What do you think about the TEACHER taking time off for a vacation?

[polkadotminnie]

My SIL teaches in a wealthy district in CT, and has a parent who demands that she CALL HIM before giving her son a "card" (a behavior technique she uses). She went to the principal, because obviously she can't STOP TEACHING to call this parent and say, "Your son just hit another child with his pencil, and I need to give him a card. Is that okay?"

Well, the principal is backing the parent. SIL needs to make the call before ANY disciplinary measure is taken.

That is ludicrous!!! The parent needs to stop making excuses for the child and instead make him responsible for his actions!

 

[refrig]

I guess it's too much to ask that teachers show up during the nine months that they work, during which they get 16 holidays (in our district) plus sick days.

 

[MM27]

I work 10 months and that is what I am paid for.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I'm think some people need to just stop and put on their big girl panties. Teachers are degreed professionals with lives just like you. We are paid for 196 contract days. If you think teaching is such a cakewalk, why aren't you a teacher?

 

[Teacher03]

I'm think some people need to just stop and put on their big girl panties. Teachers are degreed professionals with lives just like you. We are paid for 196 contract days. If you think teaching is such a cakewalk, why aren't you a teacher?

This comment just cracked me up! Thanks for the laugh!

 

[hentob]

We are paid for 196 contract days. If you think teaching is such a cakewalk, why aren't you a teacher?

Well, I am,sure it is because not everyone is capable of tending, teaching, documenting daily, loving and basically raising half of their 25-30 students for 7+ hours a day

(All the while being scrutinized and all but stoned by the general public)

Thank you teachers!

 

[tinatark]

Take your vacations around your time off, like everyone else is supposed to do! There are some families in our school who take vacations during the school year, but most follow the schedule, as vacation time work is to be completed (mostly) in advance and whatever else is completed while they're gone is required to be turned in when they return.

That said, because of my husband's choice of profession, we take our family vacation at spring break and Thanksgiving break (our school is out a week at T-giving). It's busy, more expensive, but because of the career choice, those are the breaks.

Our school does allow teachers who travel over breaks to take a day or so before the break begins if they need it, especially at Thanksgiving, as we get a 1/2 day on the Friday the week before, it's almost useless to get anything accomplished on Thursday or Friday! I think there may be 2 or 3 teachers who take one or both of those days off.

As far as subs and what is expected - I was asked to sub later this month - for a middle school Math/Social Studies teacher - I'll mostly be "babysitting".

About teachers - I know many in our district who get pregnant planning on a due date between Spring break and the end of the year - their FMLA leave will cover them (usually paid) so they get that time off, don't come back until the next school year. Talk about working the system!

 

[basas]

Those 2 statement really chap my hide. I am a teacher who is employed 210 days by my local school district. If you work year round, with no vacation time, you have 260 days. I also give up my Spring Break, 4th of July break, and New Year's week to help other teachers get their paperwork in line unpaid for that matter. Just because a teacher has a 190 day contract does not mean they don't work year-round, either. I rarely see a teacher who works their 190 days and that is it. We don't teach for the money, but for the satisfaction of our job.

That is great, but do you think the rest of us don’t have anything to do except 8-5, M-F?

If you think teaching is so easy and that you get so many more days off, then why don't you go try teaching? I know I can't do it...

I never said teaching was easy

Since teachers aren't paid for the time that they aren't working (summer), then they do deserve to take personal days (that they earn) during the school year. It's no different than you taking vacation days...at least not in my eyes.

You go into the job knowing you won’t be paid for the summer. Because you get that break, however, in addition to Christmas Break, Spring Break and whatever holidays schools give, I don’t think there should be any more personal days for teachers during the school days.

There have been so very nasty and snarky posts on this thread...telling somebody that they don't deserve to take vacation days that they've earned, is nasty in my book. There is also a post a few pages back calling a teacher a 'swine' because she took some time off of school. Calling anybody a swine is snarky and rude.

