You've Got To Be Freaking Kidding Me

[Bruno2]

I see what you mean but totally disagree. Just because they spend more time at school or school functions doesn't automatically translate to merit in my eyes. Also, not all special ed/needs teachers are handling a workload like normal teachers. Some have exceedingly small classrooms depending on the school and/or district they are in. My aunt taught blind and deaf children at Taft for over thirty years so I can see your point in some cases but certainly not all. I've known plenty of crappy bus drivers and coaches in my life. I don't care if they run for the car after the bell rings if they've done their best during regular hours trying to do their job and equaled or exceeded expectations....

Teachers aren't the exception when it comes to government jobs. Pretty much all of them are based solely on experience and education level with little regard for merit/performance concerning pay grade.

http://sde.state.ok.us/Teacher/Salary/default.html

Thats partially true in my opinion. More education to get more of pay takes dedication . Its a different dedication than devoting you heart and sole in the classroom trying to do a good job educating the kids. The former is a selfish dedication. The latter is a selfless dedication. Every kid learns in a different way. A good teacher will impose several different tactics in order to reach all of them. A lazy teacher will use a generic one size fits all approach and not give a damn if all of them get it or not.

The other issue about passing a kid just b/c they are tired of looking at them isnt so true. Teachers are evaluated on what kind of gpa their class has. To see if they are adequately getting their job done. They pass them to keep from being exposed in other words covering their butts.

 

[SoonerBorn]

Thats partially true in my opinion. More education to get more of pay takes dedication . Its a different dedication than devoting you heart and sole in the classroom trying to do a good job educating the kids. The former is a selfish dedication. The latter is a selfless dedication. Every kid learns in a different way. A good teacher will impose several different tactics in order to reach all of them. A lazy teacher will use a generic one size fits all approach and not give a damn if all of them get it or not.

The other issue about passing a kid just b/c they are tired of looking at them isnt so true. Teachers are evaluated on what kind of gpa her class has. To see if they are adequately getting their job done. They pass them to keep from being exposed in other words covering their butts.

Very true. I've seen it often.

 

[cjjtulsa]

+1. The majority of teachers today are lazy as hell.....

Most teachers I know (and my wife teaches, so I know a bunch) bust their ***** playing the babysitter for unruly kids who's parents are too damned lazy to parent. It's easy to sit back and blame the teachers, but I'd love to see some of the complainers take on a class of 25 kids, 10 of who are well behaved and want to learn, 5 who are so-so, 5 who have trouble learning, 3 who have behavior problems, and 2 who are completely disruptive and don't belong in a normal classroom setting - but Uncle Sam guarantees their right to the same education as the first 23 - so everyone (including the teacher) gets to suffer. Do you know how many parents I hear (and even local news anchors) every August who make the "glad the kids are going back to school" comments? Just think, you have to struggle through 2 whole months of your little *******s; the teachers get them for nearly 10. And 20-30 of them in a class, without the ability to lay a belt across their *****.

Blame the system, not those who have to suffer through it. And if parents did their part at home, we wouldn't need idiots developing alternative learning techniques like "grammar through hip-hop".

 

[Bill of Rights]

Don't put words in my mouth

Did I? I sure didn't mean to. Sorry if it seemed that way.

In response the last few posts about schools... Public school was never designed to give high-level education to children. It was designed to produce factory workers and consumers and to allow more parents away from the home to work and spend money.

While it is unfortunate that so many teachers are apathetic and/or incompetent (my wife and I bang our heads against this wall nearly every day), and that the good teachers are up against begrudging administrators, the widespread disappointment in public education results from flawed expectations. This is approximately the best this system can do.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Did I? I sure didn't mean to. Sorry if it seemed that way.

In response the last few posts about schools... Public school was never designed to give high-level education to children. It was designed to produce factory workers and consumers and to allow more parents away from the home to work and spend money.

While it is unfortunate that so many teachers are apathetic and/or incompetent (my wife and I bang our heads against this wall nearly every day), and that the good teachers are up against begrudging administrators, the widespread disappointment in public education results from flawed expectations. This is approximately the best this system can do.

Unfortunately, I would have to agree with this assessment of the overall situation.

 

[SoonerBorn]

Most teachers I know (and my wife teaches, so I know a bunch) bust their ***** playing the babysitter for unruly kids who's parents are too damned lazy to parent. It's easy to sit back and blame the teachers, but I'd love to see some of the complainers take on a class of 25 kids, 10 of who are well behaved and want to learn, 5 who are so-so, 5 who have trouble learning, 3 who have behavior problems, and 2 who are completely disruptive and don't belong in a normal classroom setting - but Uncle Sam guarantees their right to the same education as the first 23 - so everyone (including the teacher) gets to suffer. Do you know how many parents I hear (and even local news anchors) every August who make the "glad the kids are going back to school" comments? Just think, you have to struggle through 2 whole months of your little *******s; the teachers get them for nearly 10. And 20-30 of them in a class, without the ability to lay a belt across their *****.

Blame the system, not those who have to suffer through it. And if parents did their part at home, we wouldn't need idiots developing alternative learning techniques like "grammar through hip-hop".

Teachers are never going to get any sympathy from me until they quit hiding behind a union and the good ones actually get out and demand it be a merit based profession. It's very similar to the MLB Players Union on testing for steriods. Until the players actually make the wise decision to do what's right for themselves and the game, they can kiss my a$$.

 

[cjjtulsa]

Teachers are never going to get any sympathy from me until they quit hiding behind a union and the good ones actually get out and demand it be a merit based profession. It's very similar to the MLB Players Union on testing for steriods. Until the players actually make the wise decision to do what's right for themselves and the game, they can kiss my a$$.

I had a long response, but gave up. I think a lot of teachers would have no problem with merit-based pay. (For reference: most of the younger teachers my wife knows - including her - aren't in any teacher's union).

As my wife says: "I think all of those that bitch about teachers should do one month in a classroom". No thanks. I've seen it, and I'll pass.

 

[SoonerBorn]

I had a long response, but gave up. I think a lot of teachers would have no problem with merit-based pay. (For reference: most of the younger teachers my wife knows - including her - aren't in any teacher's union).

As my wife says: "I think all of those that bitch about teachers should do one month in a classroom". No thanks. I've seen it, and I'll pass.

Just basing on my personal experience. Not trying to hurt anyone's feeling's. I have no doubt your wife is in the group of teachers who actually care and try. I hope her and the younger teachers you speak of will become the majority in the profession, sooner than later. That being said, I also have no doubt you and your wife know exactly what and the types I'm talking about.

 

[Bill of Rights]

I think burn-out is an unfortunate inevitibility for most teachers. Our own kids have had success with several young & energetic teachers, while most of the older teachers just seemed really tired. Not saying I blame them. As someone pointed out to me recently about teaching, what other profession can you think of where your job description is exactly the same the day you start as the day you retire?