"Teachers earn more than the average worker in the community where they teach!"

[proud2BlibKansan]

Have you all noticed this latest attack??

It is part of the attack on the teachers in Crystal Falls. Sadly, promoted right here on DU.

I just noticed it yet again in this video posted by Duer NoNothing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x2N4bDmzdc&feature=player_embedded

And I am seeing it in the comments on my local media following articles about school districts dealing with budget cuts.

So let's think about this. WHY is it wrong for teachers to earn more than the families of the students they teach? Is anyone complaining about doctors earning more? Business owners? Social workers?

It's also important to note that among college graduates, teachers are at the bottom of the pay scale. Last time I checked, social workers were at the bottom and teachers were right above them.

It's time for us to rise up and demand to be treated and paid as professionals. Of course, since we are professionals, we are going to earn more than the average worker, especially if we teach in a low income community, like Crystal Falls.

I have been teaching for 30 years. I earned $7200 my first year. It was in a Catholic school. Five years later I started teaching in a public school and earned $19,900. (I thought I had died and gone to heaven.)

After 30 years I make what I describe as a decent salary. But I am a professional and I earn every penny.

It really disturbs me that along with all the other attacks, we now have to defend our salaries. :mad:

Will the crap ever end??

[Duer 157099]

1. Whatever they make, I'm certain that it's at least 10-fold too little

I don't think I'd survive in that field for more than a week.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I think we should make as much as doctors

I've said that for years. I'm biased but I think our work is just as important.

[stray cat]

4. I agree - if you pay 400,000 in tuition to get your degree and work on it 8 years plus residency

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I have as much education as my cousin who is a doctor

We've compared transcripts.

I have more education than my friend who is a nurse and earns 50% more than I do.

[customerserviceguy]

24. And you need a master's degree in math

to teach calculator math to second graders?

I'd rather those educational resources go to doctors.

[roguevalley]

25. and if it does, I hope they get the teachers they deserve.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. There is no such thing as 2nd grade Math certification

not to mention 2nd grade calculator certification. LOL

[customerserviceguy]

38. I know that

what I'm trying to say is that requiring master's degrees for teachers to teach simple arithmetic to children who still write their age with one digit is overkill.

It's like requiring someone to have a degree in automotive design to change oil at Jiffy Lube.

[Catshrink]

39. You obviously have no idea what teaching entails.

In elementary grades, math is only part of the overall curriculum. Teaching involves far more than spewing facts and expecting children to absorb them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Actually it's far more complex than you apparently realize

If I thought you would understand I'd explain it :)

[customerserviceguy]

41. In other words

if you're not a teacher-worshipper now, there's no way I can make you into one.

Had a good friend who taught science to junior high kids, he was appalled at the teacher-worship out there, he knew he was just another person doing a job, and thought he got paid and treated pretty well for it. But this was out in a rural area, and in those places, people making salaries that big city people would whine about seemed to do OK.

[Smarmie Doofus]

50. Question: The cost of living in rural areas is:

>>>But this was out in a rural area, and in those places, people making salaries that big city people would whine about seemed to do OK>>>

a. higher than urban areas b. lower than urban areas c. same as urban areas.

[Catshrink]

44. That's like saying a nurse doesn't need a nursing degree

to take someone's temperature.

[customerserviceguy]

45. If that's all the nurse did all day

then they'd have a nurse's aide, or some lesser trained person doing the job. I can see requiring an advanced degree for teaching at the college level, but requiring teachers to have masters degrees to teach kids the subjects that the teachers majored in, in college, seems wasteful of resources.

[Catshrink]

46. You don't get it.

You never will. Armchair teachers have no clue about what teaching entails.

[customerserviceguy]

47. And you don't get it, either

Teaching is just another job where you interact with the public on one hand, and bureaucratic administrators on the other. I do that in my job everyday, and for a hell of a lot less than the teachers in my area make, with a hell of a lot less days off.

[FBaggins]

35. A nurse earns 50% more?

Well... that's obviously because of the responsibility. She has people's lives/future in her hands every day.

While you only... oh wait... :)

[Duer 157099]

5. Could not agree more n/t

[Dinger]

31. I Agree

:thumbsup: :hi:

[stray cat]

3. 100,000 over time in NY - tenure I think in about 4 years - excellent retirement plan

guaranteed. Lots of people are now wishing they had gone into teaching according to the NY times.

[maryf]

7. Not this year...

tons of teaching jobs in NY on the chopping block (I'm not feeling secure with 20 years teaching...), back to 30 + kids in every class...great way for them to learn...and they just added another tier to the retirement, not so great for newbies...

