Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You bet my kids are in private school. I wouldn't send my dog to public school. You and I pay taxes so your kids can be taught by the lovely person posting above me.

Wow, just wow. I thought you sounded ignorant. And you are indeed ignorant about everything to do with public schools and public school teachers.

Ignorance doesn't seem to stop you from being obnoxious with your opinions though. You sound like a complete loser.

I am a product of public schools... maybe that's my problem.

As for the police/FF comments, I can't even get into that. They HATE teachers, in fact, their unions tell them to. We are always the scapegoat when it comes to budgets (which is funny since I have never heard a teacher talk badly about a FF or PO, or really any other jobs as much as we are targets). They make us out to be the bad guy. One point I will bring up as to why we are compensated more is because of our degrees. Teachers are required to have a Masters after a certian point, you don't even need a college degree to be a fire fighter or police officer.

I have no problem with teachers being paid more than police or firefighters, based on education or a host of other factors. In fact, for the most part teachers in MoCo ARE better paid than police and FF. But that's not the issue here. The issue is, in a difficult economic climate, where many people in the private sector haven't received raises (and in fact have had salaries cut), AND where other municipal employees, including FF and cops, are not getting raises (but $2000 bonuses), why should teachers be treated differently? Would the population scream and holler if the cops, FF, and county offices cut services in order to give raises? You bet they would. But that's what is happening in schools.

The obvious answer, as a PP pointed out, is that the money had been allocated to the schools, and the internal budgeting process is at the superintendent's and Board's discretion (I think). So it's not like the same decisionmaker preferred teachers over other municipal employees. But regardless of who made the decision, the reality is that some employees who are paid by tax dollars got raises, while others didn't.

No one's saying teachers don't work hard, or deserve raises (well, at least I'm not). But working hard and deserving something isn't the end of the equation. The money has to be there, and the schools have decided reducing services is an acceptable tradeoff to finance the raises (whatever they are). Other government entities haven't made the same choice, and that's why people are puzzled (and perturbed) by this. Add to that people in the private sector who are working just as hard (if not harder) than they were 4 years ago, and who are making the same (or less) money, and whether you agree with it or not, the reaction is understandable.

Anonymous wrote:

You bet my kids are in private school. I wouldn't send my dog to public school. You and I pay taxes so your kids can be taught by the lovely person posting above me.

Wow, just wow. I thought you sounded ignorant. And you are indeed ignorant about everything to do with public schools and public school teachers.

Ignorance doesn't seem to stop you from being obnoxious with your opinions though. You sound like a complete loser.

Anonymous wrote:You bet my kids are in private school. I wouldn't send my dog to public school. You and I pay taxes so your kids can be taught by the lovely person posting above me.

You have a lot to learn about the quality of teachers in public and private schools. Having taught in both in my career, I know that the quality of teachers is a lot higher in the PUBLIC schools. Private school teachers are often burned out public school retirees or teacher wanna bes who couldn't land a job in the public schools. Many of the latter lack basic certification. Few private school teachers have the classroom management skills necessary to teach in the public schools, and few have a clue about differentiation, teaching special needs children, etc.

Naturally not all private school teachers are poor, and neither is every public school teacher good. Overall, however, the quality of the teachers in the public schools is vastly superior to that found in private schools. If you think otherwise you're deceiving yourself, trying to justify the $25K per year you're spending to send your DC to a private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us work on the weekends and in the evening, folks.

I am a 20 year professional in a different field and make $112K a year. So that's more than a 20 year teacher, but when you add in the benefits that teachers get, it's pretty on-par. I get 5 weeks off a year, which is a lot of the private sector but less than teachers by a couple of weeks.

I work plenty of weekends and evenings.

I think teachers should be well-paid! I just don't buy the whole "our jobs are so much harder than everyone else's" line.

You are not held accountable for 130 to 150 students each day. Let's say I'm a smart planner, and I "only" have my 60 AP language essays to grade that I collected on Thursday. I have ONE planning period to grade; the other is for collaborative planning with my colleagues (a requirement). Each essay takes 20 minutes to grade. That's 1200 minutes - or 20 hours. no lie, no exaggeration

So I can do a little at a time, but to be honest, I have children - small ones at that - who also need to be picked up from school, taken to activities, fed, you know - the whole parent thing???? We are parents after all.

So let's say I DO finish grading them that weekend. I still have to plan AP lessons for 2 classes as well as lessons for my 3 on-level 9th graders.

YOUR job is a joke, PP. I've been in other jobs; "work" consisted of reading and responding to emails and writing reports. soooo easy compared to developing lessons for 9th graders who read anywhere from a 3rd grade level to a 10th grade level . . .

