Teacher union ARGH!!!!

[MM27]

The town that my sister teaches in had, as many schools do, a hard time of finding math and science teachers. So they offered very good incentives if professional from those fields were willing to go alternate route and teach in the district. You know what happened? These brilliant men and women couldn't teach. Yes they had the core knowledge that they needed, but they lacked the skill that it took to get the kids to understand and apply it. Many had issues with behavior and others could not understand why the kids just weren't getting it. I'd love to see some of the people on this board go into a classroom for even a day.

We have districts in NJ that when a position opens there are literally hundreds of resumes for one position. A friend of mine works in an affluent district as a secretary and she said they get a few of those mail crates full of resumes every time a job is posted.

 

[Cindy B]

.

We have districts in NJ that when a position opens there are literally hundreds of resumes for one position. A friend of mine works in an affluent district as a secretary and she said they get a few of those mail crates full of resumes every time a job is posted.

Hundreds? Try thousands! One open application generated 1000 resumes.

 

[Jen414]

Police officers

Really????????? Where do cops not pay for health insurance? That's got to be a GREAT contract. What do the rest of the municipal employees in that city or town pay? If it's a different rate, how did they ever agree to that? My husband's a detective and if we opted to go through his job, we'd be paying 50%. We go through mine--guess what I am--a teacher--and we pay 20%.

 

[declansdad]

The town that my sister teaches in had, as many schools do, a hard time of finding math and science teachers. So they offered very good incentives if professional from those fields were willing to go alternate route and teach in the district. You know what happened? These brilliant men and women couldn't teach. Yes they had the core knowledge that they needed, but they lacked the skill that it took to get the kids to understand and apply it. Many had issues with behavior and others could not understand why the kids just weren't getting it. I'd love to see some of the people on this board go into a classroom for even a day.

We have districts in NJ that when a position opens there are literally hundreds of resumes for one position. A friend of mine works in an affluent district as a secretary and she said they get a few of those mail crates full of resumes every time a job is posted.

Sounds like many university professors I knew.

 

[refrig]

If a teaching position gets a thousand applicants, which is probably true in our area, what does that tell you about the teaching jobs verses the business world? They must be pretty good for so many people to be interested.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I teach 3rd grade in Florida. 3rd grade is a mandatory retention year. Regardless of grades if they don't pass the FCAT, they don't pass 3rd grade. Accomodations for ESE? Extremely difficult to get now. ESOL? After three years, you've mastered English even though the foremost experts in the field keep saying "research shows that it take 4-5 years to fully develop a true understanding of English."

Back to the original meaning of the thread. My time afterschool is MY time. My DH feels the same way. Does it make us bad teachers? No, not at all. I attended a four day reading training this summer. Did I get paid? Nope, not a dime. Did I have to attend? You better believe it buddy. I would love to be able to strike for our rights. We are now 1/4 way through the school year with no contract. My salary increase was a whopping $250 FOR THE YEAR. I make less money this year. When you take into account, inflation I actually make 3% less than last year.

Extra-currics are NOT a requirement of the job. His job is too teach. That's all. I don't do volunteer events because it has ALWAYS turned into free babysitting without a word of thanks. You bought all those supplies and volunteered because it helped YOUR son. Honestly, would you do all that if it was not your child?

Stepping off soap box and preparing flame suit...

 

[barkley]

I teach 3rd grade in Florida. 3rd grade is a mandatory retention year. Regardless of grades if they don't pass the FCAT, they don't pass 3rd grade. Accomodations for ESE? Extremely difficult to get now. ESOL? After three years, you've mastered English even though the foremost experts in the field keep saying "research shows that it take 4-5 years to fully develop a true understanding of English."

Back to the original meaning of the thread. My time afterschool is MY time. My DH feels the same way. Does it make us bad teachers? No, not at all. I attended a four day reading training this summer. Did I get paid? Nope, not a dime. Did I have to attend? You better believe it buddy. I would love to be able to strike for our rights. We are now 1/4 way through the school year with no contract. My salary increase was a whopping $250 FOR THE YEAR. I make less money this year. When you take into account, inflation I actually make 3% less than last year.


Extra-currics are NOT a requirement of the job. His job is too teach. That's all. I don't do volunteer events because it has ALWAYS turned into free babysitting without a word of thanks. You bought all those supplies and volunteered because it helped YOUR son. Honestly, would you do all that if it was not your child?