[JoeyT]

27. And the sad thing is

the anti-public school crowd will demand teachers be cut back, paid less, and experienced better paid teachers be fired so they can hire cheap new graduates, then five years down the road when it becomes apparent the system they fiddled with is screwed up because you can't teach 50 kids at a time, they'll scream and cry about how the public schools are failing our children and demand more teachers be cut. They'll offer up the literacy/math rates coming out of those 50 kids in a class schools as proof they were right the last time when they cut back on teachers, too. Just like they're doing this time.

I don't expect the cycle to end anytime soon.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. There are hiring freezes in many districts

Not a good time to go into teaching.

[Hannah Bell]

26. lol. they're cutting teachers in nyc. possibly you haven't been paying attention.

or else you're just spewing talking points.

Teaching salary summary page for the state of New York
Salary range (Oct. 2007): $43,362 - $95,285

Average teacher salary (2005 – 2006): $56,200

Average beginning teacher salary (2005 – 2006): $36,400

Median household income (Oct. 2007): $51,944

Median house price (Aug. to Oct. 2006): $350,000

Per-Pupil Spending: $11,546

Cents spent on benefits for every dollar paid as salary: 30¢

http://www.teachersalaryinfo.com/average-teacher-salary-new-york.html

[madmax]

6. Not to me you don't...

I wouldn't want to put up with some of the kids today or their parents!

If it's any consolation some teachers have made an important major impact in the course of a young person's life. I know of 2 who did that for me. I will always be grateful to them.

:hug: Thanks for being a teacher.

[naaman fletcher]

8. It's not the kids,

It's the parents. You can't punish them or the parents come in and tell you that their little billy is an angel and you must be making a mistake. I teach grad level and that's happened to me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. That's unreal. At the grad level.

We have raised a generation of whiners.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. That's very sweet. Thank you.

I love it or I wouldn't be there. And there are many rewards beyond the salary.

[FBaggins]

13. That's just the way the world works

"I" make less than I should... those who make a little more are doing fine... those who make noticably more are rich (likely without justification)... those who make less are irrationally jealous of my success (not realizing that I'm worth more) and should realize that they're appropriately compensated for what they do... they certainly shouldn't make as much as I do when they don't have (insert qualification/experience here).

Doesn't matter who "I" is or how much "I" makes in this case.

[Starry Messenger]

14. That video looks like it's from a website that publishes RW astroturf.

http://maciverinstitute.com/


This "report" on teachers is by a Bill Osmulski.

http://maciverinstitute.com/2010/03/average-mps-teacher-compensation-tops-100kyear/


Google Bill Osmulski:

http://northshoreexponent.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/the-attacks-towards-bill-osmulski-at-maciver-institute-show-why-the-mainstream-media-today-is-ineffective/


Serious RW garbage.

Over the past few days since the MacIver Institute announced the hiring of former WKOW-TV reporter Bill Osmulski, the left and some mainstream media outlets have been trying to attack Osmulski for doing the work of what journalism should be instead of acknowledging him. On Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal written an article questioning Osmulski’s motives to interview Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI-7th) and State Senator Pat Krietlow (D-Chippewa Falls/North Eau Claire-23rd) over a stimulus funded project for the City of Chippewa Falls. This comes after a few days earlier when the same newspaper did an introductory article on Osmulski and had Scot Ross of the liberal One Partisan Wisconsin Now calling Osmulski’s work “propaganda”.

The MacIver Institute went on its website the next day to tell the facts that the Wisconsin State Journal would not report proving that the newspaper is following a trend in today’s media attacking good, hard journalism for spin and soft news. As many television stations and newspapers are cutting investigative reporters due to the economy, there is still a need for someone to watch over our elected officials. A good example is the state budget disgrace in which a complete budget was passed in secrecy without media or public scrutiny shows why there is still a need for hard hitting investigative reporting.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Yes I picked up on that too

But the video appeared to be of an actual school board meeting :shrug:

And seriously, am I the only one who doesn't believe a benefit package is worth $50K??

[Starry Messenger]

17. I can't even imagine how they are calculating the 50k number

That would be $2166 a month in "benefits". Would even a family health care plan cost that much?

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Well a benefits package includes retirement

But still.

No.

I have been on our budget committee. We have to figure salaries into our site based budgets. And we have to add benefits. It's been almost a year since we did our budget but I believe I remember the benefit package being around $10K. Maybe $15K. Nowhere close to $50K.

