Author Topic: Are American posters on this BBS a minority (Read 2342 times)

lukster · « **Reply #60 on:** January 18, 2007, 05:40:34 PM »

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Originally posted by Vudak
Yep. I forgot to mention that.

Shuckins, I'll give you almost the same and thanks I'd give a guy in the military. If you happened to work in Hartford or NYC, I'd probably give you exactly the same one

People don't understand what a sacrifice being a teacher really is.

No doubt there are some hard working teachers worth more than they are paid. Unfortunately for all of us this is not true for all of them and the proof is in the pudding.

Apart from that, aren't most teachers on salary? You can't really say they are only paid for nine months if that's true.

Shuckins · « **Reply #61 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:15:48 PM »

Lukster,

The method of payment varies from state to state and from district to district. In some places, the teacher can opt to get all their salary in nine payments, although WHY anyone would want to do so puzzles me. That leaves the three summer months without any income whatsoever.

When I first started teaching I chose to take mine in twelve monthly payments. Since the Huckster saw fit to "fix" education in this state and force consolidation of some rural schools (the dirty sum*****) the modern teacher's salary covers 180 days of work. In addition, there are two weeks of workshops that must be attended....for a total of 190 days of work.

The proof is definitely in the pudding. The schools are there to make an education available....but you have to reach out and grab it with both hands.

That's kind of hard for a modern student to do because their hands are so often wrapped around the control pad of a video game, or they are other wise occupied with a hundred different forms of entertainment that distract them from their studies. There is far more of that type of impediment to learning in today's world than there was when I was in my youth.

As a result, many of todays' youth are not as well versed in the basics as they were in generations past. This is not the fault of the educational system. While there have been some changes in the field of education that I feel have been detrimental the fact of the matter it is the responsibility of the parents and the students themselves to make certain that they get a complete education.

So every parent should ask themselves, "Do I need to become more involved in my child's education?"

Regards, Shuckins

lasersailor184 · « **Reply #62 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:18:53 PM »

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The method of payment varies from state to state and from district to district. In some places, the teacher can opt to get all their salary in nine payments, although WHY anyone would want to do so puzzles me. That leaves the three summer months without any income whatsoever.

Are... are you serious?

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That leaves the three summer months without any income whatsoever.

You have to be pulling our chain... You can't possibly be serious.

Shuckins · « **Reply #63 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:30:37 PM »

No....I'm not yanking your chain. Arkansas' teachers draw only one check a month. Years ago they had the option of getting either nine checks a year or twelve. Most districts have abandoned the practice, but it is still offered in some I believe.

In all honesty I'm not certain how prevalent the practice is in other states, although some used it in the not too distant past. Anyone out there have any information on that?

lasersailor184 · « **Reply #64 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:34:52 PM »

You do realize that it's the same, right? You're getting the same amount of money whether you pick 9 or 12 months...

Shuckins · « **Reply #65 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:42:52 PM »

Yes...I realize it's the same amount of money. I strongly suspect that ALL the posters on these boards realize that it is the same amount of money.

The problem with the nine month method of payment is that the teacher must SAVE part of it to pay bills during the three months of the summer when no checks are coming in.

lukster · « **Reply #66 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:51:56 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Shuckins
Yes...I realize it's the same amount of money. I strongly suspect that ALL the posters on these boards realize that it is the same amount of money.

The problem with the nine month method of payment is that the teacher must SAVE part of it to pay bills during the three months of the summer when no checks are coming in.

Or, teach summer school.

Shuckins · « **Reply #67 on:** January 18, 2007, 06:54:36 PM »

Not on your life Magee! I needed that summer sabbatical to recapture my sanity! And believe you me that rascal shore runs fast!

Skuzzy · « **Reply #68 on:** January 18, 2007, 07:51:34 PM »

Hey Shuckins, if ya see mine while your chasing yours, would you mnd pointing him in my direction? Thanks!

Shuckins · « **Reply #69 on:** January 18, 2007, 09:08:44 PM »

Sure will Skuzzy. What does the scamp look like?

Skuzzy · « **Reply #70 on:** January 18, 2007, 09:19:09 PM »

Hell, if I knew I would bag the little rascal myself. I know if I catch him, I will be able to identify him then, but until I can, his identification remains a mystery, except to him, which is why I cannot recall. He has it!

Uh-oh,..I think I hurt sumpthin.

Vudak · « **Reply #71 on:** January 18, 2007, 09:29:32 PM »

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Originally posted by Shuckins

In all honesty I'm not certain how prevalent the practice is in other states, although some used it in the not too distant past. Anyone out there have any information on that?

My mother has the 9 month/ 12 month option in CT, or at least she did last time I checked.

Shuckins · « **Reply #72 on:** January 18, 2007, 09:29:53 PM »

Last time I caught up with mine, he was hangin' with Will Ferrell.

I was SO embarassed!

Trell · « **Reply #73 on:** January 18, 2007, 10:09:19 PM »

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Originally posted by Shuckins
lazs...

While I agree with you about a great many things, I've gotta take exception with what you said about teaching.