Stepping off soap box and preparing flame suit...

i am more impressed when someone contributes of their time or financialy when their own child is NOT in the program. We had a couple of 'former parents' (kids had graduated many years prior) at my kid's old school that year after year were still helping out (time and money) to keep the extras going that they had seen their own kids benefit from and wanted to help continue for future students- i found this incredibly impressive. when i think back to the parents that helped out and supported things when i went to school i can only remember one set who continued on after their kids graduated-they were 'band boosters'. when the schools had to cut funding to music they were on the front lines fighting to keep what they could-and their opinions went a long way-theirs was not based on any personal motivation.

 

[MM27]

i am more impressed when someone contributes of their time or financialy when their own child is NOT in the program. We had a couple of 'former parents' (kids had graduated many years prior) at my kid's old school that year after year were still helping out (time and money) to keep the extras going that they had seen their own kids benefit from and wanted to help continue for future students- i found this incredibly impressive. when i think back to the parents that helped out and supported things when i went to school i can only remember one set who continued on after their kids graduated-they were 'band boosters'. when the schools had to cut funding to music they were on the front lines fighting to keep what they could-and their opinions went a long way-theirs was not based on any personal motivation.

We have a lady at my school who was our PTA president for the 4 years her son was in my school. Out of over 500 parents we had 3 or 4 that were active PTA members and they were all officers. Anyway, this lady saw the need in our school so even though her son has been out of my school for 2 years now, she is still an officer (not president any more, but still active) That is dedication.

Really????????? Where do cops not pay for health insurance? That's got to be a GREAT contract. What do the rest of the municipal employees in that city or town pay? If it's a different rate, how did they ever agree to that? My husband's a detective and if we opted to go through his job, we'd be paying 50%. We go through mine--guess what I am--a teacher--and we pay 20%.

In New Jersey Police officers and Firemen don't pay for medical and they can retire with full benefits earlier than teachers can. That's why I never understand when people have such issues with teachers, but you never hear any complaints about other professions that get the same or better benefits.

 

[MrsPete]

You're kidding right? You can't honestly say you don't understand the difference in what you need to know and the training and the intelligence needed to be a Neurosurgeon vs teaching kindergarten! Please.

It's not so much a matter of a difference in intelligence -- it's more a difference in skill sets or personality traits.

My husband's not a neurosurgeon, but his job is highly technical and literally only a handful of people across the country can do the things he does. He is extremely intelligent and well-educated. However, he could never be a teacher. He needs to focus on one thing at a time, and interruptions drive him nuts. He puts in lots of hours, but he doesn't do well following other people's schedules; he likes the freedom to work until 3AM Tuesday night, then work from home on Wednesday. On the rare occasion that he has to speak in public, he breaks out in hives.

I'm a teacher. I can monitor the behavior of 30+ students while teaching today's lesson and keeping an eye on where we should be by the end of next week -- and in doing so I don't forget about the kids who are above and below average. Without looking at the clock, I know what time it is, and I speed up /slow down my lesson so that we finish within 2-3 minutes of the bell. I remember 90+ kids' names each semester, keep up with who's having a crisis this week, and I don't snap and yell at kids who ask the very question I just answered . . . twice.

Who's smarter? Me or my husband? Actually, we're pretty well matched in intelligence. He has a job that fits his technical abilities and his preference to work alone in a lab much of the time. I have a job that looks easier on the surface ('cause, hey, everyone passed high school English) but, in reality, not just anyone could teach. The truth is that either of us is smart enough to do the other one's job, but neither of us has the right personality traits to pull off the other's work.

 

[MrsPete]

You need to read the research and statistical reports. These are teachers that willing leave the field for other "real world" jobs. Not teachers that can't find teaching positions. In some parts of the country school districts cannot fill their openings.

A study a couple years ago showed that three out of five new teachers left education within their first five years -- that prompted colleges to provide more in-the-classroom experiences for their college students (to weed out college students who weren't right for the classroom), and it prompted the school systems to do more to support their new teachers. I think the numbers have improved.

Here's what I see in my area: Regardless of these changes, new, just-out-of-college teachers come in, and it's evident pretty quickly whether they're going to make it or not. They either tend to leave within a couple years, or teaching becomes their career and they stay for decades. New teachers (and student teachers) tend to be either wonderful or horrible -- we see few mediocre teachers.

And, just for the record, we're in an area of the country that has trouble filling teacher jobs.

