I'm at a fork in the road. Ok not really, but I am trying to wrap my head around what teachers have to do... for free and what the rest of the world does. What am I talking about? Well first off, I don't want to sound like I'm off my rocker, I know the good and bad of being a teacher... or at least a teacher's husband. And you will have that in every job, no matter what.
But anyway, let's start with training for teachers. They have to room with 2 or 3 people if it requires a hotel. Can you imagine? In my time as a member of the armed forces, I always got a hotel room to myself, the same can be said for the civilian world. Never in my life have I been asked to room with anyone, yet teachers do it all the time. Can you just see what it is like getting ready in morning? Three teachers, all jockeying for the hair dryer or toilet. Yikes!
Or how about how many days they get paid for versus how many days they actually work. Now this is bad for dedicated teachers, good for lackadaisical half-assed teachers. I really wish that somehow we could reward those who come in during vacations and holidays, that take their work home and do it over the weekend. But I just don't know how. It is just one of those things that comes with the job... I guess. But think about it, does your job pay you based on how many years you've done your job and how much school you've been to? My job is more performance based. But maybe it is just me.
And what about teaching supplies, my wife has to pay for her own calendar. Seriously, a teacher has to pay for her own calendar? I'm not griping about wanting more money... I'm really not, but it seems odd that a person who holds a master's degree and is trusted with so many kids, doesn't make all that much more than me, a high school graduate, with some Army training. Maybe she is in the wrong business... but I think she is doing what she loves, and she does it well, and I'm not complaining... but I am.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Not Complaining... But I Am
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2 comments:
I never could figure it out either - til I moved.
Here, the State every year in March sends out a monstrous order book to every school district. They have gotten bids on te lowest prices from suppliers. The teachers go through it and order whatever they want - everything from AA batteries thru pencils and pens and paper and crayons thru scientific calculators to welding, paint, and horticultural supplies. we submit the order to the State, and voila! all summer long the order comes in, and I separate it out per their orders. Every teacher gets what they want and need to teach.
Every year we get State and Federal monies for particular classes and purposes - sports and music and art included. The order is paid for out of each of these funds - and we always have plenty.
Now here teachers also get paid a starting salary at $22,500, plus full benefits - and I do mean FULL, dental and eye are included. That may not sound like much but when 1500 sq foot houses, with basements and 1/2 to 1 acre lots, sell for $30,000 to $60,000, it is a livable wage.
We spend a little more than half per pupil than what SC does, and most of our kids go to college. What does that tell you? That there is no upper echelon bureaucracy sucking off all the dough before it gets to the schools or the students. Nor do we have outrageously expensive continuous field trips, hundreds of brand-new buses, nor are we building new schools while abandoning old ones. The old ones are kept in fine repair... some form the early 1900's. Plus we have a tour bus for the teams to travel to compete, and enough buses and vans to provide transportation, home baked bread every day, with a salad bar and in-house cooked meals for breakfast and lunch... even homemade cookies for dessert!
It's all a matter of knowing what comes first... THE KIDS.
PS - our teachers ALL get their own rooms. :-))
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