Comments by guppie9
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Posted on May 9 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Again with the insulting comments.
h2os - As if it is any of your business, but I have been off sick the last few days. Probably something I picked up from one of the kids. You know, those kids that parents just dump off at school with a 102 degree fever because they don't want to take the time off of work to actually take care of their child. I had a child vomit in my classroom a few months ago and when I called the mother, she said to give her a plastic bag and keep her in class. Wonderful!!!
James - I have yet to see you post anything positive about anything. You seem to complain about everything. I am sure that you think you know what you are talking about, but I know what comes out of my paycheck every two weeks. Yes, the school district pays a portion of the monthly premium. Most private businesses I know do the same. I don't know anyone who, when asked about their pay, adds benefits into their hourly wage. That is just asinine. Those college classes cost about $300-$400 a class because they have to be graduate level in order to move up steps. While they may count towards certification, if you want to move up with the district, they need to be graduate level. That means that I spend somewhere around $2000-$3000 every 5 years just to maintain my certificate. I don't know many people that have to spend that much just to maintain their license. For instance, I have some friends who are nurses, and they spend about $100 for CEU's every 2 years for their license.
I also love that myth about teachers being impossible to fire. That is just plain bull. Check with the State Board of Professional Practices that deals with license revocations and suspensions all the time.
So again, I guess just like on the other thread, I think I am done here. People like James who are completely anti-teacher are going to keep on posting uninformed opinions and slamming on things. I am not going to waste my time refuting all the false information. People either value teachers and the job they do or they don't. I highly doubt that anything I say or do is going to change his mind on the subject. And you know what they say about arguments on the internet...
Posted on May 9 at 7:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
God I love disinformation.
I am a teacher.
I pay almost $300/month for healthcare - not $26.
I make about $33/hr - not $44
We get sick leave - just like almost every job
I get 3 days of personal leave a year
My 1400 hour work-year is what I get paid for - I would say that most weeks, I work an additional 5-8 hours that I don't get paid for
I have to pay for my own college classes just to keep my certification
The free life insurance that I get is equal to my base salary - thats not that much
In my 5 years in this district, I have known exactly 1 person who took sabbatical leave.
Posted on May 8 at 7:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
James,
I would venture to say that many private businesses offer health care as a benefit. My "tiny" contribution is around $300 per month. I have some friends who work at Fairbanks Memorial and they pay a fraction of what I do for healthcare.
As for everyone else, I would just like to say that this will be my last message on this blog. The vitriol and hatred that is being displayed on here is quite depressing. I can only hope that the select few that are posting on here are not representative of our population. I love my job, I love teaching, and I love and care about the students in my classroom. I get up every morning thinking about what I can do to make their education better.
There are people on here who have resorted to name calling; saying I am unethical, crazy, and out of touch with reality. A wise man once told me that when you resort to name calling in an argument, it means that you have lost. I have done nothing here but post facts about our contract and what life as a teacher is really like. Many of you think that you know better, but probably have never set foot in a classroom since you left school.
You slam public schools and teachers and then wonder why your children are doing poorly. Could it be that the disgust for the schools is passed on to your children? They learn so much simply by observation. So, before you criticize me, take a good, long look in the mirror and ask yourself, "What am I doing to make my child successful?"
I have a clear conscience.
Good luck to you all, and to those who have been supportive, thank you.
Posted on May 8 at 6:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
MEL1776
So now I am assumed to be unethical, nonessential, claiming to be a victim, holding children hostage, and a woman??
Those are some awfully big assumptions there. Considering you are wrong on all 5 counts, I guess I can assume you are wrong about everything.
Posted on May 7 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So I'm curious, do you really think teachers are worse today than they were, say, 50 years ago? Or has society, parenting, the world, etc. changed so much that the children teachers get in class are already at a disadvantage. Do you really think teachers go to work each day thinking of ways that they can screw up all the kids? Do you really think that we are all lazy good for nothings just looking for some handout from the government?
I would submit that if you believe that, than you don't know jack about myself or my co-workers. I can't speak for other schools, but I know that the teachers I work with are some of the finest and most caring individuals I have ever met. I would be proud for my children to be in any of their classrooms.