 

[refrig]

Pretty amazing, teachers are comparable to police, firemen, and doctors. This is the entitlement attitude that the union promotes. Police and Fireman don't make what most teachers make. Most police in our area make 40 - 60K. I haven't seen any comparisons to a mid level office job. They would have no pension, 2-3 weeks off a year, 2% raise if your lucky, and pay a lot more for medical. I just described the typical taxpayer, that's why they have a hard time understanding.

 

[monsterkitty]

Pretty amazing, teachers are comparable to police, firemen, and doctors. This is the entitlement attitude that the union promotes. Police and Fireman don't make what most teachers make. Most police in our area make 40 - 60K. I haven't seen any comparisons to a mid level office job. They would have no pension, 2-3 weeks off a year, 2% raise if your lucky, and pay a lot more for medical. I just described the typical taxpayer, that's why they have a hard time understanding.

I left the fire fighting world 19 years ago and entered education. I took about a $4,000 pay cut the first year. If I would have remained in the field, I would be making almost $10,000 more than I am now, plus I would have full benefits and a much better retirement package. As a firefighter/paramedic, I worked 10 days a month and had two weeks vacation a year.

The pension I will receive after 30 years in education is the pension I paid in to the program - tax dollars do not go toward my retirement. Instead of paying into SS, I pay into the public employee retirement program. This is the same program police, firefighters, paramedics, and anyone else employed by the public in my state pay into. I also pay into Medicare just like everyone else does.

Your "facts" may only be true in your area, but they are very far from reality in my area. Your statements paint a broad picture that says my taxes are too high and teachers make too much money.

BTW, last year we had an 10th grade biology teacher who had left the medical field because he was tired of the high malpractice insurance. He lasted the year only to back to the medical profession because he decided paying high malpractice rates was much better than dealing with the BS we have to put up with in education. He also realized that teaching was a lot harder than he ever thought it would be.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Pretty amazing, teachers are comparable to police, firemen, and doctors. This is the entitlement attitude that the union promotes. Police and Fireman don't make what most teachers make. Most police in our area make 40 - 60K. I haven't seen any comparisons to a mid level office job. They would have no pension, 2-3 weeks off a year, 2% raise if your lucky, and pay a lot more for medical. I just described the typical taxpayer, that's why they have a hard time understanding.

Nobody is 'comparing' a teacher to a fireman or the police. Posters are pointing out the fact that those professions also have benefits which may or may not be paid for by the tax payers.

As far as a 2% raise for the average taxpayer, my twin who is a teacher would love that raise. That's more than they've been offered for the next three years. I work at a non-profit and got a bigger raise.

I've come to the conclusion that some people will always bash teachers, regardless if they have seen the other side. I prefer to support them.

 

[IDoDis]

DH and I are both teachers. We pay $420 per month for health insurance and an additional $40 per month for dental for our family of four. We have $300 per month ($600 total) mandated deductions from our paychecks for retirement and another $30 each per month for retirement health plan (which we will still pay a lot for when we retire). Our health insurance goes up an average of $26 a month each year. This year the increase is $40 a month.

We work day and night, and the night work is not just grading papers. It's writing lesson plans that are linked to standards, showing modifications for students with special needs, preparing cut outs for math, going to the store and buying cotton balls, potatoes, and light bulbs for science. It involves hours of email with parents and the school list and district list-serves. It includes filling out AIP (Academic Improvement Plans) for students who are doing poorly. It includes entering testing data on the computer. It includes preparing for IEPs , making data charts, and doing paperwork for a yearly professional development plan. It involves reviewing student cumulative folders, documenting student behaviors, contacting district people to come out to observe and get feedback for a student who has Autism, calling the social worker to set up a home visit to help a parent get her child to school on time, filing out forms for the counselor, preparing gobs of paperwork for state departement of ed site visits, putting up bulletin boards, spending a week in the classroom getting reading before school starts, coming in over the Christmas break to get ready for the kids to return.... The list goes on. These are things we do all the time in addition to planning, teaching and grading papers and it's NOT done during class time and we are not paid extra for it.

The OP was lucky to have robotics to begin with and if you want it back, you should support your school by finding someone in the community who would be willing to come in and volunteer time to chair the club after school. Why should it always be the teacher's fault?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I understand where the teachers are coming from, nobody wants to work for free, but....that being said, when teachers strike, who does it hurt,,, the kids.