So yes, it IS much harder. You have no idea. So unless you've been in my shoes (as I've been in yours), shut the hell up.[u]

Such arrogance and nonsense. Let's make the absurd obvious. Teacher PP: would you like to exchange your total compensation package and working conditions with the average soldier in Afghanistan - who certainly has more responsibility and accountability than you do?

Wow Teacher... just wow... thank God you will never teach my kids. Agree with PP, such arrogance. Vulgarity is the last line of defense for those whose position is indefensible.

I'm the not-a-teacher from the post above this one about the non-comparability of jobs in MoCo vs. Afghanistan (which I notice nobody is responding to ).

The bolded part is an admission that your kids are in private school. Nice!

Haha! BUSTED!

You bet my kids are in private school. I wouldn't send my dog to public school. You and I pay taxes so your kids can be taught by the lovely person posting above me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us work on the weekends and in the evening, folks.

I am a 20 year professional in a different field and make $112K a year. So that's more than a 20 year teacher, but when you add in the benefits that teachers get, it's pretty on-par. I get 5 weeks off a year, which is a lot of the private sector but less than teachers by a couple of weeks.

I work plenty of weekends and evenings.

I think teachers should be well-paid! I just don't buy the whole "our jobs are so much harder than everyone else's" line.

You are not held accountable for 130 to 150 students each day. Let's say I'm a smart planner, and I "only" have my 60 AP language essays to grade that I collected on Thursday. I have ONE planning period to grade; the other is for collaborative planning with my colleagues (a requirement). Each essay takes 20 minutes to grade. That's 1200 minutes - or 20 hours. no lie, no exaggeration

So I can do a little at a time, but to be honest, I have children - small ones at that - who also need to be picked up from school, taken to activities, fed, you know - the whole parent thing???? We are parents after all.

So let's say I DO finish grading them that weekend. I still have to plan AP lessons for 2 classes as well as lessons for my 3 on-level 9th graders.

YOUR job is a joke, PP. I've been in other jobs; "work" consisted of reading and responding to emails and writing reports. soooo easy compared to developing lessons for 9th graders who read anywhere from a 3rd grade level to a 10th grade level . . .

So yes, it IS much harder. You have no idea. So unless you've been in my shoes (as I've been in yours), shut the hell up.[u]

Such arrogance and nonsense. Let's make the absurd obvious. Teacher PP: would you like to exchange your total compensation package and working conditions with the average soldier in Afghanistan - who certainly has more responsibility and accountability than you do?

Wow Teacher... just wow... thank God you will never teach my kids. Agree with PP, such arrogance. Vulgarity is the last line of defense for those whose position is indefensible.

I'm the not-a-teacher from the post above this one about the non-comparability of jobs in MoCo vs. Afghanistan (which I notice nobody is responding to ).

The bolded part is an admission that your kids are in private school. Nice!

Haha! BUSTED!

Anonymous wrote:We may need new school board candidates, and MCPS needs an overhaul.

However, I think you're off base saying that *only* the teacher side of the argument is nasty. You private school parents have been pretty nasty to teachers on this thread.

And you're also off base insinuating that the teacher posts must be coming from the unions. Frankly, the abuse of teachers I've seen in this thread and others (and I'm not a teacher) thoroughly justifies an individual teacher getting defensive.

One thing I've noticed about the anti-teacher posters on this thread is that they really, really don't argue fairly. So many of the anti-teacher posts are total spin, recasting everything to put yourselves in a positive light and the teachers in a bad luck. Unfortunately for you, though, anybody who has read the last few pages can see just how slimy your "spin" is.

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed a lot of these threads that start out with a legitimate political or policy question about education and dissolve into people comparing the job of a teacher to other jobs. I think these are silly debates as there is no way to really compare jobs. Many, many jobs are important and involve a lot of work, including teachers. No one really thinks teachers are worthless.

The question that started this post was about whether MCPS should give teachers a raise at this time. Some people, including me, do not agree with this raise. This is because most taxpayers and voters have not been getting raises. Also, MCPS teachers are the highest paid teachers in the area and among the highest paid teachers in the nation. Because of this, I think this raise is a mistake. This doesn't mean I don't like teachers, since we, as a county, already pay them well relative to their peers in other areas.

One thing I have noticed from past teacher posts, is that they always seem to try to pull the debate away from the original question. There is a nastiness and edge that makes me think these posts are organized and come from the union, but who knows for sure. It really doesn't matter, though.

The question for the rest of us is whether the county should vote for non-apple ballot school board candidates in order to have someone at the negotiating table that has a different perspective than the union/teachers. I hope we can do it, but I am not sure. If we can't, we will continue to give teachers raises since the union will be negotiating with itself. It's that simple.

