There are clearly some fake teachers posting in this thread. My question is why someone would ever stoop to that level.

Anonymous wrote:I also teach self contained.
If you are reinventing the wheel- you are not very good at your job. There are resources & curriculum for our students. It’s an awesome job. But really, the prep isn’t that hard.
Work smarter- not harder

Nice that you work in an ELS classroom in NW

The curriculum is nonexistent and what we do have is not enough. Like the other person said there is a lot of prep work to do and materials to make. Not to be a martyr but to make an actual difference

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that DCPS teachers are not underpaid. In other areas they are but not in DC.

I agree. I make $120,000 a year- work @ office/school 7 hours a day, have amazing benefits & leave.
There are many thing I’d like to see improved about DCPS- but pay isn’t one of them.

Ok, then special education teachers can just be paid more. You gen ed teachers can stay with a 117k cap if you like.

Idk how you manage to only work 7 hours a day, you must get to work late and leave early wow. And you don’t have to work overtime? Dang you’re killin it

Why rolling your eyes? I AM a special education teacher. And 7 hours- because School day is 9-3:30. That is 6.5 hours. Of which I have an 45 minute lunch & 45 minutes of planning. Client/kid facing time is very short. Actual contact with kids is less than 5.5 hours a day. I do more from home. However, it’s because I enjoy it and want to try new things. Not because I need to put in more hours.

Why on earth should sped teachers, like myself, be paid more? Honest question.

I highly doubt you are a sped teacher or a DCPS teacher at all for that matter. Teachers have to report to work at 8:00 that is 7.30 hours minimum.
Every job has a lunch lol, and some days I work through mine like other jobs might have to. Planning should also be work...unless you’re saying you’re not utilizing it... No one would say a lawyer isn’t working when they are researching and preparing for a case

All I am saying is I’m tired of this mentality that ‘subordinates’ get paid rock way less. A principal can make 200k plus. The school certainly can run without an admin present each day but the school cannot run without teachers and paras ever. Not saying I need 200k but at least making it to 150.

Anonymous wrote:I’ll add that teachers who claim to work many more hours a day are stretching the truth or just not very good at their jobs/time management.
I’ve worked with lots of martyr types and you all multiply the time spent working. I do great work and my students are well supported. However, I also know that I have a sweet gig & that I’m free to leave whenever I want.
Get back to me when you make north of $100,000 for the amount of hours & leave that we get. You aren’t stuck in edu. If you can find a better job, take it!

I worked way over the number of hours at DCPS, non-stop so got tired and moved to two other school districts! Guess what, the same there but severely underpaid, DCPS teachers living large compared to some parts of PG, Herndon, Arlington and other parts of VA with massive class sizes and few resources! When folks asking who is going to teach your kids, look to the DMV lots of teachers in this area who have no problem switching sides and getting paid more. If there is a real shortage DCPS will relax at least reciprocal certification for awhile. DCPS need not worry Maryland and Virginia that is another story!

Police and firefighters are definitely not underpaid in DC. Some cops make over $200k because of overtime and the firefighters are the highest paid in the mid-atlantic.

Anonymous wrote:I also teach self contained.
If you are reinventing the wheel- you are not very good at your job. There are resources & curriculum for our students. It’s an awesome job. But really, the prep isn’t that hard.
Work smarter- not harder

My school doesn’t provide us with curriculum outside of suggested topics for each month. Good for you that you have access to that. Again, way over generalizing.

I also teach self contained.
If you are reinventing the wheel- you are not very good at your job. There are resources & curriculum for our students. It’s an awesome job. But really, the prep isn’t that hard.
Work smarter- not harder

Anonymous wrote:I’ll add that teachers who claim to work many more hours a day are stretching the truth or just not very good at their jobs/time management.
I’ve worked with lots of martyr types and you all multiply the time spent working. I do great work and my students are well supported. However, I also know that I have a sweet gig & that I’m free to leave whenever I want.
Get back to me when you make north of $100,000 for the amount of hours & leave that we get. You aren’t stuck in edu. If you can find a better job, take it!

That’s a huge generalization. I teach self contained special ed so I have tons of paperwork (data and progress monitoring, functional behavioral analyses/behavior improvement plans, etc). Every single one of my students has an IEP. The hyper specific way that they must be written means that they each take hours. They change the format every year so once you get “good” at it it shifts again. My students don’t write or read in traditional ways and I have to differentiate every assignment on three levels. I’m not talking larger lines for writing, I mean symbolated texts, pictures to cut and paste, errorless learning, etc. I have never in my career been able to link to an article or post textbook pages and asked kids to write a response. I love creating accessible resources for my class. It takes an incredibly long time, though.

