Teachers in Clay to get 3% increase

I am astounded by these arguments! Teachers mold the future of this country, and if you haven't noticed, we are algging behind in the sciences badly. I deal with the same graduates of Duval Public schools, and am saddened for the lack of grammar, and basic understanding of the sciences is so low. Maybe if teachers pay more, they would attract better teachers? How can we compete in a global market if we lose our R&D edge? We can't. We will become dependant on other countries to develop new products. So, there are some incompetant teachers, there are incompetancies in every profession. We allow it to happen. And 3%? Wow, we have nothing to worry about with the economy now, do we? That 3% will make all the difference.

Every year we got to the sales to buy any left over supplies for school and bring them to the two schools down the street from us. We give them to the administration office so that we can remain anonymous. The secretary almost cried the last time because we brought so much. She tahnked us profusely since many of the teachers use their own money for some of the stuff we bought. It was sad.

Welcome to the Real World wrote:

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You are simply describing a job. Most all of us have jobs, with stress, with things we'd like to change and with less money than we probably deserve. The difference is, WE WORK ALL YEAR. I don't give a damn if you leave at 3:00ish with papers to grade. Try leaving at 6:30 - 7ish and then half days on Saturday, etc., on a full-time ANNUAL basis. And that would mean EVERY MONTH OUT OF THE YEAR, STUPID! Why should we have sympathy for you when you have a job which enables you to have summers off. Grow up and stop acting like a cry baby. The rest of us grown ups deal with b.s. at work for much longer hours than you do!

Did you forget about the "nice pension" and "insurance benefits" that these underpaid teachers receive? It allows them to retire early while most other people are still working.
But let's not forget and I certainly don't.
When I was in college, it was a "know fact" to students who were in the field of "education", that their future pay may not be to the "standards" they would like (excluding college professors). But, that's the degree they choose to pursue anyway, which by the way, was "considered" an "easier" degree to obtain compared to many others.
Fast forward 30 years and now the complaining.
I do realize they have difficult jobs, just like most people doing other things.
I do very much appreciate the class room teachers but not the school board...they insult the class room teacher and the rest of the tax paying community.

I stand corrected (on that word) thank you.
I do stand behind my comments about teachers in general. You know it is true. They do nothing but complain. What was your point in mentioning that teachers don't set the hours or design the calendar. Of course they don't! I didn't with my job either, but I knew and ACCEPTED those hours in exchange for my pay. That is what every working person does. Teachers act like they didn't know in advance.

Yes, their job has challenges but they are the biggest bunch of cry babies I've ever encounterd. I know a lot of teachers. That tells me that they probably couldn't handle it in any other area of the business world. Because outside of the school system, the boss would tell you to find something else if you were no longer happy.

I often have to stay late to accomodate customers or complete my job. You mentioned parents expect meetings after work, and you have to stay a few minutes late. My point is that is what working people often have to do.

And if you WORK less hours overall, and you do, then don't whine (that is whining) if it is reflected in your pay check. I'd like to have the summers off as well as all of those other breaks. Most teachers want all the time off plus the same salary as other professional positions. Sounds as if you may be an exception. Good for you. Tell the others how ridiculous they're being!

I have a solution. Forgo the three weeks off at Christmas. Forgo the week off in celebration of spring. Forgo the three months off for the summer. Work during that time, and I guarantee you that you'll see a big difference in your earnings by year-end. Brilliant, isn't it!

I am serious when I say I have never felt underpaid, but I still don't see why people get their knickers twisted over a 3% raise, which is pretty low in any profession which requires a college degree.

My point in stating that teachers don't set the calendar is this: Teachers get a lot of time off, but they don't get to determine WHEN they can take their vacations. I would much rather work through December or even Spring Break if I could get time off in November or February when the cost of vacations is less than half what it is when school is out.

Also, if we want to be accurate, let's refer to the TWO weeks off at Christmas and a little more than TWO months off in the summer. Many districts have now gone to three days off at Thanksgiving, rather than two, simply because so many students were absent on the day before Thanksgiving that it didn't pay to open the schools.

Perhaps some teachers you know "whine" about their salaries; shame on them. Many have gotten out of education because they could not support a family on what they were making, by the way. Most teachers I know complain more about the working conditions and the focus on standardized testing. I don't know what you do for a living, but when I taught elementary school (which I loved, by the way), the hardest thing for me was the fact that there were many days when I could not even get a chance (other than during my lunch break) to go to the bathroom. When I taught middle school, the schedule was much easier, but the fact that my students had so little interest in learning was heart breaking. I literally had a parent tell me that her daughter HAD to get straight A's. I pointed out that straight A's would not be a true reflection of her daughter's performance. She said that didn't matter; her daughter HAD to have straight A's so she could get into a good college! I've often wondered if that mother followed her daughter to college and argued with her professors about her grades.

