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

[Dow Hurst]

You will find much the same atmosphere here at KSU.  Starting salary for 
faculty Ph.D. is around $35/yr and the work load is high too.  I believe 
that K12 teachers work harder everyday than college professors, however, 
that is only in the case of professors who don't do research.  Most of 
our chemistry faculty work 10-12 hour days 6 days a week.  Most grading 
is done on supposedly private time at home, too.  Salaries can go much 
higher than K12 in the long run but the hours don't diminish if you want 
to be a good teacher.  You know on the salary note, most staff at KSU, 
IT staff included, operate in $15K-$40K range.  Most IT staff are 
between $25K-$35K.  It is only the administrative positions on campus 
that jump from $40K up to the $60K-$100K range.  I am not telling what I 
make... ;-)   Of course, if you know where to look, all the salaries are 
public knowledge and on the web thru the state's web site.
Dow


Geoffrey wrote:

> 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.
>


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