Reply to Has teacher appreciation week gotten out of hand?

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "Has teacher appreciation week gotten out of hand?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]HS teacher here.  Teacher appreciation week is unacknowledged by our school and students.  This attitude doesn't bother me at all.  I would much rather people seriously discuss pay raises and perception of teachers (e.g., I feel that teachers should be viewed in the same company as doctors, lawyers, engineers rather than nurses, firefighters, police officers.  Changing that uniquely American perspective would attract more people to the profession.  But I digress...)

My kids are in elementary school.  Every year, I get a flyer talking about teacher appreciation week, and I promptly recycle it.  I don't mind if others want to throw a little party for the elementary school staff or give them something each and every day during the week, as long as these others don't pressure me to get involved or call me "lazy-ass."[/quote]

Teachers are not equal to doctors, lawyers and engineers and are paid more than other professions, such as police officers and social workers.  I don't get why teachers want to be put on a pedestal for doing their job.  Teachers get plenty of perks and our local school systems pay very well compared to others.  It is a public gov't job.[/quote]

In other countries, teachers are equated with doctors and engineers and other "impressive" jobs.  Therefore, the teaching profession attracts a lot of prime candidates.  The school systems get to pick the best.  They do not tolerate bad teachers.  In the U.S., there is a stigma attached to teaching.  "Oh, you work as a teacher!  That's so noble of you.  Is it nice having the summers off?"  It is kind of like the military.  We "honor" them all over the place, but we do not want our sons and daughters to go into the armed services.  We judge people by their careers... when asked to compare a firefighter and an engineer, which one would you assume was the more intelligent one?  It is not right, but that is the way it is.

Your average high-flying academically successful high school graduate is much more likely to choose a different career path than teaching.  For one, it is not easy to support a family on a teacher's salary.  Plus, they would probably rather be admired as a doctor than looked down upon as a teacher.

Sadly, that is just the way it is in our country.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics