Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 10:02     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:A teacher trainee is officially making $30 an hour. With the amount of work they need to put in outside of class, it's probably more like 15-20 an hour. You're getting what you paid for.


And yet it is looking more and more like teachers won’t be getting raises this year, so that’s super positive and definitely going to improve things.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 09:55     Subject: Teacher trainee?
A teacher trainee is officially making $30 an hour. With the amount of work they need to put in outside of class, it's probably more like 15-20 an hour. You're getting what you paid for.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 09:50     Subject: Teacher trainee?
And if we give teachers more planning time, all of those higher ups won’t be able to fill their schedules. They exist to create more work for teachers. We have a lot of teacher vacancies in my district but more people out of the classroom than ever. They create more work for us to justify their job.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 09:32     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Would you trust a surgeon with no training to operate on their own? That’s what a teacher trainee is doing. He or she is teaching in a classroom alone with no training. He or she is expected to perform the work of a teacher without training. Why should we expect a teacher in this position to do as well as traditionally train teachers?


Are you sure there is absolutely no training?

I guess when there is not an experienced applicant pool, this is what we have. Alternatives: putting 35 kids in a class.


Yes. They are given a mentor teacher (so another teacher now has less time to plan!) but that’s it. It’s insane. All for $45k/year.

We already have 35 kids in classes. My son’s 5th grade is 33. My high school classes have 34/33/31/29/23 (the last is a remedial class that was supposed to be capped at 15, then 20)

The alternative is we pay teachers more so more people see it as a reasonable option for a career, or we make the conditions better (smaller classes, increased planning time). Both cost more money though. This is cheap.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 09:25     Subject: Teacher trainee?
They are being trained on the job. That’s the equivalent of a student teacher but they aren’t student teaching. They ARE the teacher with all of its responsibilities all at once. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the retention rate is low.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 08:52     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:Would you trust a surgeon with no training to operate on their own? That’s what a teacher trainee is doing. He or she is teaching in a classroom alone with no training. He or she is expected to perform the work of a teacher without training. Why should we expect a teacher in this position to do as well as traditionally train teachers?


Are you sure there is absolutely no training?

I guess when there is not an experienced applicant pool, this is what we have. Alternatives: putting 35 kids in a class.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 08:45     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Would you trust a surgeon with no training to operate on their own? That’s what a teacher trainee is doing. He or she is teaching in a classroom alone with no training. He or she is expected to perform the work of a teacher without training. Why should we expect a teacher in this position to do as well as traditionally train teachers?
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2025 06:50     Subject: Re:Teacher trainee?
I'm a sub and I only sub in Kindergarten - I'll take both the teacher and IA job. I've subbed as a Kindergarten IA in over a dozen classrooms this year so I've witnessed first hand the teaching styles of a dozen different teachers. Some have been excellent. A couple have been average. And then the worse one is a teacher trainee. She told me she's in her second year as a trainee. She's a very sweet woman who is a career switcher. She has a good class of kids, only one child has challenging behavior and it is very mild. But she is super disorganized. She can't keep to the schedule. I sub in this school frequently and every single day I'm at this school, her class is the last one to come out for recess - sometimes as much as 15 minutes later than the rest of the K classes. I hope she's getting support because she seems to enjoy her job and she is really good with her interactions with the children.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 23:10     Subject: Teacher trainee?
I’m a retired teacher, now substitute. I like subbing but I won’t do a long-term job.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 22:42     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's our area's way of "fully staffing" schools with folks who have no training.

1. One wonders why we have to come up with creative ways to fill teacher vacancies - could be that teachers have to deal with the condescension, disrespect, and know-it-all attitude of parents in "our area" - cause-effect of the need to "fully staff" our schools.
2. "The folks who have no training" are carefully vetted by FCPS - they are long term subs, IAs, parents who have put their children through the system and have volunteered during that time, professionals transitioning for various reasons, including those looking for something meaningful to do with their time and, maybe, give back to their community...until they find out why there are those vacancies in the first place, and run for the exits!
3. Like the draft or jury duty, our country should introduce mandated teaching service in a public school for all of us to learn to respect our diligent, hardworking, sincere educators, entrusted with molding the foundation of the future of our country.


NP. The bolded perfectly describes my short-lived experience as a sub with FCPS. I had considered a career switch for some time and thought I might enjoy teaching. SO GLAD I decided to try subbing before going to all the time, trouble, and expense of becoming a teacher trainee and acquiring licensure, etc. What a hellish experience.

I took on an elementary school long-term sub role and regretted it within days. There was zero training, and I was expected to take on ALL of the responsibilities of a teacher - to include lesson planning, grading, parent/teacher conferences, classroom management (of a very unruly and poorly behaved class), etc. The few kids who actually wanted to be there were a delight, but the rest made it their mission to be as disruptive and disrespectful as possible. When I asked for help from admin, I literally got a shrug.

Needless to say, I absolutely ran for the exits after about a month there. Never again - but at least, now I know.


Advice for people looking to go into teaching: never ever take on a long-term sub position. It is a terrible job - no benefits, low pay, and ALL the responsibilities of teaching. Do not do it. I went through education school and took a long term sub position after I graduated. It was a desperate time, tiny town with few job openings, so I jumped at the opportunity - not knowing what I signed up for.

The position almost pushed me away from the career altogether. I got told to do literally everything a teacher does with ZERO prep time (it was the middle of the year), so no workdays, etc. There was no point in taking on the horrible job due to low pay, no benefits, and it didn’t even count towards my experience. I moved to a big city where there was a huge shortage of teachers and began working. I am still in this field many years later.

