Do teachers "really" have it that bad???

[YukonGlocker]

Yes - it was so great that my wife quit teaching after 10 years to go back to school for her Bachelor's in nursing. She was sick of watching her husband with a HS diploma make double her salary. She was irritated to talk to a girl that helped at the school with an Associates degree in nursing, who was working 36 hours a week as a nurse and making more than twice her salary. She was sick of spending sh*t loads of time at home planning for classes, showing up a good three weeks before school (you know, on that endless summer break she got) to rebuild her classroom after it was dismantled after every school year. She so enjoyed those who put their kids in school as a day care, as they clearly weren't ready to be in school yet (daily pants-sh*tting and wetting). She got to enjoy the spoils of our legal system, who insist that ALL students have the right to the same education, including the ones who hit, bite, try to stab others with pencils, flip desks, and these kids are regular regulars to this behavior - and because they deserve this right, can't be culled from the class that they are disrupting. Just the daily call to the counselor, and off to the Principal's office, only to be right back the next morning. Then there is the warm, fuzzy feeling of spending part of that whopping $33,000 a year (and that's after starting at $30,000 ten years earlier) to buy school supplies that our worthless public school system can't afford, and that worthless parents just figure drops from the sky when butterball needs pencils, crayons, paper, and every other damned thing under the sun.

Yes - the public school system is a dismal failure. But I will no longer have to hear about it first hand, as we'll leave all of the fun that is being a public school teacher to the poor souls who haven't escaped yet, or who are naive enough to be entering the field.

well said

 

[sh00ter]

Well I want to be clear that I am not attacking them; if the ones who have been doing ti awhile need more then I would acknowledge that. But I would think a teacher with 10+ yrs on the job would be making 45-55kish...for the 3 months off, thing that isn't too bad. But if you are 24yrs old and still single and making 32k as a teacher, I don't feel as sorry for you. If a 40yo teacher isn't making over 45k then maybe there is a problem. But again, 2-3 months off work with the optional opportunity to earn more income doing a summer job seems like a perk if you a truly teaching to follow you passion?

 

[Pokinfun]

If I was not retired from the military, there is no way my wife and I could both be teachers.

From another post off-topic dicussing teacher salaries:



Working 9 months out of the year, their salaries would translate to market levels if you add in the other 3 months they would be earning in another job that was 12 months per year. Maybe I "just don't get it" but every time there is extra money it seems to go to the teachers and the perk of having the summer off is overlooked. My aunt & uncle are retired teachers (one was a principle by the time he retired) and they lived better than I do looking back...they had a lake place in their early 30's, bass boats, 4wd, nicer house than I lived in by the time they were late 30's and that was with 2 kids...Now in retirement they live a dream at 2 separate lake homes...I do remember my uncle used to trade and do odd jobs for extra money sometimes in the summer when he'd go up to the lake place to fix it up and stuff, but that couldn't account for the majority of how they were able to live...all the other teachers I knew were females, married to a men who made more than them so they also lived well...is it really that economically bad for tenured teachers who are in their 30's & 40's & 50's these days?

Again, I'm not being cold but considering the other state employees haven't had a raise in like 10yrs or more and they work 12 months, I just hear about how bad teachers have it like I constantly hear about global warming...if all the noise is for the single, 22yo punks right outta college whining about not making a lot of money then they should have picked another field...if a married teacher who is say 40 is making 25k or something, well then of course I'd think they needed a good raise. I think my uncle was making close to 100k or so by himself when he retired from teaching more than 10yrs ago (maybe even closer to 15yrs)...add in the aunt's salary and of course the 9months thing and the pension plan that pays out every montht he rest of their lives and I'd say they didn't get such a bad deal/life...educate me if I am off-base.

 

[Glock 'em down]

Tru dat.

Teaching is a love of the game profession just like LE, EMS and fire.

I didn't get into this business for the money. Yet, after 28 years on the job, I'm sick and damned tired of it.

 

[coolhandluke]

Well I want to be clear that I am not attacking them; if the ones who have been doing ti awhile need more then I would acknowledge that. But I would think a teacher with 10+ yrs on the job would be making 45-55kish...for the 3 months off, thing that isn't too bad. But if you are 24yrs old and still single and making 32k as a teacher, I don't feel as sorry for you. If a 40yo teacher isn't making over 45k then maybe there is a problem. But again, 2-3 months off work with the optional opportunity to earn more income doing a summer job seems like a perk if you a truly teaching to follow you passion?

55k at a public school in OK is laughable. My wife is a department head in her 12th year teaching and makes nearly 10k-20k less than the figures that you quoted...at one of the higher paying districts in central OK.

 

[deerwhacker444]

Well I want to be clear that I am not attacking them; if the ones who have been doing ti awhile need more then I would acknowledge that. But I would think a teacher with 10+ yrs on the job would be making 45-55kish...for the 3 months off, thing that isn't too bad.