You probably won't believe this, but I am a teacher in MCPS. I hate our union. I wish we didn't have one. I NEVER vote for Apple Ballot candidates. I would much rather get rid of Curriculum 2.0, shrink class sizes, hire principals with some balls that will actually discipline and hold students back who are not ready to move forward. However, I am sure of the 22,000 teachers in the county, I am one of 10 who feels this way.

I do understand the public's outcry at the raises and I get it. The money was already allocated to MCPS and it was up to them how they were going to spend it. The Superintendent feels that his teachers should be rewarded; maybe becuase the burnout rate is so high or because morale is so low he thinks this will help (and I agree it will help in both cases). The county is pissed and I am sure they will reduce the budget next year because of this, but by all means, vote non-Apple ballot.

Just curious though, everyone has stated the money for teacher raises is a bad idea, where would parents (with children in public school) like the money to go in MCPS?

We may need new school board candidates, and MCPS needs an overhaul.

However, I think you're off base saying that *only* the teacher side of the argument is nasty. You private school parents have been pretty nasty to teachers on this thread.

And you're also off base insinuating that the teacher posts must be coming from the unions. Frankly, the abuse of teachers I've seen in this thread and others (and I'm not a teacher) thoroughly justifies an individual teacher getting defensive.

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed a lot of these threads that start out with a legitimate political or policy question about education and dissolve into people comparing the job of a teacher to other jobs. I think these are silly debates as there is no way to really compare jobs. Many, many jobs are important and involve a lot of work, including teachers. No one really thinks teachers are worthless.

The question that started this post was about whether MCPS should give teachers a raise at this time. Some people, including me, do not agree with this raise. This is because most taxpayers and voters have not been getting raises. Also, MCPS teachers are the highest paid teachers in the area and among the highest paid teachers in the nation. Because of this, I think this raise is a mistake. This doesn't mean I don't like teachers, since we, as a county, already pay them well relative to their peers in other areas.

One thing I have noticed from past teacher posts, is that they always seem to try to pull the debate away from the original question. There is a nastiness and edge that makes me think these posts are organized and come from the union, but who knows for sure. It really doesn't matter, though.

The question for the rest of us is whether the county should vote for non-apple ballot school board candidates in order to have someone at the negotiating table that has a different perspective than the union/teachers. I hope we can do it, but I am not sure. If we can't, we will continue to give teachers raises since the union will be negotiating with itself. It's that simple.

Well said! I completely agree. We need new school board candidates and change in MCPS. Enough is enough.

I've noticed a lot of these threads that start out with a legitimate political or policy question about education and dissolve into people comparing the job of a teacher to other jobs. I think these are silly debates as there is no way to really compare jobs. Many, many jobs are important and involve a lot of work, including teachers. No one really thinks teachers are worthless.

The question that started this post was about whether MCPS should give teachers a raise at this time. Some people, including me, do not agree with this raise. This is because most taxpayers and voters have not been getting raises. Also, MCPS teachers are the highest paid teachers in the area and among the highest paid teachers in the nation. Because of this, I think this raise is a mistake. This doesn't mean I don't like teachers, since we, as a county, already pay them well relative to their peers in other areas.

One thing I have noticed from past teacher posts, is that they always seem to try to pull the debate away from the original question. There is a nastiness and edge that makes me think these posts are organized and come from the union, but who knows for sure. It really doesn't matter, though.

The question for the rest of us is whether the county should vote for non-apple ballot school board candidates in order to have someone at the negotiating table that has a different perspective than the union/teachers. I hope we can do it, but I am not sure. If we can't, we will continue to give teachers raises since the union will be negotiating with itself. It's that simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us work on the weekends and in the evening, folks.

I am a 20 year professional in a different field and make $112K a year. So that's more than a 20 year teacher, but when you add in the benefits that teachers get, it's pretty on-par. I get 5 weeks off a year, which is a lot of the private sector but less than teachers by a couple of weeks.

I work plenty of weekends and evenings.

I think teachers should be well-paid! I just don't buy the whole "our jobs are so much harder than everyone else's" line.

You are not held accountable for 130 to 150 students each day. Let's say I'm a smart planner, and I "only" have my 60 AP language essays to grade that I collected on Thursday. I have ONE planning period to grade; the other is for collaborative planning with my colleagues (a requirement). Each essay takes 20 minutes to grade. That's 1200 minutes - or 20 hours. no lie, no exaggeration

So I can do a little at a time, but to be honest, I have children - small ones at that - who also need to be picked up from school, taken to activities, fed, you know - the whole parent thing???? We are parents after all.

