Letter: Who's Hurting The Students
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PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
These days I am strictly 06:00 to 15:30.
One year, I think 2004 I managed to log 700 hrs OT though.
Here is a question, why can't teachers just reuse lesson plans etc from the previous year? My first grade teacher from 35 years ago just retired and in those 35 years she has always taught 1st grade. Actually most of my grade school teachers taught the same class for ages and very rarely changed what they taught.
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fromchaptico
New Member
The curriculum changes every time the standards change (hello common core!) and really even more frequently than that, such as when administration changes, a new program comes to the school system, etc. In addition, the lessons/activities that work for one group of students might or might not work for the next year's group depending upon their levels and learning styles.
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Funny how we are talking about SMCPS yet it appears to me that most of the teachers posting in this thread aren't SMCPS teachers since school started last week and they are saying they are just now prepping for the start of school next week.
So, how many teachers posting here are actually SMCPS teachers?
So, how many teachers posting here are actually SMCPS teachers?
I saw that my daughter, who is a teacher posted on here. It would be more helpful to name which teachers you think are not St. Mary's?
intertidal
New Member
My wife, a teacher in SMCPS, leaves the house every morning to get to her school in time to be first in line when security unlocks the front door at 0600. She's explained to me that if she gets there first thing, she'll have first shot at the only or best working copier to give handouts to her students. She gets home between 1630-1700 after being on her feet all day. Then, she puts her feet up and works on papers until between 2300-2330.
It is possible that in the past, when your first grade teacher worked, the earliest grade lessons might not have changed so much from year to year. Teaching has changed. There is a lot of time wasted on mandated testing to see what kids don't know - when the time could be used to educate. Every child is a unique snowflake today. There are many IEPs and violent children who were not in schools long ago. When I was in school, these kids were in state institutions. Some speak no english. Here's an extreme example: I had the same nun teaching kindergarten in 1959 that my grandfather had in 1901. I doubt her lessons changed very much. We were ruled by fear and physical punishment - something that is not done today.
Many disciplines are constantly evolving thanks to new discoveries. As a scientist in her earlier career, my wife understands the value of keeping up with the most current advances in physics, astronomy, biology, biochemistry, etc. She incorporates this new material into her lesson plans. She is always looking for new material to improve lessons. To a perfectionist, it is never "good enough". Her lessons are completely different this year than a few years ago for these reasons and also because teachers are forced to adhere to the latest fads such as common core - just the latest fad peddled by the education business. She knows that her work to include the most meaningful latest knowledge benefits her students because the most successful ones return after med school to thank her.
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intertidal
New Member
I don't think there are very many teachers with enough time to waste to bother posting here to justify their work, hours, pay, etc. to an agenda-driven audience. Some of us identify ourselves as non-teacher spouses and have far more time to post.
Personally, knowing how much my wife puts into teaching in SMCPS, I'd prefer that she did not see the comments unfairly bashing teachers.
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So not fawning over teachers and having an objective opinion is unfairly bashing them, please point out what posts bash teachers because I think I missed those.
intertidal
New Member
IF the shoe fits...
LOL - Expecting an employer to honor a contract now = "fawning over".
Please post your occupation and employer so we can post our "objective opinions".
Your question makes quite a statement. Although there seem to be many who think teachers have it easy who have time to post on this forum during work hours, most teachers (especially elementary) do not have time to go to the bathroom let alone frequent this forum. Most elementary teachers have actually fewer than 25 minutes for lunch/break. They are on duty 100% of the rest of the time. No doughnut/coffee breaks, no trips to the fountain/restroom, no bs sessions with co-workers about how easy other people have it. According to our doctor, bladder/urinary tract problems are a occupational hazard for teachers and many teachers are on max doses of anti-anxiety drugs. My wife is a co-moderator of a forum. During the summer, she is active on the forum, during the school year she visits it for an hour over the weekend.