It is also very disingenuous to compare teaching to other professions. We are not building a house. We are not selling stock. You can't judge teachers the same way. There are just too many factors (I know I and others have said this many times.)
I know...let me put it into perspective. Lets say you have a job...any job. I am going to base your salary on what the weather is tomorrow. The weather has nothing to do with your job and you certainly have no control over the weather, but, nevertheless, I am going to determine your pay based upon how nice the weather is. Does that sound fair to you? That is what merit pay is like. You want to determine my salary and competency based upon student performance on a few standardized tests. (Which, by the way, most teachers hate as much as the students do.) Unfortunately, just like the weather, I can't control the multitude of factors that determine if a student is going to succeed or not.
There have been numerous studies that show that students who eat a healthy breakfast and get adequate rest perform better on tests. So, some mom decides to sleep late and not give junior his oatmeal after he stayed up all night playing video games. He bombs the test and I get a pay cut??? Yeah, merit pay for teachers is REAL fair.
Posted on May 7 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like you really care about your children's education.
Mmmmmmmmmmm....attentive parenting, better education? Interesting, very interesting.
I would love to know where this 3rd grader goes to school where there are 35 children in a class. Must not be in Fairbanks. Even if that were true, you are proving an excellent point. You want to blame the teacher for that failure in a class that big? Lets see, kids in Fairbanks attend school for 7 hours. 1 hour is for lunch and recess and another 30 minutes for gym/music/or library. That leaves 5 1/2 hours for teaching or 330 minutes. Even if there were only 33 students, instead of the 35 you claim, that leaves exactly 10 minutes of "one-on-one" time for each student. I'm curious, could you teach a child to read, write, and do math in 10 minutes a day???? Somehow, I doubt that the teacher won't take time out for "one-on-one" with that student. It's just that there is literaly no time for it. If parents are expecting their child's teacher to spend all day with their child in one-on-one time, they need to home school.
Posted on May 7 at 3:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
AA - Fantastic!!! Every single one of my 1st grade students will graduate from 1st grade this year. Where's my raise???
Hybrid - You should check some more recent statistics. As of 2005-2006, Alaska ranks # 11 in average teacher salary. I would also like to know what this "world-class" benefits package includes. I get medical and dental, which I pay my portion of like most private sector people do. We also have a pension, that I also pay into, that may or may not be there when it comes time to retire. Thats it. Sounds "world-class" to me.
Posted on May 7 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
samiam,
Alaska ranks #11 in teacher salaries in the US.
Posted on May 7 at 1:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
HybridAlaskan and hckywtchr.
I love when people post about things they don't know about. Teachers get...are you ready....a grand total of 3 paid days off per year for personal leave. All of those breaks (summer, winter, spring) are UNPAID leave. Teachers have a contract for 180 days and thats what they get paid for. 170 days with students and 10 days without students (they still work those 10 days, just no students in the classroom). Many teachers that I know have to get a 2nd job in the summer in order to make ends meet.
If you want to compare salaries, lets look at babysitters. How much do people pay for daycare??? Lets go with $5/hour. Assuming an average size classroom and lets say a teacher with 5 years experience, that equates to about $1.35 per kid/hour. That's not counting the extra hours that almost every teacher puts in on the side.
Teachers may not be in it for the money, but as someone else said, we didn't take a vow of poverty either. I still have a family to support. I have a 4 year college degree and must take college courses (paid for by me) in order to maintain my license. I don't think that what we are asking for is unreasonable. The cost of living is going up every year, but the district offers no raise for 3 years???? And the school district says they are competitive.
Let me ask you this. You are looking for a job and one employer says that they will hire you, but guarantees you will not get a pay increase for 3 years. Do you want to work there?? Decent, hardworking, caring teachers are getting out of teaching every year because its just not worth it. No one wants to be berated by the public, deal with unruly students and demanding parents all for a salary that, for some, actually qualifies their family for federal assistance.
This town amazes me. No one wants to pay for anything, but as soon as their house is burglarized or on fire, or their child needs educated, they are the first ones complaining about how not enough is being done.
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Posted on May 15 at 7:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You people....would it kill you to just to say "Good Job!" to all those kids. 10% of the class graduated with straight A's!!!! 20% received a scholarship of some sort!!! Great job WV grads!!!!
On Half of West Valley students graduate with honors