And for all the sundry who still believe that teachers get paid twelve months of the year for doing only nine months work you must be incredibly thick-headed....or due a tax refund to compensate you for the failure of the public school system to properly prepare you for life in a world that requires coherent thought.

Teachers only get paid for NINE months of work. That pay is stretched into enough payments to cover a twelve month period. Try to grasp the concept. The three months of "vacation" in the summer is actually a period of unemployment. Part of that time, at least for teachers in Arkansas, must be taken up with state-mandated training amounting to two weeks of attending extremely boring and often useless "educational workshops." Since teacher salaries are best categorized as being only fair secondary incomes for a family, many teachers spend the summer months looking for part-time employment.

I often spent my summers painting houses or doing light carpentry work to earn extra money to buy the little niceties of life that the regular monthly paycheck did not cover.

I've laid insulation, re-shingled the roofs of houses, scraped and primed and painted houses for a small pittance of what I could have earned if I had worked for a construction company because selling my services cheaply was the only way I could compete. The one saving grace about that type of construction work was that I did not have to bring it home with me.

The last year I taught in a public school I had 107 students. Teachers in bigger school districts have more than that. I always took my teaching seriously, so I assigned and graded papers after each days' lesson. Six classes a day. I could NOT leave that work at school. Most nights I graded papers until 10:30 or 11:00 at night. I graded papers on Saturday and Sunday. If I went to visit my parents I took papers with me. If the wife and I took a trip to Little Rock to do some shopping I took papers and grade-book along. There was little spare time that I could call my own.

Being a man, I was expected to break up, or attempt to break up, any and all fights that occurred on campus. After one such scuffle I found I had been sprayed quite liberally with the blood of one of the combatants. I've taken knives and num-chucks off of students. I've parked the bus I happened to be driving on a route, set the emergency brake, got out of the vehicle, crawled under it and pulled to the safety of the curb it a first grader who had just crawled under it.

After 26 years of experience and being the proud recipient of a master's degree I had maxed out my take home pay. I was the highest paid instructor in my school. Maximum net take-home pay....$2,200 a month. The wife and I and two sons and one son's fiance live in a double-wide "modular" home. I drive a used Chevy Cavalier.

Total amount in savings after almost 30 years of teaching....zilch....none.... nada.

Three years ago I left the teaching profession and began drawing my retirement of $1,600 a month. I teach full-time, year-round at a juvenile facility run by a private company. The extra money has been a life-saver for the wife and I. If I had not quit teaching in the public schools we quite probably would have had to declare bankruptcy.

I'm sure most of you guys work hard to earn your money. I respect that. So please stop spouting all those tired old cliches and myths about teachers not earning their pay...or having an easy job.

Brother, I've EARNED every cent I ever got from the profession.

Regards, Shuckins

Shuckins , this must be a state thing, back when i was in highschool in the 90s i knew teachers that were 3 years out of school making more then that. I am not sure what the average wage in your state is, but i know every state is different...
I know a techer in flordia her first year teaching is making close to 40 a year, and works 7:30 to 4 every day, she grades most of her papers in her free hour in school..
Im sorry to hear all the issues you had.

lazs2 · « **Reply #74 on:** January 19, 2007, 11:22:57 AM »

shukins and vulcan... I was not talking about how much teachers make a month....I was talking about a yearly salary... I may be thickheaded but you might need to look at yourselves too.

They get paid a yearly salary that is very high for nine months work. A full time salary for part time work... where else does that happen? I doubt that you would want to work construction and then live off the unemployment... I have an idea... you should work for 9 month salary and then live off unemployment for the other three... just like every other part time worker in the U.S. And... if you take another job in the summer then your unemployment would be cut off.. just like everyone else... but... you don't think you are like everyone else now do you?

I also have teachers in my family and we have had this conversation. they act like saints that have been blasphemed about.

They have no real talent that anyone it the world could not aquire... their education and experiance is nothing to get excited about... often.. they teach because... well... it is better than getting a real job with real competition and...

the likelyhood of getting fired... They teach because they are afraid to do a real job. Harsh? well... hiding behind the sanctity of a closed system and never leaving the womb of the school from kindergarden to retirement...

not in every case but... enough.

And yes... I think we should all get our tax money spent on public schools back... every year they get worse.... give us the money as a voucher so that you teachers can't destroy yet another generation.

I know that my ex and I will have to shoulder the burden of paying for a real education for our grand daughter. We don't want her in the system you have created.

Sorry... you aren't saints...you are selfish protected species that needs to be let loose in the wild again to compete.

vouchers are the only fair way.

And... I didn't ask you to work overtime for free... you shouldn't do it. You could maybe spend the hours a day that you do nothing running the test papers through a computer to grade em or read em... If you can't do it in 8 hours then we will pay overtime or fire you and get someone who can. I never seen a teacher who taught for 8 hours a day.

most here have "teachers days" the entire day off.... even in the 9 months they do work they have at least twice as many holidays as people who work a full year... the schools are empty at 3:30 including most of the teachers.

I think it is gutless to have a monopoly on some tax supported and badly run institution and then act like you are suffering and doing us all a favor out of the goodness of your hearts. It is crap. You aren't saints.

lazs