[Catshrink]

16. I earn half as much as the median income in the community where I teach.

That's with two masters degrees, 7 years experience, and the highly qualified crap. I can't afford to live in the community where I teach and have a 45 minute commute.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. There ya go!

I'd say we should all earn at least as much as the median income where we teach. But I teach in the urban core. I wouldn't be able to afford gas. And I'd have to move. :)

[toolabard]

23. A 1st gen teacher speaks out

First of all, I have been a teacher of metal technologies since 1969. I have taught in some pretty bad environments. Being a machinist/floor instructor, I later got a job teaching Federal CETA programs in high crime areas. I never made more then $10 P/H. I never joined the NEA or any other union. I never got any perks. From Fla. to northern NE, I set up shops, and trained men with grade 7 educations how to be machinists. I have taught over 300 students in ten years. I have been there.
I do not expect applause.
The American education system sucks on every level. Our national apprentice program is dead. One NE state's vocational system did away with their Machine technologies program altogether. Kids in my substitute classes were using calculators in the THIRD GRADE. They couldn't tell me what 2x4 was without a calculator.
Schools are more concerned with teaching kids how the system works. And they learn very quickly how to manipulate it to their advantage. But they couldn't bake a loaf of bread, make change for a dollar, or know that John Glenn was the first American to orbit the planet! Oh and before I forget, the argument that there is just to much information out there for them to learn is a piss poor excuse.
There is nothing out there to grab a child's imagination anymore. They don't want to be an astronomer, or a painter. They want their MBA and corner office. The day Dubya closed down NASA, what was left of the National Science Foundation, died. There is NO incentive from the govt. to really push for a liberal arts education. To many preachers, lawyers, and bean-counters dictate what shall be taught in our schools. You hear more about prayer groups, and football teams then science clubs.
As I see it, the problem is three-fold. Parents need to learn HOW to be parents again.If your going to be a parent, you have to be at parent teacher meetings. Get involved with your child's school work, and back the teacher up when its needed.
Kids need some plain old discipline. If they misbehave in class, they get the paddle.They need to be taught respect. Kid don't have rights. Who ever decided a home was a democracy is an idiot. They have entirely to much gameboy time,and not enough book time.
The school curriculum must go back to a liberal arts education. Kids need to sample the world. You don't learn the world from a Bible. You learn by doing. You learn something in class, and then you apply it in your life. By weaving ideas, and life-lessons into the daily learning plan, kids can put what is taught to work.
As for the teachers, if you went into teaching for the money, you ain't to bright. But there are some who do. They are the ones who refuse to help a kid with a math problem after school. They are the ones who think that they have to put up with so much, and get so little. They pass on kids that are falling behind. Who gives a $hit. They are the ones that get tenure because their damn union has a strangle-hold on the taxpayers that are to damn scared to stand up and speak their mind.
I feel I should explain why you are a teacher. You are a teacher because you have a desire to learn, and a passion to teach. Because you LIKE to teach. And you know how hard it can be to learn. At least that is why I still do it.
As a taxpayer, I get reamed each year by a system that guts the local taxpayer. Our school budget is larger then our total town budget! I sit through budget hearings, and watch all the teachers relatives show up and vote on that budget. They outnumber the poor slobs that are afraid to speak up in fear of their kids getting singled out, and harassed by the school.
And you sit there and tell me how rough it is for you. Horse shit. Try living on $20,000 a year and NO perks. Your pretty union protects louts that act like teachers. They are given raises for time served NOT on merit. The kids are NOT learning because there aren't enough quality people in education to end these abuses.
The time to fix this broken system is terribly short. In your lifetime, the world as you know it will become something you may not be prepared to handle. Between the global climate change, and the end of oil, you may wish you had learned how to plant a garden or dig a well. For that matter, do you think your students will survive without computers? Can they do a multiplication problem in their head?
Look at it another way. We both know the whole thing is about to fall apart. Take two children of age 15. One is from the present, and has an average education for his time. The second child came from the year 1860. He knows a lot about his era. Which one is likely to survive without electricity,computers, or any of the modern conveniences we have today? My money is on Huck Finn.
If you wish to convince me your worth your fancy degree, then lets see some real ideas. I am your paycheck, make me proud of being a teacher again. Your work is cut out for you.

[JoeyT]

28. Irony is fun.

Your pretty union protects louts that act like teachers.

Coming from someone whose only method of conflict resolution is "Beat the little fuckers until they respect my authoritiah!" that's pretty funny. You come across as an authoritarian that demands fawning obedience from kids because they don't have the guts to handle adults. Just thought I should let you know.

