Monday, September 18
Screwed up system
I'm going on record here as saying teachers don't get paid nearly enough. I don't care that they have 5-6 weeks off in the summer, a week at Christmas, a week in the Spring, and days off here and there, they don't get paid close to what they deserve.
The other category that readily comes to mind are CNAs (certified nursing assistants). They wipe grown-up noses and behinds, take care of others' personal hygiene and do things the rest of us would rather not think about.
Celebrities--athletes, actors, rock stars and the like, should receive only fame and a minimal pittance for their efforts. They're getting paid to do what they love--PLAY for a living in some fashion or another! They could end world hunger with what they make. I started to write the word "earn" as the last word in that sentence, but I'm not so sure they earn it; depends on your definition. They don't earn more money because they work harder than the first two categories mentioned. They just make lots more money for their sponsors. Teachers and CNAs don't have sponsors.
Ok...I'm just tired. I just subbed 1/2 a day for first graders and 1/2 a day with 7th graders. I'm not sure there was much of a difference.
This is my public THANK YOU to anyone who reads this and who falls into paragraph #1 or #2. Merci beaucoup! Muchos Gracias! Mille Grazie! Xie_Xie! Hartelijk Dank!
Feel free to add to the list of "underpaids" in the comments section.
The other category that readily comes to mind are CNAs (certified nursing assistants). They wipe grown-up noses and behinds, take care of others' personal hygiene and do things the rest of us would rather not think about.
Celebrities--athletes, actors, rock stars and the like, should receive only fame and a minimal pittance for their efforts. They're getting paid to do what they love--PLAY for a living in some fashion or another! They could end world hunger with what they make. I started to write the word "earn" as the last word in that sentence, but I'm not so sure they earn it; depends on your definition. They don't earn more money because they work harder than the first two categories mentioned. They just make lots more money for their sponsors. Teachers and CNAs don't have sponsors.
Ok...I'm just tired. I just subbed 1/2 a day for first graders and 1/2 a day with 7th graders. I'm not sure there was much of a difference.
This is my public THANK YOU to anyone who reads this and who falls into paragraph #1 or #2. Merci beaucoup! Muchos Gracias! Mille Grazie! Xie_Xie! Hartelijk Dank!
Feel free to add to the list of "underpaids" in the comments section.
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8 Comments:
Thank You ! I am a retired teacher who loved her job (kids) and I miss them terribly. The pay was terrible but the fringe benefits that the students gave me were so worth it. The smiles, the "light bulbs" going off in their eyes, and the fact that they were so totally honest. What many people don't know is that the "time off" teachers have, we spend working at other jobs to make ends meet or take more classes to keep our licenses current. Thank You again for this post.
Well said, Robin! After spending a few hours in the classroom I think almost anyone would agree with you. It takes a special person to choose teaching as a career - and a dedicated one to happily continue until retirement. Clearly swampwitch (above) fits that description.
Kelly, former school guidance counselor
Here here - well said.
And to add to your soapbox - I am a person who dislikes highschool and college sports for the very reason that you are describing - Don't misinterpret this - in a good school, sports are an asset. In other schools, sports deter from the main purpose of school - education. I cringe every time I hear that a music or arts program has been cut (AND A TEACHER HAS LOST THEIR JOB) - and yet the football team still manages to have new jerseys.
My college roommate's boyfriend worked in the laundry for the Football team - before a Bowl game (very minor - Copper Bowl) - the entire team got BRAND NEW NIKEs to wear on the plane. That was it. To wear on the plane.... (maybe Nike supplied them, but that money could have been spent elsewhere in my mind - especially when the Science dept was lacking funding for basic lab supplies!!!!)
So - my whole point is: If schools can afford to have a sports program - then they can afford to pay teachers better!! A mind is a terrible thing to waste. So - if professional athletes made minimum wage, would more students work harder to get good grades?
Heartfelt thanks here from a teacher!! I resigned from a retail management position in the spring of 1990 and began to teach in the fall of that same year. Sixteen years later, my salary is still less than what I was making in the business world in 1990. And I really don't consider myself underpaid until I look at it from the perspective mentioned above. What I find most disturbing about teacher's salaries, is that administrators make double and sometimes triple what teachers make. That isn't right! Coaches also seem to make quite a bit more than classroom teachers.
I totally agree with Swampwitch concerning the fringe benefits with the kids though. I love my kids!
My district often has a hard time getting a substitute for me. I travel to three different buildings (one is across town) and I have a large student load because I teach choir. I have 70 students grades 6, 7 and 8 in my middle school choir. That is my biggest class this year. I think my numbers intimidate people!!
how about firefighter and police too? seems like the ones that are in public services make the least.
I think that if I had to choose between subbing for 1st or 7th graders, I'd pick the little ones!! They're sweeter! I had to shoot the school pics for a middle school once and I swear, those kids were demons!!
Robin,
I found you through Heather's L'Chaim blog, and have enjoyed reading through your posts. :)
I agree with you 100%. Teachers and students are the ones caught between a rock and a hard place. So many agendas shoved at them, so many people to please, so little time to do so. And so much of that precious time wasted on the frivolous. Where's the time left for LEARNING? Teachers are given little to no financial compensation, to be sure.
I'd add childcare providers to the list too.
C & Erin, they should've been in the original post. I agree with all three mentions---how could you not? I was the nursery director for a large church for about four years, and next to being a mom, it was the hardest job I've ever had, hands down. I think I made $1.07/hour (lol).
Thanks for visiting :), it's always fun for new friends to play!
You're welcome.
If you want to know what people love and value, just follow their cash flow. That's why we make athletes and rock stars ridiculously wealthy for playing. We don't value education as such. Because it's in governmental hands, its employees will never be payed what they would in the private sector. (Private teachers' salaries are usually kept in line with government teachers' salaries, so they all lose out.) We expect much from government thought, don't we? I will say that governmental administrators don't do too shabbily. Senators, school administrators...they'll get raises when no one else does.
Okay, that's just me feeding into your rant.
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