[ale] Palladium/MS: ideas for retaliation - WAY OT now!!!

[Geoffrey]

Jonathan Rickman wrote:
> I'll risk the flames and state my opinion on teacher salaries.

Bring it on.

> In Stephens County, the average teacher salary is in the 40s. 

Show me the evidence.  Cobb County, where my wife teaches, is one of the 
better paid counties for teachers in Georgia.  Pay is based on education 
and time, my wife has over 15 years teaching experience, does not make 40k.

Secondly, ever wonder where all those nice things teachers put on the 
walls come from?  Not from the county or school.  Anything the teacher 
adorns there classroom with comes out of their pocket.  I quit keeping 
track of it. Bulletin board sets cost anywhere from $10-20. You'll find 
anywhere from 15-30 in a single classroom at one time. Oh yeah, they 
don't stay up all year, most teachers cycle them monthly.  I've 
purchased over 30 reems of paper for my wife to use in the classroom. 
Why, because when it's gone it's gone.  You make do.  Well you're still 
expected to do the job, so you buy it yourself.  Ask me how many times 
I've been to School Box to laminate posters and such.  Why, cause you'd 
like to use the stuff more then one time. And they don't do that for free.

> The average income countywide is only in the high 20s.

Yeah, and how many of those folks have a 4 year degree?  And how many 
have to put up with students who spit on them, or swear at them, or 
parents that do the same?  I challenge you, anyone, spend the day with 
25 children.  Choose the age, I don't care.  Yeah, it's a walk in the park.

> The teachers work 9 months in a year.

This is the biggest misconception out there. My wife's last day of 
required attendance at school this year was May 29th.  She start's back 
August 5th.  You do the Math.  How many days do they get off during the 
school year?  If you take into account my paid time off with my company, 
I get maybe two weeks less then she does for the summer.  Like to go 
skiing in January?  Forget it, a teacher can't take a week off then. 
They get very few actual personal days to take during the school year. 
I don't recall the exact number, but it's not a week I assure you.

My wife must be in the classroom by 7:00.  She must stay until 3:30. 
She NEVER leaves before 5:00.  She comes home and will spend anywhere 
from 2-4 hours EVERY night grading papers, creating handouts, creating 
tests, researching for such items.  Again, you do the Math.

My wife changed grades, hence classrooms this year.  So guess who moves 
her stuff?  Fortunately, three other teachers offered to assist.  I've 
spent three days of my time helping her pack/unpack boxes, hang things 
in her room, re-arrange furniture in her room.  She changed Cobb County 
Schools about 5 years ago.  Another teacher changed with her.  Her 
husband and I rented a U-haul, loaded all there stuff at one school and 
moved it to the new school.  I've been moved by my company twice, I had 
to box my stuff up, but when I got to my new location, there were all my 
boxes.

So, what does she do in her leisure time all summer?  Sits at the pool 
right?  Wrong, she's busy making posters and researching for next year.

> Everyone else works 12. As you can imagine, the local citizens aren't
> playing any violins or shedding tears over teacher salary woes. They're
> too busy struggling to pay their inflated property taxes so the teachers
> can make twice as much as they do. I'm not in this position, as I have
> been blessed and do fairly well, but I have friends who struggle to make
> ends meet every day. That being said, teachers do not automatically garner
> sympathy from me just because they are teachers.

Again, I'd challenge you to verify your numbers.  Where'd you get your 
teacher salary info?  You need to spend 9 months in a teachers shoes, or 
just marry one.  Hell, spend one bloody day with one.  24 hours, see how 
much time they REALLY put in.

Grant it, not all teachers give it what my wife does.  She's got a web 
site that's updated weekly.  Yeah, she has help.  She goes above and 
beyond, doing things like the MayaQuest Internet program. She's done it 
for the past 5 years, writes a grant request every year.  You think she 
get's paid for the time she spends doing that?

I've got news for you, teachers work harder then you or I ever thought 
about.  They get less thanks and plenty of bitching.  Every parent acts 
like it's a one-on-one thing rather then 25-1.

You've heard the saying, don't talk bad about a farmer with your mouth 
full?  How'd you get where you are today?

I've got to tell you, I respect you a lot for your knowledge and
postings to the list, but this kind of attitude makes me want to puke. 
You have no idea what a teacher goes through, and it's only gotten 
worse.  Parents no longer raise children.  They expect the schools and 
summer camps to do that.  Yeah, we're all putting in long hours, but 
don't bad mouth teachers until you know the whole story.

-- 
Until later: Geoffrey		esoteric at 3times25.net

I didn't have to buy my radio from a specific company to listen
to FM, why doesn't that apply to the Internet (anymore...)?


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