Your final "point" is outright bizarre. Take that same kid from the 1860s and drop him off a few hundred years in the past. How likely is he to make it? Bring him to our time and time how long he survives. Don't worry, you won't have to wait long. By the way, the average kid in 1860 knew all of jack and shit. If he or she was lucky they might learn to read. Adding and subtracting they might know in a rough and ready sort of way, but most people wouldn't know anything past that. Critical thinking wasn't any better then than it is now. They did know how to dig a well though. They'd put it right beside their outhouse and wonder why the infant mortality rate was 80%, just like everyone else did. If anything the kids then were more insular and less aware of the outside world. Most kids knew nothing about the next STATE much less the next country.

Your other arguments are just all over the place. "Kids should be taught hard science!" "Kids should be apprenticed and don't need yer fancy book lernin!" "They can't do math!" "Teach 'em to dig a well!" You pretty much spent a page of text screaming at yourself and bitching about unions, taxes, and how those little bastard kids need a beating.

[toolabard]

43. Your reaction is classic

I am not surprised to get the typical reaction of my first post. It was intended to get your attention.
Let's see, from your statement regarding respect for a teacher, ever given one any? Sounds like you have little respect for adults in general, and authoritative figures in particular.
When I was in school, teachers had our respect for two reasons. They knew their subject, and could teach it well. And secondly, we were raised to respect our elders. Teachers were our local celebs. They spoke at PTA and church meetings. What they had to say was important. By your comment, I deduce you find this ethic outmoded. If this were 1860, the teacher was the most important person in the village, next to the blacksmith.
Now about paddling. It is a form of punishment for bad behavior. In all my school years, I never saw a kid get punished that did not deserve it. In the '60's, if you got paddled at school, chances were, you'd get it again when you got home. That kind of punishment works. No kid wants to get hit. They will behave knowing what happens if they don't. Were this 1860, a kid would have been switched with a hickory stick the size of your thumb, THAT was a beating.
The discipline I see today is worthless. Kids know they won't get paddled. They could care less if they get suspended. I talked to a lot of kids who did get this punishment. I was often called in to monitor the kids who were on in-school suspension. They would tell me to my face that the whole thing was a joke.
As for kids handling adults, I could not agree with you more. Adults today have no clue how to raise children. They let their little monsters run rough-shod over them. If kids have learned one thing, it's how to handle parents. The upswing in prescription drug use among children, along with other delinquent activity proves kids are out of control. Thanks for bringing that up, we agree.
Your next rebuke should be a separate topic, however, I will discuss it.
A youngster of the 1800's knew a lot more then his future counterpart. Since most of America was agrarian, any family at that time lived off the land. They grew a crop, hunted and fished, made all of their own clothing. In essence, they controlled every aspect of their life. People back then were nature savvy. You don't have to have a degree in microbiology to know that drinking out of a copper cup gives you a mild antibiotic. They didn't know what that meant, they just knew that copper and silver were good for you.
All of these things, plus learning to read and do simple math, were necessities back then. A person could fend for himself and survive. If a kid from today with the same age and grade level were put into that situation, they would not know how to do the simplest things without electricity or gasoline. The reason I made the comparison, was to show just how incapable kids are today. Unless they take more then one unit of industrial arts, they do not know how to use hand tools. They could not cook a meal over a wood fire they kindled, or build a hut. But they do know how to use all of these marvelous gadgets, as long as they have buttons.
So what, right?
If you take the time to do some reading, you might notice how this whole country is about to fall apart. If you think that is utter nonsense, I can accurately predict you will not survive. As an instructor of a local League of Craftsmen, I get many calls to teach college students and professors how to do things like sharpening tools, re-handling a hammer, and the basic instruction of using tool steel. These people want to know this material, not because it's cool, but because they see what is coming. I have parents that know my reputation as a teacher, ask to have their son take my courses. I currently am booked through the summer.
The last part of your reply is as fragmented as my rant. So let me make some points:
1. I am against unions that protect unqualified personnel,give out raises based on time served and
grant tenure for time served. If a flight mechanic is screwing up on the job, he is either
re-trained, or fired.
2. I am in favor of a liberal arts education. The arts and sciences are very important. We should
encourage kids to read more then play video games. Kids should learn by doing. If your teaching
the inch/metric system, have them use the lesson in other areas of their school work. I didn't
see much use in trigonometry in the classroom until I got to the bench, and had to lay out bored
\ holes in a plate to within .0005.
3. We need to revive our apprenticeship programs. Kids that get bored with most education do well
in a vocation school. My grandson has ADHD and is bi-polar. In my day we called them slow
learners. I started his apprenticeship in my shop before he took machine shop in school. He
is now on the honor roll, and is studying for the entrance exam for the US Air Force. He wants
to build planes.
The rest of your post Joey, makes no sense. People did not put wells anywhere near the potable water supply since Medieval times. But I do recall a bunch from Florida that thought it was OK to pump raw sewage into the Sliver Springs Aquifer (That was back in the 1960's). That happens to be the entire water supply for south Florida. Your right, today there are more boneheads then ever before. I guess your mortality crack does have merit. Back in 1860, nature pretty much weeded out the dumb ones.
I am not anti-education. I AM however against wasting money on the wrong things. Education should be a top priority in the rebuilding of America. It should be paid for from funds currently going to foreign-aid, Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, corporate kick-backs, etc. We spend billions on the wrong things. As one poster put it, 'Keep the money in town'. This is not happening where I live. Our new school was built by a firm from out of town. Not one local craftsman was allowed to have ANY part in its construction. It is now called the 24 K garbage can.
An education is liberty in action. You can choose what to read, and ask questions about what you do not understand. This country is on a course of need to know, and don't make waves. We are dumbing ourselves down to the point where a computer does it all. There are a lot of us who are preparing to go our own way. If you are in the group who think nothing is wrong, good luck. In the meantime, I plan on staying on this forum. A good teacher learns something from their students. I must say I have learned an awful lot from your replies. Keep them coming. Who knows, you may even learn something from me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Dude. Paragraphs. Spacing.