Upon retiring, both my folks had their Masters degrees and 30+ years, they never touched 45k. The money simply isn't available in rural Oklahoma. That's one reason why Oklahoma's 2016 Teacher of the Year just got hired in Texas.

 

[coolhandluke]

well said

+1

 

[SlugSlinger]

I know exactly what you are taking about. My wife taught for about 20 years for a major school system. When she quit to stay home with our daughter, we really didn't miss the income. Probably because we lived within our means and didn't over leverage our finances.
The thing is, teachers know what they are going to be making. It's not a surprise and no one is forcing them to go into that profession. If the education was market driven, it would already have corrected itself.

Yes - it was so great that my wife quit teaching after 10 years to go back to school for her Bachelor's in nursing. She was sick of watching her husband with a HS diploma make double her salary. She was irritated to talk to a girl that helped at the school with an Associates degree in nursing, who was working 36 hours a week as a nurse and making more than twice her salary. She was sick of spending sh*t loads of time at home planning for classes, showing up a good three weeks before school (you know, on that endless summer break she got) to rebuild her classroom after it was dismantled after every school year. She so enjoyed those who put their kids in school as a day care, as they clearly weren't ready to be in school yet (daily pants-sh*tting and wetting). She got to enjoy the spoils of our legal system, who insist that ALL students have the right to the same education, including the ones who hit, bite, try to stab others with pencils, flip desks, and these kids are regular regulars to this behavior - and because they deserve this right, can't be culled from the class that they are disrupting. Just the daily call to the counselor, and off to the Principal's office, only to be right back the next morning. Then there is the warm, fuzzy feeling of spending part of that whopping $33,000 a year (and that's after starting at $30,000 ten years earlier) to buy school supplies that our worthless public school system can't afford, and that worthless parents just figure drops from the sky when butterball needs pencils, crayons, paper, and every other damned thing under the sun.

Yes - the public school system is a dismal failure. But I will no longer have to hear about it first hand, as we'll leave all of the fun that is being a public school teacher to the poor souls who haven't escaped yet, or who are naive enough to be entering the field.

 

[Honey Badger]

From another post off-topic dicussing teacher salaries:



Working 9 months out of the year, their salaries would translate to market levels if you add in the other 3 months they would be earning in another job that was 12 months per year. Maybe I "just don't get it" but every time there is extra money it seems to go to the teachers and the perk of having the summer off is overlooked. My aunt & uncle are retired teachers (one was a principle by the time he retired) and they lived better than I do looking back...they had a lake place in their early 30's, bass boats, 4wd, nicer house than I lived in by the time they were late 30's and that was with 2 kids...Now in retirement they live a dream at 2 separate lake homes...I do remember my uncle used to trade and do odd jobs for extra money sometimes in the summer when he'd go up to the lake place to fix it up and stuff, but that couldn't account for the majority of how they were able to live...all the other teachers I knew were females, married to a men who made more than them so they also lived well...is it really that economically bad for tenured teachers who are in their 30's & 40's & 50's these days?

Again, I'm not being cold but considering the other state employees haven't had a raise in like 10yrs or more and they work 12 months, I just hear about how bad teachers have it like I constantly hear about global warming...if all the noise is for the single, 22yo punks right outta college whining about not making a lot of money then they should have picked another field...if a married teacher who is say 40 is making 25k or something, well then of course I'd think they needed a good raise. I think my uncle was making close to 100k or so by himself when he retired from teaching more than 10yrs ago (maybe even closer to 15yrs)...add in the aunt's salary and of course the 9months thing and the pension plan that pays out every montht he rest of their lives and I'd say they didn't get such a bad deal/life...educate me if I am off-base.

First of all, we work more than that. Our contracts are actually done annually. Most of us spend 2-3 hours per night grading papers, or preparing for labs and lessons for the following day or week. Having said that I'll wager a lot of other professions honestly cannot say the same.

Secondly, I don't teach because of the great pay, or the vacation time. I teach because I love Science and love working with kids. A point a lot of people don't understand.

Most importantly, is that the minimal amount that is paid to teachers in our state is causing a lot of good ones to leave and go elsewhere where they will be paid more. Their motivation is their own and none of my business. But it is costing the students;(the most important part of the job), the chance at above board education.

People who are not police officers are always sure they can do it better. People who are not the president are always sure they can do it better. People who don't have kids are always experts on how to raise them. People who aren't coaches can always tell you how to win a championship.

My point?????? If you can do it better, then by all means get the degree and do it. Otherwise be cautious about insulting other people who are proud of their place in a great profession.

 

[CHenry]

Otherwise be cautious about insulting other people who are proud of their place in a great profession.

It seems clear to me the OPer said he wasnt trying to offend anyone, just posing a honest question that he knew nothing about.