So let's say I DO finish grading them that weekend. I still have to plan AP lessons for 2 classes as well as lessons for my 3 on-level 9th graders.

YOUR job is a joke, PP. I've been in other jobs; "work" consisted of reading and responding to emails and writing reports. soooo easy compared to developing lessons for 9th graders who read anywhere from a 3rd grade level to a 10th grade level . . .

So yes, it IS much harder. You have no idea. So unless you've been in my shoes (as I've been in yours), shut the hell up.[u]

Such arrogance and nonsense. Let's make the absurd obvious. Teacher PP: would you like to exchange your total compensation package and working conditions with the average soldier in Afghanistan - who certainly has more responsibility and accountability than you do?

Wow Teacher... just wow... thank God you will never teach my kids. Agree with PP, such arrogance. Vulgarity is the last line of defense for those whose position is indefensible.

I'm the not-a-teacher from the post above this one about the non-comparability of jobs in MoCo vs. Afghanistan (which I notice nobody is responding to ).

The bolded part is an admission that your kids are in private school. Nice!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us work on the weekends and in the evening, folks.

I am a 20 year professional in a different field and make $112K a year. So that's more than a 20 year teacher, but when you add in the benefits that teachers get, it's pretty on-par. I get 5 weeks off a year, which is a lot of the private sector but less than teachers by a couple of weeks.

I work plenty of weekends and evenings.

I think teachers should be well-paid! I just don't buy the whole "our jobs are so much harder than everyone else's" line.

You are not held accountable for 130 to 150 students each day. Let's say I'm a smart planner, and I "only" have my 60 AP language essays to grade that I collected on Thursday. I have ONE planning period to grade; the other is for collaborative planning with my colleagues (a requirement). Each essay takes 20 minutes to grade. That's 1200 minutes - or 20 hours. no lie, no exaggeration

So I can do a little at a time, but to be honest, I have children - small ones at that - who also need to be picked up from school, taken to activities, fed, you know - the whole parent thing???? We are parents after all.

So let's say I DO finish grading them that weekend. I still have to plan AP lessons for 2 classes as well as lessons for my 3 on-level 9th graders.

YOUR job is a joke, PP. I've been in other jobs; "work" consisted of reading and responding to emails and writing reports. soooo easy compared to developing lessons for 9th graders who read anywhere from a 3rd grade level to a 10th grade level . . .

So yes, it IS much harder. You have no idea. So unless you've been in my shoes (as I've been in yours), shut the hell up.[u]

Such arrogance and nonsense. Let's make the absurd obvious. Teacher PP: would you like to exchange your total compensation package and working conditions with the average soldier in Afghanistan - who certainly has more responsibility and accountability than you do?

Wow Teacher... just wow... thank God you will never teach my kids. Agree with PP, such arrogance. Vulgarity is the last line of defense for those whose position is indefensible.

Teachers are required to have more education than soldiers in Afganistan. Doctors and lawyers, who get paid even more, are required to have even more years of education.

I'm not a teacher, but this should be as glaringly obvious to you as it is to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of us work on the weekends and in the evening, folks.

I am a 20 year professional in a different field and make $112K a year. So that's more than a 20 year teacher, but when you add in the benefits that teachers get, it's pretty on-par. I get 5 weeks off a year, which is a lot of the private sector but less than teachers by a couple of weeks.

I work plenty of weekends and evenings.

I think teachers should be well-paid! I just don't buy the whole "our jobs are so much harder than everyone else's" line.

You are not held accountable for 130 to 150 students each day. Let's say I'm a smart planner, and I "only" have my 60 AP language essays to grade that I collected on Thursday. I have ONE planning period to grade; the other is for collaborative planning with my colleagues (a requirement). Each essay takes 20 minutes to grade. That's 1200 minutes - or 20 hours. no lie, no exaggeration

So I can do a little at a time, but to be honest, I have children - small ones at that - who also need to be picked up from school, taken to activities, fed, you know - the whole parent thing???? We are parents after all.

So let's say I DO finish grading them that weekend. I still have to plan AP lessons for 2 classes as well as lessons for my 3 on-level 9th graders.

YOUR job is a joke, PP. I've been in other jobs; "work" consisted of reading and responding to emails and writing reports. soooo easy compared to developing lessons for 9th graders who read anywhere from a 3rd grade level to a 10th grade level . . .

So yes, it IS much harder. You have no idea. So unless you've been in my shoes (as I've been in yours), shut the hell up.[u]

Such arrogance and nonsense. Let's make the absurd obvious. Teacher PP: would you like to exchange your total compensation package and working conditions with the average soldier in Afghanistan - who certainly has more responsibility and accountability than you do?