You call a person who disagrees with you “snarky and rude”. I believe the OP’s question was whether teachers should be able to take time off for vacations? According to you, one answer is acceptable and the other is “snarky and rude”.

It's funny...due to my schedule, my boyfriend's work schedule and my dad's work schedule for this summer, we were able to find a week and a half to go to WDW where we will pay full price for our hotel rooms as well as paying for the DDP. We will battle the crowds and the heat because I have two teachers in my family and that is what happens.

Welcome to life.

I'm sorry for that, but if teacher's have vacation days they have just as much of a right to use them as you do

As I’ve said time and time again, they already have holidays they should be using.

It really is sad that some people have so little respect for the men and women who dedicate their lives to helping these same people's children.

Actually I have a lot of respect for teachers. I just expect them to be teaching.

So that's where that line came from... the parents!

When I hear the kids tell me this, my response is... you ARE getting paid. With a diploma that can help you land a job to feed yourself. Geez. I guess things are only worthwhile if we're getting money for it.

Well great, then. The next time a student emails me or calls me on the weekend with a question... or after 3:15... when I'm not getting paid for it... I'll just tell them I can't help them until Monday.

Oh come on. You surely understand the difference between a student and a teacher.

You know, when ANYONE else complains about their job on these boards everyone else commisserates. When a teacher complains about their job (whether it be due to a student behavior, difficulties w/admin., difficulties w/parents, etc.) they're told to find a new job. What's up w/that!? Maybe I should just write "Get a new job" every time someone complains about their boss, coworkers, etc. b/c I've seen a lot of those threads on here and not one person says that!!!!!

I would tell anyone complaining that they couldn’t afford concierge at the Poly in July to find a new job.

Sure it does. If I'm spending my time catching kids up after absences, I'm taking time away from the rest of the class. And you'd be amazed just how much of my time is wasted on this task! And, no, simply not doing it and saying, "Oh, he should do it on his own" is not acceptable -- it won't happen.

I fully support kids learning material that they’ve missed on their own.

Just for the record, how many absences do you suspect a typical high school teacher records in her grade book? On a GOOD WEEK I'll have only 18 or 20 absences between my three classes. So every day I spend time working with the kids who missed class, providing them with make-up work (often reworking it into a form that's possible to do individually instead of in class with discussion, etc.). Then I spend time working with these kids during my planning period or after school; sometimes they need help because they've missed material, sometimes they need to make up tests or quizzes. But a LARGE portion of my time goes to working with kids who are absent. That certainly takes away from my time to plan for tomorrow's lesson -- so it's grossly incorrect to say that an absence hurts only the absent child.

Why are so many kids absent? You seem to be implying I support skipping class or something? I had perfect attendance my senior year of high school. Of course I don’t approve of kids missing 2 or 3 classes a week. I can understand there may be appointments occasionally that cannot be rescheduled, or illness. For elementary kids, how many times are they going to go on vacation? Once a year (or less). All I am saying is that there is a difference between a student missing for a few days to go on vacation and a teacher to missing a few days to go on vacation.

All compensation doesn't come in the form of a paycheck. Kids are "being paid" in credits as the work towards a diploma. They're "being paid" in information, which will last them a lifetime and allow them to support themselves and their families. Please don't belittle the value of the education these children are earning!

I’m not belittling the value of an education. But at the end of the day it’s the student’s responsibility to earn the grades and earn the diploma. A teacher is being paid to provide a service; a student is there to earn themselves a diploma.

This is a key point, which many people seem to miss! It's foolish to say that rules that are appropriate for students are also appropriate for teachers (or vice-versa).

I agree.

 

[Aidensmom]

There are VERY few jobs that don't offer some sort of vacation time. Fast food workers are generally part-time employees and last time I checked doesn't require a college degree. You are comparing apples to tennis shoes here. I personally know of NO ONE that doesn't get PAID vacation time that works a full-time job. My DH has so much vacation time/personal days that if he actually took any of that time off would work WAY fewer days then the teachers in our district.