Gay Butch Guy is right; this country is lagging WAY behind in math and science. That may not seem important to you, but I firmly believe that these two areas are going to determine which countries will be the world leaders in the future.

I apologize for getting off-topic, but it truly breaks my heart to see what is happening to education in our country, and it has NOTHING to do with teacher pay. If you have children in school, PLEASE try to support their teachers, at least in front of your children. When you are openly hostile toward teachers, that feeling is communicated to your children, who will see no reason they should show any respect toward their teachers. This is amazing to me, as I believe that teachers are, after parents, the second strongest influence on children's lives.

It may surprise you that I have even come to believe that the Tenure Law may not be a good thing, because it makes it almost impossible to get rid of bad teachers, and there are some REALLY bad teachers out there. My guess is that some of them were students whose parents did not support their teachers when they were in school.

Again, I apologize for the length of my posts. This is just something I feel so strongly about, and I don't believe there are any good guys and bad guys here. We all need to focus on our children and what is best for them.

I suppose, if I am to be honest, that I should disclose one more fact: I am still involved in education, but I am no longer in the classroom nor the traditional "public education" system. I now work year-round, I get a total of three weeks' vacation (which I can take whenever I want), and I work most nights and weekends. I have never had a job I loved more, because we are truly making a difference in the lives of our students.

Ex-Vol in FL wrote:

I am serious when I say I have never felt underpaid, but I still don't see why people get their knickers twisted over a 3% raise, which is pretty low in any profession which requires a college degree.
My point in stating that teachers don't set the calendar is this: Teachers get a lot of time off, but they don't get to determine WHEN they can take their vacations. I would much rather work through December or even Spring Break if I could get time off in November or February when the cost of vacations is less than half what it is when school is out.
Also, if we want to be accurate, let's refer to the TWO weeks off at Christmas and a little more than TWO months off in the summer. Many districts have now gone to three days off at Thanksgiving, rather than two, simply because so many students were absent on the day before Thanksgiving that it didn't pay to open the schools.
Perhaps some teachers you know "whine" about their salaries; shame on them. Many have gotten out of education because they could not support a family on what they were making, by the way. Most teachers I know complain more about the working conditions and the focus on standardized testing. I don't know what you do for a living, but when I taught elementary school (which I loved, by the way), the hardest thing for me was the fact that there were many days when I could not even get a chance (other than during my lunch break) to go to the bathroom. When I taught middle school, the schedule was much easier, but the fact that my students had so little interest in learning was heart breaking. I literally had a parent tell me that her daughter HAD to get straight A's. I pointed out that straight A's would not be a true reflection of her daughter's performance. She said that didn't matter; her daughter HAD to have straight A's so she could get into a good college! I've often wondered if that mother followed her daughter to college and argued with her professors about her grades.
Gay Butch Guy is right; this country is lagging WAY behind in math and science. That may not seem important to you, but I firmly believe that these two areas are going to determine which countries will be the world leaders in the future.
I apologize for getting off-topic, but it truly breaks my heart to see what is happening to education in our country, and it has NOTHING to do with teacher pay. If you have children in school, PLEASE try to support their teachers, at least in front of your children. When you are openly hostile toward teachers, that feeling is communicated to your children, who will see no reason they should show any respect toward their teachers. This is amazing to me, as I believe that teachers are, after parents, the second strongest influence on children's lives.
It may surprise you that I have even come to believe that the Tenure Law may not be a good thing, because it makes it almost impossible to get rid of bad teachers, and there are some REALLY bad teachers out there. My guess is that some of them were students whose parents did not support their teachers when they were in school.
Again, I apologize for the length of my posts. This is just something I feel so strongly about, and I don't believe there are any good guys and bad guys here. We all need to focus on our children and what is best for them.

You are the first teacher I've known to acknowledge that you get "a lot of time off." Then, you go and want to make a distinction between 2 weeks off at Christmas versus 3. Then you mentioned that you can't choose when to take your vacation. Big wow! If you get 2 damn weeks off at Christmas and 2 damn MONTHS off for summer, must you really complain that you cannot vacation when you want.

Welcome to the Real World wrote:

<quoted text>
You are the first teacher I've known to acknowledge that you get "a lot of time off." Then, you go and want to make a distinction between 2 weeks off at Christmas versus 3. Then you mentioned that you can't choose when to take your vacation. Big wow! If you get 2 damn weeks off at Christmas and 2 damn MONTHS off for summer, must you really complain that you cannot vacation when you want.

Well, gee, when you put it like that, it does sound pretty petty, doesn't it? LOL

I never liked having the whole summer off because my husband was a workaholic, so I usually ended up going in to the school and helping out (not for pay, you understand, but for something to do).