I'm sorry, I don't think teachers should be able to strike. We all have things about our job we dislike, but going into the teaching profession, there has to be things that are required of you, you knew about before becoming a teacher. Like the afterschool things, grading papers, lesson plans etc. Is this not presented to you at your job interview? Especially the afterschool involvement. If not I can understand the frustration, especially if no extra pay is involved.

At DH's job, he does not have a pension just a 401 k . His pay is frozen indefinetly. We have no idea when he'll get a raise. And we pay $400.00 a month toward our healthcare., which BTW goes up every year, with no pay raise.

There are alot of professions out there you are never going to get rich doing. Teaching being one of them. I thought most people became teachers because they wanted to teach. I'm an RN. There's alot of BS that goes with my job too. I don't have an option to strike when things get bad. I deal with it. I knew of the BS and not so good pay and hours going into this job. If thats what you want to do with your life you deal with it.

I don't think its the thing of bashing teachers. Its just there are alot of professions out there that have alot of BS attached to them , poor pay and not so much reward. But we don't have the option of a new contract to make things better, we drudge along.

Last year the school district we lived in (have since moved) went on strike (DS was in Catholic school) The teachers wanted a 7% pay raise and no contribution to their healthcare. They went out on strike for 30 days, went back for 2 weeks, then again out for 2 weeks. Then they returned because they were mandated. This is a community who disbanned their police force just 6 months earlier and had no street lights because the township couldn't afford the bill. Where did these teachers think their raise was coming from?

We have since moved into a new district and DS goes to the public school. I love DS's teacher. He is very involved , has an email , voice mail and book my son brings home everynight to communicate with him, if the parents need to. We have many after school programs, the teachers are invloved in, but the parents must volunteer too. If there aren't 2 parent volunteers per class, it is cancelled. We have a huge parent involvement though.

I certainly can understand the teachers frustrations. I just think that teachers striking is wrong. There are some nurses around here that are still union and yes, when they went on strike I felt the same way. Patients had to be moved to different hospitals. Sorry when it affects a 3rd party, it shouldn't be allowed , no matter what profession.

 

[declansdad]

I understand where the teachers are coming from, nobody wants to work for free, but....that being said, when teachers strike, who does it hurt,,, the kids.

I'm sorry, I don't think teachers should be able to strike. We all have things about our job we dislike, but going into the teaching profession, there has to be things that are required of you, you knew about before becoming a teacher. Like the afterschool things, grading papers, lesson plans etc. Is this not presented to you at your job interview? Especially the afterschool involvement. If not I can understand the frustration, especially if no extra pay is involved.

At DH's job, he does not have a pension just a 401 k . His pay is frozen indefinetly. We have no idea when he'll get a raise. And we pay $400.00 a month toward our healthcare., which BTW goes up every year, with no pay raise.

There are alot of professions out there you are never going to get rich doing. Teaching being one of them. I thought most people became teachers because they wanted to teach. I'm an RN. There's alot of BS that goes with my job too. I don't have an option to strike when things get bad. I deal with it. I knew of the BS and not so good pay and hours going into this job. If thats what you want to do with your life you deal with it.

I don't think its the thing of bashing teachers. Its just there are alot of professions out there that have alot of BS attached to them , poor pay and not so much reward. But we don't have the option of a new contract to make things better, we drudge along.

Last year the school district we lived in (have since moved) went on strike (DS was in Catholic school) The teachers wanted a 7% pay raise and no contribution to their healthcare. They went out on strike for 30 days, went back for 2 weeks, then again out for 2 weeks. Then they returned because they were mandated. This is a community who disbanned their police force just 6 months earlier and had no street lights because the township couldn't afford the bill. Where did these teachers think their raise was coming from?

We have since moved into a new district and DS goes to the public school. I love DS's teacher. He is very involved , has an email , voice mail and book my son brings home everynight to communicate with him, if the parents need to. We have many after school programs, the teachers are invloved in, but the parents must volunteer too. If there aren't 2 parent volunteers per class, it is cancelled. We have a huge parent involvement though.

I certainly can understand the teachers frustrations. I just think that teachers striking is wrong. There are some nurses around here that are still union and yes, when they went on strike I felt the same way. Patients had to be moved to different hospitals. Sorry when it affects a 3rd party, it shouldn't be allowed , no matter what profession.

All strikes affect third parties. That is one of the reason unions use strike action.