Also keep in mind that teachers are contracted for a certain number of student contact days, 188 in our district, yet they have to report for teacher inservice 2 weeks before school starts, so that is now 198 days worked. They have teacher inservice days through out the year and when the students have off for parent/teacher conferences surprisingly enough the teachers are actually at school having these parent/teacher conferences and working, that adds another 10 days, so now we are up to 208 days of work. Then, in order to keep their teaching license they have to take continuing education and since there isn't time during the school year they have to take that in the summer, all un-paid work time AND they have to pay for their own classes. Add another 2 weeks to a month of a class and now you are up to 223-238 days worked, on a 188 day contract mind you. So now you there are 12 days separating your average non-teacher worker and the teacher and considering the average number of PAID vacation days in the US is WELL over 12 days, teachers work MORE then the average non-teaching job. Also keep in mind that the average work day for a teacher is 10+ hours. Oh, and remember NONE of the school vacations are PAID time off for teachers. Teachers in our district get 2 personal days/year, that's it for paid time off.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that comparing jobs was only valid if they all required college degrees. Yes, most jobs that require degrees have benefits.

I obviously just come from a lower class than the majority of the DIS, I do know a lot of people without degrees that have full time jobs with no benefits. I apparantly have awful benefits at my job (as does my husband), because we don't get the number of days off a year that supposedly everyone else does.

I posted earlier posts that said I don't care if teachers take vacations, and I said I don't have an issue with summers off. I'm not bashing teachers. I'm just stating that, yes, indeed, there are people in the world that work 52 weeks.

My mom is a teacher 30 minutes away from where I live, so our economies are comparable. I know how much money she makes, its the same that I do. I work more days a year, and do more overtime. I also have only been in my field about 10 years and have a BA, whereas she has been in her field about 30 and has an MA. Things aren't equal, we both have some things better and some things worse. It's just reality, it doesn't make either one of us better than the other. I get that. But teachers do, unless they teach summer school or have a second job, work less days per year than many other jobs. While I don't think that is justification for teachers never needing any other time off during the year, I don't see why people can't mention that teachers have less work days.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I never said teaching was easy

You go into the job knowing you won’t be paid for the summer. Because you get that break, however, in addition to Christmas Break, Spring Break and whatever holidays schools give, I don’t think there should be any more personal days for teachers during the school days.

You call a person who disagrees with you “snarky and rude”. I believe the OP’s question was whether teachers should be able to take time off for vacations? According to you, one answer is acceptable and the other is “snarky and rude”.

Welcome to life.

I'm only to reply to the comments made that were quoted from my post.

You may have never said that teaching was easy, but I feel like you're implying it due to the fact that teacher's have the summer off. Teaching is not easy and teachers earn personal days just like everybody else does and should be allowed to take them when they want to without the public saying that they aren't 'doing their job'. When non-teachers take vacations, nobody says that they aren't doing their jobs...why is is just teachers people have to point fingers at?

I have to laugh when I see the break schedule for some of the schools on this board. Let me tell you, the schools around here don't get that many days off. Let's see, for fall break, some schools have Columbus Day, Thanksgiving consists of Thursday and Friday, and if you're lucky, Monday. Christmas varies (obviously depending on when the date falls), but it is NEVER a 2 week break. In the spring, one day for Martin Luther King Day, 2 days for Presidents Day, if you're lucky Thursday and Friday prior to Easter, maybe Monday depending on snow days (although we get snow, most districts don't have scheduled snow days) and then one day off for Memorial Day. Most schools will go into the middle to end of June.

As far as posters being rude and snarky, if your child called somebody who he/she didn't like a 'selfish cow' what would you say to them? I'm sure you wouldn't say, "good job, honey!" You would most likely say "that was rude and called for"...that's what I would say if I had children. Name calling, regardless of the occupation is not needed. I don't care if you have a different opinion than I do, it's America, you can have the freedom of speech, however I highly dislike it when somebody calls somebody else names. name calling is rude and snarky, not the difference of opinion. This is a Disney message board and name calling isn't appropriate.