I suggest taking a job as a TA. Being a TA is far less stressful but it enables you to observe and think about whether or not you want to be a teacher. You have a chance to interact with many staff members who teach other subjects or provide other services (counselors, SLPs, OTs, psychologists, just to name a few) in a school and you might find that you prefer to do that instead.




Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 22:30     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's our area's way of "fully staffing" schools with folks who have no training.

1. One wonders why we have to come up with creative ways to fill teacher vacancies - could be that teachers have to deal with the condescension, disrespect, and know-it-all attitude of parents in "our area" - cause-effect of the need to "fully staff" our schools.
2. "The folks who have no training" are carefully vetted by FCPS - they are long term subs, IAs, parents who have put their children through the system and have volunteered during that time, professionals transitioning for various reasons, including those looking for something meaningful to do with their time and, maybe, give back to their community...until they find out why there are those vacancies in the first place, and run for the exits!
3. Like the draft or jury duty, our country should introduce mandated teaching service in a public school for all of us to learn to respect our diligent, hardworking, sincere educators, entrusted with molding the foundation of the future of our country.


NP. The bolded perfectly describes my short-lived experience as a sub with FCPS. I had considered a career switch for some time and thought I might enjoy teaching. SO GLAD I decided to try subbing before going to all the time, trouble, and expense of becoming a teacher trainee and acquiring licensure, etc. What a hellish experience.

I took on an elementary school long-term sub role and regretted it within days. There was zero training, and I was expected to take on ALL of the responsibilities of a teacher - to include lesson planning, grading, parent/teacher conferences, classroom management (of a very unruly and poorly behaved class), etc. The few kids who actually wanted to be there were a delight, but the rest made it their mission to be as disruptive and disrespectful as possible. When I asked for help from admin, I literally got a shrug.

Needless to say, I absolutely ran for the exits after about a month there. Never again - but at least, now I know.


Were you by chance a 6th grade long term sub?


No, lower grade.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 21:16     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's our area's way of "fully staffing" schools with folks who have no training.

1. One wonders why we have to come up with creative ways to fill teacher vacancies - could be that teachers have to deal with the condescension, disrespect, and know-it-all attitude of parents in "our area" - cause-effect of the need to "fully staff" our schools.
2. "The folks who have no training" are carefully vetted by FCPS - they are long term subs, IAs, parents who have put their children through the system and have volunteered during that time, professionals transitioning for various reasons, including those looking for something meaningful to do with their time and, maybe, give back to their community...until they find out why there are those vacancies in the first place, and run for the exits!
3. Like the draft or jury duty, our country should introduce mandated teaching service in a public school for all of us to learn to respect our diligent, hardworking, sincere educators, entrusted with molding the foundation of the future of our country.


NP. The bolded perfectly describes my short-lived experience as a sub with FCPS. I had considered a career switch for some time and thought I might enjoy teaching. SO GLAD I decided to try subbing before going to all the time, trouble, and expense of becoming a teacher trainee and acquiring licensure, etc. What a hellish experience.

I took on an elementary school long-term sub role and regretted it within days. There was zero training, and I was expected to take on ALL of the responsibilities of a teacher - to include lesson planning, grading, parent/teacher conferences, classroom management (of a very unruly and poorly behaved class), etc. The few kids who actually wanted to be there were a delight, but the rest made it their mission to be as disruptive and disrespectful as possible. When I asked for help from admin, I literally got a shrug.

Needless to say, I absolutely ran for the exits after about a month there. Never again - but at least, now I know.


Were you by chance a 6th grade long term sub?
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 21:00     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's our area's way of "fully staffing" schools with folks who have no training.

1. One wonders why we have to come up with creative ways to fill teacher vacancies - could be that teachers have to deal with the condescension, disrespect, and know-it-all attitude of parents in "our area" - cause-effect of the need to "fully staff" our schools.
2. "The folks who have no training" are carefully vetted by FCPS - they are long term subs, IAs, parents who have put their children through the system and have volunteered during that time, professionals transitioning for various reasons, including those looking for something meaningful to do with their time and, maybe, give back to their community...until they find out why there are those vacancies in the first place, and run for the exits!
3. Like the draft or jury duty, our country should introduce mandated teaching service in a public school for all of us to learn to respect our diligent, hardworking, sincere educators, entrusted with molding the foundation of the future of our country.


NP. The bolded perfectly describes my short-lived experience as a sub with FCPS. I had considered a career switch for some time and thought I might enjoy teaching. SO GLAD I decided to try subbing before going to all the time, trouble, and expense of becoming a teacher trainee and acquiring licensure, etc. What a hellish experience.

I took on an elementary school long-term sub role and regretted it within days. There was zero training, and I was expected to take on ALL of the responsibilities of a teacher - to include lesson planning, grading, parent/teacher conferences, classroom management (of a very unruly and poorly behaved class), etc. The few kids who actually wanted to be there were a delight, but the rest made it their mission to be as disruptive and disrespectful as possible. When I asked for help from admin, I literally got a shrug.

Needless to say, I absolutely ran for the exits after about a month there. Never again - but at least, now I know.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 17:25     Subject: Re:Teacher trainee?
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 17:22     Subject: Teacher trainee?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The trainees at our school suck. They have no idea how to teach and it’s been hard. I have to reteach my child on a daily basis. It is horrible having a trainee as your child’s teacher.
Dont worry. Some teachers aren’t much better.

Peeps! Have you actually been in a classroom all day (let alone in charge of 20-30 mostly overindulged kids everyday)?

Completely no context, callous comments like these is why teachers have no incentive to put their hearts into their low-paid jobs.

DYK, teachers go through regular evaluations, observations, and out-of-pocket recertifications?

Add the last straw of parental insult to injury = the 'why bother' you may be seeing.