Best Job in the World...

My wife is a teacher, and with today's age , she needs it. It's pretty expensive though. At least she works her butt off and earns her paycheck.
 
stories like this just hack me off because I get so tired of the old cliche "teachers are underpaid". There are some great teachers out there...but much like any profession, a few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch. And when a union is involved, the bad apples tend to float to the top.
 

In Florida, teachers are losing their jobs as tax receipts sag along with enrollment numbers. The difference, IMO, is in that Florida tends to be a "Red" state and New York is as "Blue" as you can get. In everyday language that means the guys the NEA backed run the show in NY, but not in Florida.
 
My wife is a teacher, and with today's age , she needs it. It's pretty expensive though. At least she works her butt off and earns her paycheck.

And I respect that. My wife has a few friends she grew up with who are teachers that definitely do not work their butts off, but love to tell us how underpaid they are. They even have to (gasp) bring work home.
 
In Iowa, the group is "called" a union by media and others, but I think technically it's not a union because teachers here are not allowed to strike.

FWIW, I could never be a classroom teacher. I don't have nearly enough patience.
 
Yeah this is pretty much why teachers need to shut up about how underpaid they actually are. Until they tell that union to fire these teachers that are taking the money and doing nothing they need to shut the hell up.
 
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In Iowa, the group is "called" a union by media and others, but I think technically it's not a union because teachers here are not allowed to strike.

FWIW, I could never be a classroom teacher. I don't have nearly enough patience.

this. I could never be a teacher. But then again, I could never be a nurse or a roofer, or a call center employee. Pretty much only here about one of those groups of employees always wanting more money.
 
I have to say, I totally disagree with all of the comments about teachers needing to shut up about how underpaid they are. I don't even know what to say...

I've never heard a valid argument for thinking someone that teaches and shapes your kids future is worth less than someone making a blizzard at DQ. (My sister made more per hour working at DQ in High School than my mother made per hour she put in teaching second grade)
 
I have to say, I totally disagree with all of the comments about teachers needing to shut up about how underpaid they are. I don't even know what to say...
Most of the teachers I've heard whine about their pay make it sound like they are getting their food from a dumpster and living in a cardboard box. The fact of the matter is, you don't go into teaching for the money. You go into teaching because you love teaching. They knew that going into the profession. This doesn't even take into account the job security teachers have, as well as the retirement package teachers in Iowa get. Could they make more money? Yeah, they could, but who couldn't?
 
I have to say, I totally disagree with all of the comments about teachers needing to shut up about how underpaid they are. I don't even know what to say...

I've never heard a valid argument for thinking someone that teaches and shapes your kids future is worth less than someone making a blizzard at DQ. (My sister made more per hour working at DQ in High School than my mother made per hour she put in teaching second grade)

I can't believe that at all.

For your valid argument.....a study done by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a very respected think tank.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_50.htm
 
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I have to say, I totally disagree with all of the comments about teachers needing to shut up about how underpaid they are. I don't even know what to say...

I've never heard a valid argument for thinking someone that teaches and shapes your kids future is worth less than someone making a blizzard at DQ. (My sister made more per hour working at DQ in High School than my mother made per hour she put in teaching second grade)

The average El Ed teacher in Iowa makes ~ 35K or ~ $17 per hour which includes a built in 15 weeks of vacation.

Your sister may have made more than minimum wage, but I find it a streach that she was out doing your Mom, and I'd bet she didn't get any paid vacation time.

FWIW: assuming teachers only get 3 weeks of vacation like the rest of the world, they are making the equivalent of ~ $46K or ~ $22 per hour. Which is well over the state average salary of ~ $33k.
 
stories like this just hack me off because I get so tired of the old cliche "teachers are underpaid". There are some great teachers out there...but much like any profession, a few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch. And when a union is involved, the bad apples tend to float to the top.


hypocrasy of the sort doesn't invalidate the truth.


My wife is extremely underpaid. She puts in at least 60-70 hours a week.
 
I first heard this story a few months ago on This American Life, or something similar. Yes, it stinks - - but the story I heard was also quite said because many of these teachers are innocent of the charges but they don' t get a chance to defend themselves and get back to work. It drives many half insane to just sit there but if they leave it's a big black mar on their record and inhibits them from getting another job. And, some are sitting there because they disagreed with their administration (gee, you've never had a thought that diverged from your boss, no?)

So yes- I have the honor of dealing with unions issues on a regular basis and yes, this situation stinks like many of the ones I'm stuck with. Is it the person's fault sitting in a room starring out a window all day, or is it a broken system? I vote broken system.

If an employee has done something truly wrong, they should be disciplined (yep, this could include being fired) but then get on with it and NOT just just put people in a holding cell for infinity.
 
So what does a starting teacher in Iowa make? I'm guessing in rural Iowa they start at around $30K. That's not great money but it's ok for a rookie teacher in rural Iowa that has 2 months off per year. I think the problem is that there seems to be very little pay difference between the good/bad teachers. It seems likes it's based more on seniority, which makes little sense. When I was in school there were some teachers that I thought should have made 100K/year while others shouldn't have received minimum wage. This is what unions do.
 
The average El Ed teacher in Iowa makes ~ 35K or ~ $17 per hour which includes a built in 15 weeks of vacation.

Your sister may have made more than minimum wage, but I find it a streach that she was out doing your Mom, and I'd bet she didn't get any paid vacation time.

FWIW: assuming teachers only get 3 weeks of vacation like the rest of the world, they are making the equivalent of ~ $46K or ~ $22 per hour. Which is well over the state average salary of ~ $33k.

I would have to agree that teachers are not underpaid. My wife is a recent college grad now teaching, and when you look at the contract hours she works versus the salary, it isn't bad. Teachers around here start in the high 30s and they work like what, 190 or 195 days per year, 8 hours per day. That breaks down to like $24 per hour. If they worked a full year like other professions without all the vacation they get, they would probably be starting close to 50k. How many of you guys came out of school doing much better than that? Plus state employee benefits on top of that.

Granted teachers often have to put in a lot more time outside of contract hours, but they certainly aren't dumpster diving and cashing wellfare checks either.
 

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