The part of this thread that really makes me laugh is the fact that it went from teacher's vacation days to the pay that they receive...it's funny how it always goes back to money. That is something that the OP didn't bring up in her post yet the thread still drifted there. Interesting, huh?

 

[CowboyCO]

Take your vacations around your time off, like everyone else is supposed to do! There are some families in our school who take vacations during the school year, but most follow the schedule, as vacation time work is to be completed (mostly) in advance and whatever else is completed while they're gone is required to be turned in when they return.

That said, because of my husband's choice of profession, we take our family vacation at spring break and Thanksgiving break (our school is out a week at T-giving). It's busy, more expensive, but because of the career choice, those are the breaks.

Our school does allow teachers who travel over breaks to take a day or so before the break begins if they need it, especially at Thanksgiving, as we get a 1/2 day on the Friday the week before, it's almost useless to get anything accomplished on Thursday or Friday! I think there may be 2 or 3 teachers who take one or both of those days off.

As far as subs and what is expected - I was asked to sub later this month - for a middle school Math/Social Studies teacher - I'll mostly be "babysitting".

About teachers - I know many in our district who get pregnant planning on a due date between Spring break and the end of the year - their FMLA leave will cover them (usually paid) so they get that time off, don't come back until the next school year. Talk about working the system!

I'm sure my DW would love to have you as a sub. She is sick as a dog tonight, but she spent two hours, in between visits to the bathroom, typing up detailed lesson plans for tomorrow. Most of the time, subs just babysit and rarely do as instructed.

My wife had an unplanned pregnancy with our first DS and he was due in April. Well, he came two months early in Feb and was life flighted to another state. Two weeks into the ordeal, DW gets a call from the central administration that informed her that even though scores of co-workers had donated sick days during this crisis, she would not be allowed to accept any, because she had enough vacation and sick days saved to cover the 6-weeks of family medical leave. So she could either return to work or get docked after six weeks if she wanted to be at the hospital with our son or with him when he was healthy enough to finally come home. It was also about then that we got the bill for Flight for life ($50,000) of which $500 was covered under the amazing school district insurance that many people on the boards say they wish they had. Add in the caps for nicu bed charges, non-covered nutritional expenses like breast milk from the milk bank, we were on the hook for over $150,000. On a salary of $29,000 a year.

 

[Daxx]

As far as subs and what is expected - I was asked to sub later this month - for a middle school Math/Social Studies teacher - I'll mostly be "babysitting".

Nice attitude. You've been hired to teach these kids... not babysit them. That teacher will leave you lesson plans to follow and you're supposed to follow them. They might not be the greatest ... but she'll leave you with something and you're supposed to do her lesson plans as if YOU were the regular teacher. Heck, I've subbed where nothing has been left and/or the lesson plans were poor and I've taught. I've had them write an essay about what they've been learning in social studies. Came up w/a theme to have them write about for ELA. I've made them leave it for the teacher and told them it was for a grade. That's not babysitting -- that's reinforcing what they've learned and helps with writing skills. As far as math goes, crack open that book and do the math problems. Done them already? Do them again for reinforcement. Why do you even think you can get away w/o doing anything?! There's always someone in the class who will tell you where they left off and pick up from there. Better than doing nothing at all (babysitting).

If you're going in with the mindset of babysitting, then save that teacher the trouble and don't sub! If you can't teach the subject matter, then don't sub. Believe me, I have left detailed plans (go back to post 139 on page 10 and you'll see how detailed my lesson plans are) for my subs and if they're not followed, I'll let the principal know about it b/c why have someone in there who will get paid to waste everyone's time!?

I don't know about anyone else, but in our school we have to have a week worth of lesson plans and materials ready in a folder and it's stored in the office just in case we are out sick and the sub cannot follow our lesson plans.

PS - snow day here!!!! Yay!

 

[Daxx]

That is great, but do you think the rest of us don’t have anything to do except 8-5, M-F?