Just because your job is not time consuming doesn’t mean no one else’s is. I’m not a martyr, but it would be unconscionable for me to give my students materials that weren’t adapted or to show up at an IEP meeting unprepared.

Anonymous wrote:I’ll add that teachers who claim to work many more hours a day are stretching the truth or just not very good at their jobs/time management.
I’ve worked with lots of martyr types and you all multiply the time spent working. I do great work and my students are well supported. However, I also know that I have a sweet gig & that I’m free to leave whenever I want.
Get back to me when you make north of $100,000 for the amount of hours & leave that we get. You aren’t stuck in edu. If you can find a better job, take it!

Supertrollish

I’ll add that teachers who claim to work many more hours a day are stretching the truth or just not very good at their jobs/time management.
I’ve worked with lots of martyr types and you all multiply the time spent working. I do great work and my students are well supported. However, I also know that I have a sweet gig & that I’m free to leave whenever I want.
Get back to me when you make north of $100,000 for the amount of hours & leave that we get. You aren’t stuck in edu. If you can find a better job, take it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that DCPS teachers are not underpaid. In other areas they are but not in DC.

I agree. I make $120,000 a year- work @ office/school 7 hours a day, have amazing benefits & leave.
There are many thing I’d like to see improved about DCPS- but pay isn’t one of them.

Ok, then special education teachers can just be paid more. You gen ed teachers can stay with a 117k cap if you like.

Idk how you manage to only work 7 hours a day, you must get to work late and leave early wow. And you don’t have to work overtime? Dang you’re killin it

Why rolling your eyes? I AM a special education teacher. And 7 hours- because School day is 9-3:30. That is 6.5 hours. Of which I have an 45 minute lunch & 45 minutes of planning. Client/kid facing time is very short. Actual contact with kids is less than 5.5 hours a day. I do more from home. However, it’s because I enjoy it and want to try new things. Not because I need to put in more hours.

Why on earth should sped teachers, like myself, be paid more? Honest question.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that DCPS teachers are not underpaid. In other areas they are but not in DC.

I agree. I make $120,000 a year- work @ office/school 7 hours a day, have amazing benefits & leave.
There are many thing I’d like to see improved about DCPS- but pay isn’t one of them.

Ok, then special education teachers can just be paid more. You gen ed teachers can stay with a 117k cap if you like.

Idk how you manage to only work 7 hours a day, you must get to work late and leave early wow. And you don’t have to work overtime? Dang you’re killin it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/05/26/polls-20-percent-teachers-not-likely-return-classrooms-if-schools-reopen-this-fall/

More than 20% of teachers don't return each year, DCPS is a tough place to work!

This was a national poll

I suspect it would be higher if done just in the DMV. It’s the local trifecta of being underpaid proportionate to other white collar jobs, the stank attitude of DCUM parents, and COVID that is making people want to leave. Not just COVID, but COVID on top of everything else. Like cheating in an already unhappy marriage —there was an emotionally toxic atmosphere that was making you stressed and ill, now your health is clearly at risk due to potential infection.

I just don't get this whole underpaid thing. I was shocked when I saw how high the teacher's salaries are at our school. Way way higher than most of the masters degree level jobs around town. Way higher than the equivalent GS level.

It's not just teachers. It's city employees generally -- they all make way more than they would in the private market. The DC government pays interns $40,000. DC politicians are very generous with other people's money.

+1

Perhaps one day we'll only have to deal with appreciative parents and the rest of you can go to private or charter. Please go.

Honestly, teachers are SUCH crybabies. I mean, for Pete's sake. Grow up.

Homeschool your child please. Even after distance learning is over you just continue.

Anonymous wrote:The bottom line is that DCPS teachers are not underpaid. In other areas they are but not in DC.

I agree. I make $120,000 a year- work @ office/school 7 hours a day, have amazing benefits & leave.
There are many thing I’d like to see improved about DCPS- but pay isn’t one of them.

I mean,
We definitely need more Rodan and Fields salespeople and mommy bloggers. Probably even more so than teachers, so this cut would be welcome!