mother Teresa?  Yep, annoyed.[/quote]

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