[donco6]

36. Paddling, Parenting and Experiential Learning.

OK. Well, paddling's out, unless you want us to call the parent and have them do it. I'm not paddling a kid . . . EVER!

Parenting - sure, all for it. How that's supposed to happen exactly?

And experiential learning - we have 4 EL schools in my district. But because they can't get their test scores up (decidedly NON-experiential) they may have to be taken over by someone else.

[AwakeAtLast]

20. And those teachers pump that salary back into their local community

But they don't think about that part. You cut teacher salaries, you also cut growth in the local business community.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Good point

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

21. not a valid comparison, if the pool is all workers

when they make as much as the average worker with a for year degree, plus comparable experience that will be a good day.

[FBaggins]

29. How much does the "average worker in the community" make

if she has an MA and 10-15 years of experience?

[toolabard]

48. A workers wage,and their taxes

In my community, the average education is high school, or less. Most workers are either at the mills or self-employed. My guess is an average salary to be $25,000 to $35,000, in good years. I live in an economically depressed area.
What has so many people upset here is their town taxes are more then their mortgage! And the largest item in our taxes is the school budget. The two highest items in that budget is salaries and benefits, followed by special education.
As the depression deepens, more houses are foreclosed on. This lowers the incoming tax revenue. Since the total town budget must be paid regardless of how many people are on the tax rolls, we get hit with very large tax bills. We are one of 4 towns in the state with the highest tax rate, yet one of the poorest.
Many of us see the teachers making $65,000 a year, leave the school building at the end of the day. It's in their contract. They do not have to stay. There are no after school programs. Even though the kids need the extra help.
This is why I came on so strong. As a now retired teacher, I see kids that cannot learn. But the professionals hired to teach them are some of the wealthiest people out of town. That's right, almost none of these same teachers live in the community they work in. You see, they think our town has an attitude problem.
Our area is losing more people every month. People are leaving the area to find work elsewhere. We are also losing businesses as well. The state tries to bring in new business through a main street program. Few firms apply. The reason they point out, is the high school budget, hence high taxes.
It is a no win situation. People here that vote at the annual meetings, grew up in the town, and went to that school. Anyone that makes any kind of critique gets shunned. It is in this climate that one lone democrat has to live...me.
You may not like my writing style, or my attitude, but you must take into consideration how people like myself have to live. The $20,000 I earn has to feed two families. We share the work of our small business I started to get by. There are many people out there in similar situations. And it looks like it could get a whole lot worse.

[Hannah Bell]

49. Except that the central falls district was taken over by the state in 1991, when the town went

bankrupt.

since it's only 1 mile square & 70% slum rentals owned by out-of-towners.

The workers in central falls don't pay for their 7 schools, the state & the feds do.

[Dinger]

30. Excellent Points As Usual

I hope EVERY politician who promotes this shit is primaried an loses!

