Hard working teachers don't surprise me, I'm more surprised I have kids, and I had to find out from a meme! I'd think I woulda noticed popping a wee bit'o pink person out- but I do get distracted by work a lot so there's that....
That would be the classic move wouldn't t? Perhaps I should wait a few years, maybe send regular or sporadic birthday cards with generics themes and possibly on the wrong birthday dates first?
Not where I live. In an 8 hour work day. 7:45 am to 3:45 pm. All the subject teachers teach 4 one hour classes. They get a 30 minute lunch and they stay after last bell for 30 minutes. That leaves 3 hours to grade papers , make lesson plans and do whatever. The students attend 3 hours of electives in the afternoon. Woodworking, computer tech,band,gym health education,art, pottery,library and others. And the instructors of the elective classes have the morning hours to do administrative work.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong- many teachers have it hard, and the education system needs work, but many teachers have it sweet. One of my good friends is a teacher. She makes more than me, gets half the year off, and brings papers out with her and has us help grade while we all hang. She's living comfortably in one of the most expensive places to live in the US and is making as much as the engineers and corporate junior executives in our group. Of course the last district she was at didn't pay well at all, and was a cluster fuck for her with tons of stress. So it really depends.
In the same breath you should include that somewhere in the world there is a "Teacher" who rules her classroom with an iron fist, demeaning, embarrassing and scarring the psyche of young innocent minds who can't and don't defend themselves. "Teachers" who rule themselves to be parent, judge and jury when punishing a child for a behavior THEY deem unacceptable. So, when you ask me "If you can read, thank a Teacher"...I say fuck teachers!
My seven year old had to change schools because I felt like her teacher was bullying her. The last straw was when she was sent home and suspended because she was sitting at her desk reading quietly during recess, but teacher wanted her to go out.
This is a great example of binary thinking. It can apply to really anyone, but teachers, service personnel, police, and politicians are some of the highest profile. Most tend to either think all who "wear the frock" are either impoverished martyrs to society and paragons of virtue who are true heroes, or all are just as bad as the worst. In truth there are good and bad people in any group, there are good people who have bad days or growth phases, and so on. I've met some shit teachers before, I've met ones who had it better than me, and those barely getting by and doing their best. It's a wide spectrum. Society needs teachers- preferably good teachers. Like anything it's more about rewarding the good ones and weeding out the bad. Anyone like you describe isn't a real teacher. The "paragon" teacher can't reach every student, but will make every effort to. True teachers guide and make a positive impact. They don't put people off learning but instill lessons instead.
Fun fact, teachers unions outspend the NRA on political contributions and lobbying 9:1 annually.
.
Here in NY public school teachers enjoy a 25-30 year work cycle then collect exorbitant (above national avg salary) pensions (many of which are state income tax exempt and include lifetime healthcare) for the rest of their lives. (My grandmother collected that taxpayer funded pension for 39 years). Labor unions negotiated the 30 year work cycle decades ago when tradesmen were battered, scarred and broken after 25 years. Now with OSHA protections and safety advances a 40 year work life could easily be realized, medical advances have added 20 years or more to life expectancies. Teachers and other unionized public sector white collar workers should be required to serve 40 years to receive full benefits. We cannot continue to fund these public pensions indefinitely.
While I agree that there are certain economic realities- these aren't exclusive to teachers as a job class. In a world where more and more jobs are becoming underpaid and over worked my solution wild not be to reduce teachers benefits but to increase those of others. At $50k a year- 60 years working that salary yields a life time earnings of 2.5mill before taxes, a little under 2 after. Once you start doing the math and factor in that many places homes start at about 1mill, then remember property tax (based off land value) you can see a problem. It starts with real estate. A home is one of the fundamental anchors to life. We have enough homes to end homelessness- but the market doesn't "do" charity. So I'd start there.
Ha. $50k. Homes in western NY can be purchased for $50,000. A decent home to raise a family can be 200-250k. Teachers in this area top out over $80k and can retire with a $55k (state income tax exempt) pension. Most of my property tax funds the public school system. You can live well here with a single $85K income or dual $50K income.
Without saying if teachers are underpaid or overpaid or something else, I'll point out that they do get benefits most of the rest of us don't:
-All summer off plus a Christmas break plus maybe spring break vs. the rest of our two to four weeks of vacation.
-More job security than most of us and better insurance benefits.
-A pension.
Also, I and many other engineers work unpaid overtime to keep your car's air bags operating correctly or your plane safe or any of several other things. Teaching looks like a difficult job for someone like me, but for a person with a different mind set it could be perfect and also offer a lot of benefits besides the amount of the paycheck.
.
Here in NY public school teachers enjoy a 25-30 year work cycle then collect exorbitant (above national avg salary) pensions (many of which are state income tax exempt and include lifetime healthcare) for the rest of their lives. (My grandmother collected that taxpayer funded pension for 39 years). Labor unions negotiated the 30 year work cycle decades ago when tradesmen were battered, scarred and broken after 25 years. Now with OSHA protections and safety advances a 40 year work life could easily be realized, medical advances have added 20 years or more to life expectancies. Teachers and other unionized public sector white collar workers should be required to serve 40 years to receive full benefits. We cannot continue to fund these public pensions indefinitely.
-All summer off plus a Christmas break plus maybe spring break vs. the rest of our two to four weeks of vacation.
-More job security than most of us and better insurance benefits.
-A pension.
Also, I and many other engineers work unpaid overtime to keep your car's air bags operating correctly or your plane safe or any of several other things. Teaching looks like a difficult job for someone like me, but for a person with a different mind set it could be perfect and also offer a lot of benefits besides the amount of the paycheck.