Comments on: Why aren’t teachers valued as the “best people?”

By: Anotherteacher

Anotherteacher — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:41:24 +0000

Turd, your name says it all. And, speaking of sucking, so do you.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:30:50 +0000

People do not understand anything these days, ALSO THEY STATED that they ASKED her, which of course means what she feels, goes through, and thinks PERSONALLY. These people who are trying to single her out and hate on her entire piece are miserable people who, if they have kids, needs to take them away from such “ungrateful monsters” as they make it seem and see how far they can get in life without a proper and complete education (not applying to home-schooled children). What Monique, as well as any educator, does is very noble and under-respected, and I HATE how some people think that she is just complaining when what she says comes from a very honest and true place.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:58:10 +0000

I know Monique personally… She is a tenured professor. She even has post-tenure, the qualifications for which are difficult to achieve and worthy of admiration.
Having discussed her economic situation in depth with her, I know for a fact that her husband is laid off and she nets under $30,000 after having taxes, health insurance, and retirement removed from her seemingly comfortable gross salary in the $50,000s. She and her family (which includes a daughter who just left for college) are living below the poverty line… Not so simple to “get over it and do your job,” now is it?
The administrators she wrote about are members of the Board of Regents, not grade school principals. While Monique and other professors like her are told there is no money for travel, members of this Board have taken tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses… While Monique and her peers are forced into furlough days, the Board delights in their half-million dollar salaries.

Most of the people here seem to be woefully deluded about the life of a college professor. Had you any idea the stresses that people like Monique endure while accepting pay cut after pay cut while trying to provide a life for her family, you would think twice before dishing out your unwanted anonymous internet advice to “get a life,” when her life now is just trying to get by.

By: I want to be a sub

I want to be a sub — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:52:13 +0000

I completely agree with the editorial by Monique Kluczykowski.I just counted the folks that made over $100,000 in a county with only 25,000 kids. There are 30 people that received that kind of salary! I didn’t even bother to count the $90,000 people. The one that caught my eye was that an “substitute teacher” was paid $109,000!

By: Turd Ferguson

Turd Ferguson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:00:48 +0000

Attention people. If ya cant say it in a paragraph or less then dont waste our time.

By: motherjanegoose

motherjanegoose — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:22:20 +0000

Mrs. E…thanks for being a teacher. You sound like a great one. BravesLover…you too.
I taught for 15 years before I left and started my own consulting business. It is refreshing to meet teachers who do have a passion about what they can offer. I still run into them once in a while….

By: Turd Ferguson

Turd Ferguson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:59:14 +0000

Most teachers dont care. Oh they ACT and ACT and ACT like they care about your kids but they dont. Initially, they believe they are so noble and without question in their cause to change the world.

Truth be told they just look forward to their summers off and thinking “oh this teaching job will be easy”. Then they find out its real work.

Too bad teachers. SUCK IT UP and DO YOUR JOB.

By: teacher and parent

teacher and parent — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:05:32 +0000

My terms were simply that she was not a 190 day contracted k-12 teacher, therefore the original poster’s comment (and your subsequent agreement with such) are off base. And your comment “Does she not enjoy a good job, with benefits, time off, limited travel, job security, etc., etc., etc.?” is off-point as well – I know very little about college professors and how they are paid, but you are assuming, based on your question, that they have these benefits and therefore she should just suck it up.

And to “Larry said it best. The “tax paying public is in far worse financial shape”” – I guess Larry forgot that teachers ARE part of the tax paying public. I’m so sick of that ludicrous attitude. The economy is bad, and we are all suffering. I see nothing wrong in being human and complaining about it.

By: N. Ga Teacher

N. Ga Teacher — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:52:54 +0000

In the general culture, teachers are not highly valued for three reasons. First, teaching is a traditionally female occupation, and those occupations have historically been less respected. Nurses, secretaries, and teachers have been for too long been viewed as lower-level workers to be bossed around and not respected as much as people in traditionally male occupations, like accounting, engineering and law. Second, in a market economy, those in demand command more respect. Let’s face it, folks, there are TOO MANY teachers on the job market. I can’t believe the hoopla about needing more teachers in the next 10 years bla bla bla….Already teachers in history, English, physical education, and even science are having trouble finding a job. Only special ed seems to be a good situation right now. Many districts have laid off teachers or refused to hire teachers , instead increasing class sizes. Up north teachers have had a tough time finding jobs for an entire generation. It is very easy for administrators or school boards to consider us disposable if we dare to be a “problem” for them. Third, people respect you when you have power. I respect someone who can cause me negative consequences for my actions. This might mean physically punishing me, or getting me put in jail or thrown off premises. Teachers have less power than virtually any employee anywhere. Our classroom authority has almost totally eroded over the last generation. In the 1960s I remember a teacher grabbing a 7th grade troublemaker kid by the collar and reading that kid the riot act in class one day, and that kid was never a problem again. I was thrilled because that kid disrupted tha classroom every day because he wanted attention. Today, that teacher would be fired, sued, and brought up on criminal charges. If a teacher even says some innocuous comment that a kid claims “hurts their feelings” that teacher is threatened by administrators with being fired or actually does get fired. Kids know this, and so do parents, and the irresponsible ever-growing legion of these people plays it for all it is worth. Like some bloggers here say, this is the biggest pink elephant in the room. That said, thank God many people of my generation (the current parents of teens) did not turn to the dark side, and kept the morals and work ethic of OUR parents. These parents DO value teachers who are energetic, fun, individualistic and inspirational to their children. They strenuously back teachers who contact them about discipline or academic issues. And they, of course, tend to be the parents of honors kids in public schools and of the majority of kids in private schools. What worries most teachers is that these parents seem to be a shrinking group. Maybe we don’t say it enough, but we THANK the good parents for all they do to help make their child teachable.

By: xnxnxnx

xnxnxnx — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:37:34 +0000

teacher and parent: I had another thought, perhaps you think there is a shortage of COLLEGE professors out there? Think again. There’s a surplus there too. Check out one of the recent posts in Get Schooled detailing all the university teaching possibilities, with part time lecturer being the “great evil.”

Sorry, its the market. When there is a shortage of teachers and COLLEGE professors, salaries will go up. Until then, the wage will stay low–at equilibrium with supply and demand. Simple economics.

Larry said it best. The “tax paying public is in far worse financial shape” than teachers–K – 12 or university level. Stop whining, drop to your knees, and thank God for your good fortune.