MMM_donuts
New Member
I'm not intentionally trying to upset anyone when I say this next point. It is not an insult, simply an observation.
At my college, the education program was where you went if you weren't going to be able to finish nursing, pre-med, dental hygienist, dietetics, and other pre-professional science degrees. It was a very cheap and easy curriculum, comparatively speaking, and was recommended to students when the alternative was dropping out of college.
My point is that some people may have always wanted to be a teacher but there are plenty that just ended up there. Since it is an easy degree to acquire, teachers are decently easy to replace, hence the low pay vs some of the seemingly comparable jobs. Kinda like cops and the military and whatnot. That doesn't mean they aren't valuable, some of them are excellent at their jobs. It's just how our society values that whole supply and demand thing.
At my college, the education program was where you went if you weren't going to be able to finish nursing, pre-med, dental hygienist, dietetics, and other pre-professional science degrees. It was a very cheap and easy curriculum, comparatively speaking, and was recommended to students when the alternative was dropping out of college.
My point is that some people may have always wanted to be a teacher but there are plenty that just ended up there. Since it is an easy degree to acquire, teachers are decently easy to replace, hence the low pay vs some of the seemingly comparable jobs. Kinda like cops and the military and whatnot. That doesn't mean they aren't valuable, some of them are excellent at their jobs. It's just how our society values that whole supply and demand thing.
Does one objectively measure fawning on a scale of 1-10 or should a logarithmic scale be used to strip emotion out of the equation? And we all know about the universality of opinions. lol
SG_Player1974
New Member
Ummmm..... Except for the Classroom decorations...... YEAH... the parents provide it! I spent about $200-300 in school supplies for this school year for 2 kids!
AND..... this is just the FIRST round!!!
SG_Player1974
New Member
I volunteer quite often at my childs Elementary school and I would like to be the first to say that EVERYTHING you are saying here is
I see the teachers roaming the halls ALL THE TIME! Chatting with other teachers, hall monitors, hell... the janitor! I have also peered into some of the classrooms to see the teacher's desk CPU logged onto Facebook, Google, even this forum!
Occupation, I support the government.
Company, none of your eff'ing business because I know people would be calling my company harassing them to fire me. How about you post what school you are affiliated with, think that's a good idea?
Also, if it is just a contract dispute, why haven't the union/association taken the county to court then, I'm sure it would be easy to win the case since it was in the contract. Oh, yea, that's right, that contract wasn't legally binding IIRC from another thread.
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You know, we use to have a saying in the Navy, choose your rate, choose your fate.
I don't recall anyone forcing anyone into the teaching profession, if they don't like it, they can always choose another profession.
intertidal
New Member
Right. If you are a gov't contractor posting from work (ironically to complain about teachers who are actually working) then you are a thief, stealing from your employer and the taxpayers who fund them.
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intertidal
New Member
At least your opinion is based upon some kind of observations that you made. I agree that when I was in college, it appeared that education majors seemed to have it easy relative to those of us in hard sciences. My wife was pre-med as an undergrad and finished with a perfect 4.0. Lots of things change over the course of a long life and long story short, she now teaches in SMCPS. So you cannot assume that every teacher in a public school was an education major that you think could not do anything else. We know many teachers who also excelled in their fields before becoming teachers.
If you asked some teachers to see their CV to see their degrees and the papers they have published in reviewed journals, you might be surprised. The ones who couldn't cut it in college or elsewhere are likely to be the ones who drop out of teaching in the first few years.
You can't make assumptions. I know teachers who had perfect math SAT scores. You would not believe that if you listened to the political talking points of those with an agenda.
MMM_donuts
New Member
Some friends are teachers and I respect what they do. I think some of them could go on to do jobs that pay better if they really wanted to but I'm glad they're there. You couldn't pay me enough money to teach. And, for the record, I don't fault them for wanting more money/benefits. It's natural for professionals to constantly try to better their situation.