I don't know one single teacher that acts "Godlike" or has a superiority complex. The only time I see teachers "complain" about pay is when people post on websites how over paid and underworked teachers are and how teachers should be available 24/7 to accommodate everyone elses' work schedule.
ITA! I have never seen a thread here where a teacher starts out "complaining". It is usually a thread about community supplies, a teacher who did something a parent did not like, or pulling a child out of school. Somehow it turns into a thread where non-teachers keep pointing out how teachers get paid too much according to the months they work and how they get so much time off, how they could easily do what the teachers does, etc. etc. Or someone starts talking about how teachers make $100K a year, which is not a reality for most teachers. That is when teachers react and tell the facts of their job to point out that its not an easy job, even if we do love teaching. If someone was bashing your chosen career or your personal choice, you would probably react too. That's why some types of threads have been banned(political, etc).
Isn't it funny that some people perceive stating facts as complaining? Until they have taught in a classroom for a few weeks, they'll never understand.
I've also had a couple of student teachers who didn't pass their internship. Like you said, not everyone has the ability to be a teacher.
It definitely is not easy. I can't find the information right now, but at a conference, I was told that around 20% of teachers in NC do not make it through their third year, and about half of those quit after the first year. It can be really stressful to be thrust into a classroom and expected to be able to manage the classroom, assess each child, meet each child's individual need, deal with parents, etc. You learn these things from a book and have a few months as a student teacher, but nothing prepares you for that initial shock. You either rise to the occasion or you choose another career. One lady I know from church went to school and got her teaching degree. She started teaching in August and lasted until November. She is a smart, determined person, but she couldn't handle the stress. Even after years of teaching, the students with behavior problems, the parent complaints, and the endless assessments make me want to scream. Luckily, I have great support from other teachers and my principal, and I know in my heart this is what I am meant to do.
Okay, first I love teachers. I really do. But when I find a "teachers only" board thats titled the "Vent board", I get very upset.
All they do is bash parents and kids who have problems. Didn't anyone tell you teachers that you weren't going to teach perfect kids?
Don't the teachers know that parents lurk??? That board is what really gives teachers a bad name. There are a few who get it, and respond to the thread but they are ignored. Only a few though!
After reading I have to do a mantra and repeat.... all teachers are not like this... all teachers are not like this.....
As for pay, the excellent teachers I have had in my life with my kids deserve a million dollars a year. I can't count how many times I tried to get thru to my dd about her grades or that she is so smart that she can do whatever she wants.... and find out a teacher talked to her after school and repeated the same thing, and I was so grateful. She is now in nursing school and making great grades!
But then I had two other children who have disabilities and there behavior wasn't perfect, and then I get treated differently. According to them, It was basically was due to my parenting. Many teachers don't understand about invisible disabilities and just want to blame us. It's an easy way out.
So although the wonderful teachers who "get it" should be paid so much more, the other idiots should be kicked to the curb.
I am just tired of being bashed because I am a parent. I am also tired of my kids being bashed because they are not perfect Suzie, or perfect Johnny who have no issues.
I'm just tired.
BTW I have to restrain my kids too.
Is that vent board here on the Dis? And if it is a teachers only board, why is it accessible by parents?
I do need to vent sometimes, but it is usually done in private, with someone I know I can trust. If I didn't get these feelings off my chest, I would probably be in the loony bin, LOL.
I wouldn't say MANY teachers are like you describe, but there are some out there in every school. As the mom of a child with an invisible disability, I feel your pain. I've learned I have to be the squeaky wheel when I go up against teachers like that, even though that is not comfortable for me. I always worried I would turn them against my child, but if you stay calm and logical, they will respect you for it, and hopefully not make that same mistake with the next child.
As for restraining a child, IMHO it is a totally different beast when it is not your child you are restraining. You have to worry about hurting the child, the child saying you hurt them(when you didn't), or even being sued by the parent. We only have certain teachers who are trained. The rest are told to protect the other students and call the principal.
I can tell you I have almost been fired for a parent saying I did something I did not do. If I did not have witnesses, I would probably be in another career right now.
On the other hand, I've also had parents try to accuse me of all manner of things because their child told them about an incident at school while leaving out a few "facts." What is need is mutual respect. It is wonderful when teachers and parents work together for the good of the students instead of acting as adversaries.
This. Most of my parents have this attitude(mutual respect) and it really is best for the child. I think most teachers have it too. We tend to hear mostly the exceptions on this type of board, because it is a place where people post about things that are troubling.
My son has a writing disability and has an accommodation to use the computer for writing. One day he came home and told me he didn't get to use the computer. I was not happy because I thought the teacher was refusing to do what was in his IEP. I calmed down before I talked to her, thank God. Turns out, my sweet little boy had neglected to tell me that he was typing up and printing out invitations to a Bey Blade tournament for his friends instead of doing his work
I think he had done 10 before the teacher caught on. So, his removal from the computer for that morning was perfectly acceptable. He was asked to do his other assignments and had to do his writing as homework that night.
Oh, and one more thing--for those who always harp on how much time teachers get off; believe me, you would not want your child in my class if I didn't get that time off. It is decompression time. I worked summer school ONCE, and the next year, I came close to losing it quite a few times in the classroom. Haven't worked summer school since. We all have that type of day as parents, but multiply it by how many kids are in a classroom, and it is definitely stressful. Kids can do some really annoying stuff ;-). I can't lose it in the classroom like I can at home either.
Marsha
). This would have put some of the step increases, that are already 5%-12% as high as 18%. How can you honestly say that taking an 18% raise, just because you worked an extra year is fine? Especially when that 9% salary increase would have been placed on the shoulders of the taxpayers, who, themselves were ACTUALLY taking 0% raises and even pay cuts!
They are all over the place and in fact, there are several right here on the DIS. You just choose not to see it, and that is your right. But it does exist.
. I really don't know how I will get it done, but I don't have a choice. I may. be doing it on the playground while the other children play.
