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Originally Posted by
Lord Ash
Okay, a few thoughts...
First, Spade: teaching is, indeed, a job that you simply cannot do without working a lot of hours you don't get paid for. I get about an hour during the day to each lunch, grade papers, give makeup tests, run detention, have parent meetings, or do whatever I need to do. Obviously, there is no way to do it then. I get about 15 minutes in the morning before the kids show up, and a half hour after school, which is normally meeting time. That ends up leaving a teacher with no time to plan or grade. These take a LOT of time to do... hours and hours and hours. As a teacher you simply could not do the job without spending tons of these hours working. It can't happen; you can't just not grade tests or you will get fired.
Are there teachers who "get by?" Of course, unfortunately. But generally speaking almost every teacher works a lot of hours that they don't get paid for and they are not contracted for.
Actually, you're not "working a lot of hours you don't get paid for." You job expects you to be prepared to teach everyday and grade papers. It's no different than many, many other jobs which require preparation time outside of "normal" business hours. I take on a criminal case on a flat fee basis. My fee doesn't just pay for my time in court. It pays for the prep time I spend.
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About tenure... it is very important to know how important it is. I know tenure gets a bad rap, but there are two key things to remember about it.
First, it is very easy to get rid of a teacher who has tenure... just plunk them where they don't want to be. Sixth grade teacher you don't like? Drop them to kindergarten... they won't stay:)
Secondly, tenure is VERY important because without it districts would simply fire all teachers once they got any sort of experience. In a profession where there is no money being made, it becomes very easy for people to say "Well, do we want the $35,000 teacher, or the $70,000 teacher?" Far too often, people will believe that they should simply take the cheaper teacher to babysit. Without tenure, no teacher would stay employed once they gained some experience... districts can be ruthless when trying to get rid of experienced, "expensive" teachers.
We have to disagree about both of these points. This is coming from someone who has experience in representing teachers in tenure fights.
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what really makes me angry, however, is Christie's approach to it... his rhetoric has been positively venomous, and it really breaks my heart to hear, especially when I see this man has my future in his hands.
There has been equally venomous rhetoric coming from the NJEA. More to the point, there is a fiscal crisis in this state. Every other public employee has had pay freezes and reduction in benefits. Teachers refuse to even discuss the issue.
The pension system as it exists is not sustainable.
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Brian: Where did you get your median teacher salary info? Also, I think the site you linked is a bit... well, off. For example, look at how they gathered info on hours worked... through a phone call about "How much did you work yesterday?" When were those calls made? Weekdays? All days? I wonder how accurate that is.
The median salary information is from the DOE website. The minimum salary information is from the NJEA website.
The work week information is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, the more relible source available
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When it comes to work, I can only speak for myself and the folks I know.
I am sure that you perceive you are working many more hours than you actually are. You are not alone. For example, in an average workday: you arrive at school at 7:30; teach until 2:30; stay at school another hour for work; drive home, stopping on the way at the store for an hour; eat dinner; sit down and grade papers from 7:30-9:00. You are going to feel that you put in a workday of 12 plus hours, but you really have not. Keep a detailed diary during a normal week and you will be shocked.
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Also, all pay is not based on supply and demand. Pay is often based on the profit a person brings, which in the case of teachers is either A) nothing or B) so much it cannot be calculated, or C) someplace in between:)
All pay is based upon supply and demand. I will pay more for the individual who can bring in more profit to me. Those people are in limited supply and demand a higher salary.