They have entered into a contract for X number of days or hours or whatever. That is all they are required to work to fulfill their obligation. If you want them to work year round then amend the contract. I don't think thats a bad idea by the way, but as long as the contract reads as it does then that is all we can expect of them

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

Have you ever taught?

What is it that you propose they need to DO more of?

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Life is too short for endless patience.

I sat here and read everyone's post and I tell you what A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT! Look at how teachers are viewed because of some shitty ones and the fact that they have had their hands tied behind their backs becuase of some fucken bleeding heart liberals. Give them back the right to paddle the kids and lay down the law in their classroom. Have the parents teach thier kids to fucken mind and have closed campus with a metal detector and a couple of guards. Now the teachers would feel safe and would have the power they once did not they will start teaching and it will attract a higher caliber of teachers. And you talk about their pay, huh log the actual hours they put in not only at school but the hours at home grading papers and working on the next lesson / lessons etc. etc.. Now figure their hours and pay. Now a lot of teachers work more than 40 hours a week. Hell most work more than that correcting papers after school etc. etc. so a 40 hours a week that means they make 25 dollars an hour not to bad. But they don't work 40 hours a week more like 50 60 hours with all the crap they have to do after school and at home that relates to their job as a teacher. so lets say 60 hours that takes that down to about 16 dollars an hour. I think it in our best interest to pay those who are directly affecting the future of our children better than we are. Now you don't have to raise taxes you just have to boot the school board etc. It is kind of like ambulaces not very smart paying min wage to people that save peoples lives. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm we are ass backwards in this country and wonder why our kids are stupid as hell and more and more are living at home or working at god damn burger king or on welfare. We use to let them do their job and leave it at their discreation and repect the teacher now look how we treat them and still expect performance and results. Wow don't give me the ped bullshit becasue ya it is bad but on a percentage it constitutes less than 1% of teachers in this country so give me a fucken brake on that.

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When you came into this world you cried.
Live your life so that when you die.
The world cries. the shadow

Thanks for saying something positive about teachers.

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Thoughts of you....

"The stars abound in this beautiful night,
"The clouds so moving in wonderous light,
"If a rose could say,
"Have a good day,
"This would be the night.........

PUBLIK EDUKASHUNAL SISTOMS suck when compared to private schooling in every which way you care to compare...

Oh, and they do it for a much cheaper price per child!



When your employees are required to work only 1270 hours per year but that number can be reduced with sicktime and vacation and personal days by up to 70 hours without less pay or benefits what can you really expect of them?

It's a sweet assed deal for a part time job! I would absolutely LOVE to have apart time job for that kind of money plus benefits and WHOOOAA! the retirement!!!!

Retire young, having worked only half the hours of other retirees around you but probably still have a better retirement. Oh, and you even get to choose when you want to retire instead of being forced to leave thanks to tenure and the fact nobody holds you accountable like real companies with quotas, evaluations do.

There are definitely negatives in the public school system........no doubt.

If you think it is such a great deal, may I suggest you go to work in one of our lovely inner city school districts like Detroit. Give me a full report if you come back.

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Thoughts of you....

"The stars abound in this beautiful night,
"The clouds so moving in wonderous light,
"If a rose could say,
"Have a good day,
"This would be the night.........

I believe there are some dedicated public school teachers. However, I think they burn out very quickly, just as you have. I put part of the blame on the teacher's union which seems to stress more more more more money for teachers while requiring them to do less and less.

Originally, I was going for a teaching degree from the University of Maryland in the 1970's. I was enrolled in the College of Education and wanted to be a social studies teacher in high school. I quickly learned that (1) I would not be allowed to carry a gun in inner city schools and (2) I would not be able to teach in a conservative mindset. The money was not an issue in all honesty. So, I decided to go into transportation instead. I was influenced by Dagny Taggart and have not regretted that decision.

I don't hold many teachers in high esteem any longer and maybe that is unfair. Perhaps its not the teachers, but the system itself. Either way, I don't see our public school system as do the job we are paying for.

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

The current system is no doubt broken. When competent and hard working folks go into teaching, they are usually lured away to other endeavours. They get burnt out while dealing with the politics and lack of respect. Personally, I had zero use for the teachers' union. It cost me $840 a year in dues.........for what? I'm not sure.

If I ever went back to teaching full-time, it would probably be in a parochial school setting. The pay and benefits are less, but the teachers have way more support from the parents, and when little Timmy acts like an "a-hole" there are consequences (unlike the current crap going on in the public schools).

Currently, I'm content being a mom. Best job in the world. I enjoy teaching speaking/listening to adults two nights a week. I don't pay union dues, and teaching adults is much easier and satisfying.

I respect your criticisms of the current state of education. They are fair critiques. I just caution those commenting on this thread not to generalize. Unless you've been a teacher, you have NO idea the challenges they face. I've worked in the business world as well, and believe me, teaching is not desirable (even with all the time off) compared to the perks of the private sector.

__________________
Thoughts of you....

"The stars abound in this beautiful night,
"The clouds so moving in wonderous light,
"If a rose could say,
"Have a good day,
"This would be the night.........

I think one of the absolute major problems today is the lack of support from the parents for anything. I blame liberalism for much of this. People are constantly being told "Its not little Johnny's fault, its the fault of society, of the system, of everything and everybody other than little Johnny" People won't accept responsibility for thier own actions any more. They will not allow discipline in the class room beyond the Ben Stein mold in "Ferris Bueller" when he would just continue repeating the students name. My sister in law is in the California school system (she is admin, not a teacher). She told us of one student who would just get up and walk out of the class room and leave the school grounds (this is elementary school). The mother told the school it was ok to restrain the child. The father, divorced from the mother and doing everything possible to hurt the mother, refused to allow it. The school had to hire an aid just to watch over this one child. How does that help anyone?

There are several women in my Sunday School class who are teachers in Cocke County TN. They all say the discipline is non existant and there is no assistance from the school board or the parents. Cocke County is a small rural very very conservative county (Ronald Reagan was too far to the left for these folks) yet the same mindset of the larger anarchic cities prevails here as well. For 90% of the parents, hey beat my kid with a broom if he needs it. The 10% who will not allow discipline of any sort destroy any possibility of educating our children.

While this is not directly the teachers fault it is the fault of the liberal feel good, don't hurt the self esteem, philosophy that prevails today.

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

>>>>I had the good sense to do that a long time ago. Did my student teaching and then taught one year. 35 kids/class, 5 classes/day - ain't no frigging way.