[Reader Rabbit]

32. How come they never mention places like the Bay Area...

...where teachers can't afford to live in the communities where they teach? A few years ago, there was talk of subsidized housing so that teachers wouldn't have to commute for hours to their schools.

No one ever mentions *that* when they're griping about how much teachers make.

[donco6]

37. Same thing here in Aspen, Vail and Telluride.

Those guys have to drive for hours over nasty mountain passes to get to work every day. Some choose to live in subsidized mobile homes to avoid that.

[AnneD]

54. Same thing with Nurses in these areas.....

and if you are a school Nurse....well you're just double fucked. Thank God I could work PRN-that was all that kept my head above water.

Teachers are professional educators and I expect them to be paid well. This whole wage thing is the right wing trying to 1) get rid of experienced teachers in order to bring in low wage and HB1 visa educators. 2)union busting. 3) curry favour with poor and others to paint you like fat cats. They like to have everyone believe the public schools are so bad that you need to get a voucher and take your kid out to a private or and even better charter school. Then after the public schools have been 'defunded' and 'resegregated' they (business) will have successfully destroyed education, like they have destroyed health care, the airwaves, the regulated banking industry, the electrical, and any other industry important enough to be held as a public trust.

Public Education use to be the glue that cemented us all together. Imagine what happens when the glue dissolves

[Catshrink]

55. +1

[MonkeyMama]

42. I am getting very twisted up over this issue myself.

I am not a teacher - I am not brave enough to be a teacher. It has always appauled me that teachers aren't paid a professional wage and treated with profound respect. I think to equate a teacher with a physician is fair - an individual teacher has a greater impact on society than a doctor does.

[toolabard]

52. Substitute teachers get the worst of it

Dear Monkey Mama,
When I moved to my present home, I became a substitute teacher to make ends meet. When you sign up for this job, all your told is 'good luck'.
I served two districts for two years. I'd get a phone call from a school at 6 am. When I arrived at the school, I'd get my room assignment, and settle in. You had about 20 min. to read over the lesson plan, and get ready for an 'interesting' day. The teachers notes were usually hard to read, lack of penmanship proficiency I guess. Now days cursive hand writing is out, printing is in.
When the kids arrived, the first thing I did was collect all the calculators, and video games. This put me on the shit-list right away. I would use the lesson plan as a guide only. The printed worksheets the teacher left me usually got stashed in a drawer. After one day of handing out these useless time-wasters, I decided to teach my way, from the book, and at the black board. I know it's white now.
This immediately threw a curve at the kids. "What'da mean we have to do math without a calculator!? Where's my worksheet? The sub always hands them out!?" And so on. They didn't hire a babysitter, they hired a 58 year old male teacher that believes in making education fun, strict, and memorable.
I scan the lesson plan for markers. This means, I look for things in one subject that can be applied to another subject. Like demonstrating gravity at gym, or the real meaning of the word accrue in geography or world history. I call on the students to explain how the material in the lesson can be useful in their life.
By the end of the day, the children leave the class room with a few things to think about. I fill out my work sheet, and collect my $40 for 6 1/2 hours of work. I was the most sought-after sub in two districts. I quit the day some punk in a middle school tried to run me through with a very long screwdriver in shop class.
I have given it serious thought to getting my degree as a full-time teacher. Principals from 3 schools would hire me in a second. I love to teach. It is a thrilling feeling to see a kids face light up when they experience something that didn't come out of a Gameboy, and understand it. But, I am to old to do this now. With failing lungs, you treat each day as a gift.
The education system in America use to be the well spring from which greatness flowed. NO ONE can put a price on learning. Yet it seems that it is now just another industry that turns a buck.

[tonysam]

53. You really want to think twice before being a teacher.

You need to read what is going on all over the country, starting with the large urban districts, with the attempt to privatize public education.

The kids are great, but there are so many other things going on that they don't teach you in college.

[toolabard]

56. The cost of education

I really don't care that some parents put their kids in private schools. The two problems I see is: 1. That the private school must still be up to public school standards, and 2. Should the parents still have to pay for education thru their property taxes?
I probably should see what's going on nation wide, had I the time to do so. My business keeps me tied up from 5 am to 9pm. Being an artist is busy work, even in these times.
Let me ask this question. How do you think the republicans will react towards the new standards the White House is backing for upgrading our failing education system? I think the standards are a long overdue upgrade.

[LWolf]

51. I earn more than my poor, under-educated parents.

I earn less than parents with college degrees, and less than local plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc..