Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

I see the same thing. The younger teachers often draw hard lines between work and home life. Many are of the opinion they are paid for certain hours, and they won’t let the job spill into evenings and weekends. If work doesn’t get done at work, then it doesn’t get done.

Frankly, they have a lot to teach the rest of us. We shouldn’t be giving up so much of our own lives to our schools.

They use their leave too, which is something I should have done when I was younger. I retired last year and left way too many hours (about 1200) unused.

Anonymous wrote:Kid is at Sandberg. It seems like all of the good ones are leaving. Most blame the principal

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I support work life balance for teachers, I also think kids are going to suffer as a result. The reality is that teaching is a really important job because you are shaping young lives. Some kids have more support at home than others, and teachers can be life-changing for the kids that don’t have that home support. I do think previous generations of teachers were willing to make that sacrifice because they believed in what they were doing and had a passion for it despite the low pay. Society definitely has changed. I wish we could just make teaching a really high paying profession so that people would at least feel like the trade-off is worth it. Obviously in some other professions the work life balance is not so good but people feel that the pay makes it worthwhile.

The thing is is that teacher pay has never been great, so there’s something or tings affecting the profession beyond pay.

1. Women are encouraged towards male dominated jobs now and teachers are not respected. A bright young woman is not going to be pushed towards teaching, it’s kind of seen as a dumb major or for girls without a lot of ambition.

2. Priced out of the housing market. This applies to a lot of different jobs. I haven’t been in the profession or in in NOVA long enough to say but it seems as though teaching used to provide enough to buy a modest home and now getting any type of home is a stretch. A lot of these teachers are commuting from a very long way in order to purchase a home. I have met some that commute from Fredericksburg and I have met one that comes from West Virginia.

3. Multiple societal shifts. Women get married later in life now so teachers have to live on single incomes for longer. Women have children later so the summers off benefit doesn’t mean much. The Remote work, work life balance, and unlimited PTO that is common in corporate settings is leaving teaching in the dust.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I support work life balance for teachers, I also think kids are going to suffer as a result. The reality is that teaching is a really important job because you are shaping young lives. Some kids have more support at home than others, and teachers can be life-changing for the kids that don’t have that home support. I do think previous generations of teachers were willing to make that sacrifice because they believed in what they were doing and had a passion for it despite the low pay. Society definitely has changed. I wish we could just make teaching a really high paying profession so that people would at least feel like the trade-off is worth it. Obviously in some other professions the work life balance is not so good but people feel that the pay makes it worthwhile.

The thing is is that teacher pay has never been great, so there’s something or tings affecting the profession beyond pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

I see the same thing. The younger teachers often draw hard lines between work and home life. Many are of the opinion they are paid for certain hours, and they won’t let the job spill into evenings and weekends. If work doesn’t get done at work, then it doesn’t get done.

Frankly, they have a lot to teach the rest of us. We shouldn’t be giving up so much of our own lives to our schools.

Anonymous wrote:While I support work life balance for teachers, I also think kids are going to suffer as a result. The reality is that teaching is a really important job because you are shaping young lives. Some kids have more support at home than others, and teachers can be life-changing for the kids that don’t have that home support. I do think previous generations of teachers were willing to make that sacrifice because they believed in what they were doing and had a passion for it despite the low pay. Society definitely has changed. I wish we could just make teaching a really high paying profession so that people would at least feel like the trade-off is worth it. Obviously in some other professions the work life balance is not so good but people feel that the pay makes it worthwhile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Work culture has changed a lot. Instead of some life long dream career, people just want something that they are good at and allows them to follow their actual passions in their free time.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

I agree but these parents won't like it. They already question why the teachers take time off like it's somehow their business.

I’m a parent and a teacher. This is what teaching has to become if we are going to keep people in the profession. We can’t expect people to think of teaching as a calling anymore when it’s really just a job.

I used to think teachers who refused to work outside of school hours were lazy. Not anymore. They are simply viewing this as the job it is, and not some higher calling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

I agree but these parents won't like it. They already question why the teachers take time off like it's somehow their business.

I’m a parent and a teacher. This is what teaching has to become if we are going to keep people in the profession. We can’t expect people to think of teaching as a calling anymore when it’s really just a job.

I used to think teachers who refused to work outside of school hours were lazy. Not anymore. They are simply viewing this as the job it is, and not some higher calling.

Anonymous wrote:Shrevewood is losing 6 teachers and a few others (including the principal) per the end of year email. I know that one is getting married and moving away. Seems like normal turnover.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

I agree but these parents won't like it. They already question why the teachers take time off like it's somehow their business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally love the younger teachers who don’t have children - they are able to put more hours in and plan more creative lessons and don’t have to run out the door when the kids leave.

None of the new teachers I know are like this. They’ve grown up with SEL and work life balance and they are the ones most likely to use lots of personal and sick days to achieve this. It’s people my age who fret about taking a day off.

Yup here too....but I won't lie these young ones are teaching us all something. Work life balance is important! Our jobs and these disrespectful parents won't care if we stay or leave....why should us older teachers care so much. Long gone are the "do it for the kids" days.