Nobody has 8-5 jobs and everyone takes work home. Big deal. Do you have to pay for $300 seminars that are mandated by your school out of your own pocket and not be reimbursed for them while attending them during your unpaid vacation time and NOT get paid for that week you've spent working and learning for your school? No -- my guess is that any seminars your boss wants you to attend are paid for by the company and you're paid to go. Sure, I get paid for my time teaching in the classroom. I DO NOT get paid for attending mandatory seminars during my unpaid vacation time ... and to boot, have to pay for them. I am working one week (or more, depending) and not getting paid for it.

I would tell anyone complaining that they couldn’t afford concierge at the Poly in July to find a new job.

Yeah ... you're quoting the wrong person here ... I never posted about the Poly. Hell, I've never stayed at the Poly. I can't afford Poly conceirge at ANY time peak or non-peak. All Stars are our resort of choice, thankyouverymuch. Next time, use the correct quote w/the correct poster. I believe that was:

I make so much money as a teacher that I can afford the Poly concierge with a Disney view during high season when my holidays occur.

I fully support kids learning material that they’ve missed on their own.

Yeah, and a Kdg. or 1st grader is capable of doing that?! No ... they need ME to help them and guide them.

When you go on vaca. someone else fills in for you, right? A coworker picks up the slack, a temp comes in. Same thing here -- we call them substitute teachers.

You are paid to work X amount of days. I am paid to work X amount of days. I have personal days and sick days. You have personal days and sick days. So what if I use one stinking personal day to extend a weekend to go to WDW. My personal time is for how I need to use it!!!!!!

 

[mickeysgal]

When you go on vaca. someone else fills in for you, right? A coworker picks up the slack, a temp comes in. Same thing here -- we call them substitute teachers.

But I'm not sure any slack gets picked up when there is a sub.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard any one of my kids say "no homework we had a sub today" or "we watched a movie - we had a sub" or "we didn't do anything, we had a sub". From elementary school to high school, it's been the same answer. It's crazy. I wish there was better control over the classroom material when a sub has to step in. And yes, many times it does become nothing more than babysitting a class. We've been in three different school districts (two states) yet the sub situation is always the same. It's frustrating.

Now that is not to say that a teacher should never, ever have a day off - whether it's to take care of themselves when they're sick, when their own child is sick, etc. I don't think folks would be as passionate about whether a teacher is missing class for whatever reason it may be if the material being covered gets covered as effectively as if the teacher was there. What difference would it make who was teaching the class as long as the class got taught? But, in my now 15 years of having children in school, I haven't seen that to be the case. This is where I, as a parent, see the greatest need for improvement.

 

[babieemelly]

You go into the job knowing you won’t be paid for the summer. Because you get that break, however, in addition to Christmas Break, Spring Break and whatever holidays schools give, I don’t think there should be any more personal days for teachers during the school days.

As I’ve said time and time again, they already have holidays they should be using.

Actually I have a lot of respect for teachers. I just expect them to be teaching.

This is one of the saddest posts on here. Like I said, it's sad that you have so little respect for the people who dedicate their lives to YOUR children. I don't know whether or not you personally have children, but if you do I'd actually feel sorry for them when it comes to their education. With you having this kind of attitude towards teachers there's no way your kids would respect teachers either, and there's no way they'd be able to learn without that respect.

YOU got into YOUR job knowing that you would only have a certain amount of days available to you to take off. Maybe you should have gone into teaching so you wouldn't be so bitter about the teaching schedule? That being said, a teacher using their PERSONAL days for a break every now and then isn't "not teaching," as you imply. A good teacher knows how to prepare their students to function without them for a few days. And as a previous poster stated, we're talking about people here, not robots. Everyone needs a day off every now and then and if you have the days to use, USE THEM. Not all holidays for the kids are holidays for the teachers - most of them are clerical days where you still do a lot of work, go to meetings and workshops, plan school activities, etc.

That being said, don't tell people what to do, or what they should be doing. That's like me telling you that you better never take off because you have national holidays and the weekends off and you don't need any more than that. How dare you use your earned days off, I have no respect for you! If you said that to anyone else they'd be APPALLED, yet a lot of people seem to think that these kinds of statements are acceptable when it comes to teacher. It's very sad and very frustrating.

Nice attitude. You've been hired to teach these kids... not babysit them. That teacher will leave you lesson plans to follow and you're supposed to follow them.

Exactly. How could you accuse someone of having a baby to "work the system" and then admit that all you plan on doing is sitting back and "babysitting." Some of these comments just don't make sense.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

But I'm not sure any slack gets picked up when there is a sub.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard any one of my kids say "no homework we had a sub today" or "we watched a movie - we had a sub" or "we didn't do anything, we had a sub". From elementary school to high school, it's been the same answer. It's crazy. I wish there was better control over the classroom material when a sub has to step in. And yes, many times it does become nothing more than babysitting a class. We've been in three different school districts (two states) yet the sub situation is always the same. It's frustrating.

The real problem lies with the particular sub, not the teacher. The teacher gives notification or calls in sick, the school district gets the sub. If that sub doesn't follow the plans or just shows a movie, that is not the teachers fault (especially if there were plans in place). I've seen my sister do plans when she is really sick, just in case she doesn't feel better by the next day to go to school. That way, her kids will still have a productive day.

I think the blame should lie on the bad subs (there are plenty of GREAT subs out there), not the teacher. Everybody deserves a day off (if they've earned it) with no questions asked.

 

[Todd&Copper]

It is obvious that the teachers don't want ANYONE to have a differeing opinion - why is anyone even bothering to argue anymore? No one will be enlightened because neither side is conceding any points at all to the other.

 

[babieemelly]

It is obvious that the teachers don't want ANYONE to have a differeing opinion - why is anyone even bothering to argue anymore? No one will be enlightened because neither side is conceding any points at all to the other.

It has nothing to do with opinions. It has to do with the fact that some people think that they own the lives of teachers and have the right to tell them what they can and can't do. If your "opinion" is that I should never, ever take a day off because I'm a teacher then that's a pretty hypocritical opinion, don't you think? I would never tell anyone not to use their earned days off, regardless of their field of work. Who am I to tell people what to do with their own careers, and who are you to do the same?!

 

[golfgal]

It is obvious that the teachers don't want ANYONE to have a differeing opinion - why is anyone even bothering to argue anymore? No one will be enlightened because neither side is conceding any points at all to the other.

Fine, I am not a teacher but I will concede a point, you tell the teachers when they can take their vacations then they get to tell you when you get to take your vacation--your kids can't get out of school that week, oh, too bad, you have to go then anyway so the kids have to stay home.

 

[mickeysgal]

The real problem lies with the particular sub, not the teacher. The teacher gives notification or calls in sick, the school district gets the sub. If that sub doesn't follow the plans or just shows a movie, that is not the teachers fault (especially if there were plans in place). I've seen my sister do plans when she is really sick, just in case she doesn't feel better by the next day to go to school. That way, her kids will still have a productive day.

I think the blame should lie on the bad subs (there are plenty of GREAT subs out there), not the teacher. Everybody deserves a day off (if they've earned it) with no questions asked.

You just can't assume that because a teacher leaves a plan that it's going to be used and used correctly.

Actually, I feel that the problem lies with the school district. It is up to them to make sure that the subs they utilize provide a seamless transition in regards to the material being taught in class. If they could provide a math sub to teach a Calculus class, then great. But don't send in just any sub to fill the spot. Just any sub off the list, even with a plan, can't necessarily teach an AP Euro class. Don't send someone in as a music instructor if they have no music experience. Otherwise, even if the teacher went to the trouble of leaving detailed plans, the day(s) goes down the tubes as nothing gets accomplished or minimal progress is made because the sub simply wasn't qualified to teach that subject.

Now granted, a day or two without the teacher isn't going to have an overall major impact in the overall scheme of things. But in the case of the teacher being out a week or two for whatever reason and also in the case of high schools that have block scheduling, this kind of loss of time is major to the course work.