TheApple

These people have obviously never stepped foot in a classroom.

i couldn't agree more, i have been a substitute teacher for six months now, and i am looking forward to receiving my teaching certificate during the next school year. i am currently working full time, substitute 2 days a week, will be going to class 2 evenings a week and have 4 children and a very understanding husband to prepare me the excitement and hard work involved in full-time teaching. after taking over a class for a mere 6 hours as a substitute, i always find myself exhausted and think, geez how do they do this everyday? then after i write my notes to the teacher about the student's behavior, i think, i don't have any papers to grade, lessons to write, or evening activities with the students.....my greatest admirations goes to all the teachers in this world, and i hope i can live up such high expectations.

I have a unique appreciation for what teachers do, as both of my parents were educators. My father especially talked about the long hours he spent on field trips, tutoring, setting up lesson plans, grading papers, etc. My mother was stressed for many years over the way kids attitudes were changing, and not for the better. Anyone who thinks teachers only work "part time" should try it for themselves. I can tell you from my volunteer work with kids that it is a lot harder than it looks--I get worn out after only a couple of hours. I honestly don't know how full-time teachers keep going.

I left the sales field because there are so many people who became rich off of my skills, styles, and envious that they complained and forced my techniques to change when you out sell New York you know that your doing something right. When it came down to it though it was not as rewarding as when I was a volunteer Asst. Coach for a local wrestling program. The kids are always fun to work with and respond so much better then the factory standards which we set for ourselves it is sad for me walking away from always being tops in the Districts for sales but if I can help an entire program and inspire it to be so much more like with cooperation with sales teams and adding creativity and energy that it is my own marker that Hobbesian markers, thinking, and equality in learning is still not burned out.

This is an incredibly interesting thread. And I guess I have a comment or two that some will likely perceive as coming from the Dark Side! But before I go down that path, let me first say that I fully recognize that teaching is just about the most difficult line of work in the world. The stress that teachers and staff experience in school settings is truly incomprehensible to most people outside of the "system." And in no way, shape, or form do I think that teachers are adequately paid. It's a true profession that should be paid on the same or higher scale than doctors, lawyers, or others.

That being said, the ignorance of the general public is perpetuated by the presence of people in the profession who do not have the same level of dedication or skill that's being described here. I currently work as a behavior specialist in more schools than I can count, from urban to rural and everything in between. My personal experience-especially in the last five years-has been that for every teacher that is willing to do whatever it takes to meet a student's needs (off hour meetings, being open to new and different methods, contacting and communicating with parents regularly, etc.), I run into another person who thinks I'm insane if I request a 7:30 AM meeting when the "contract" states that they don't have to arrive in the building until 8:15. And that same teacher leaves the building every single day at 3:45, which is also the contracted mandatory "end time," and they will openly tell you that they do not bring work home, nor do they EVER show up for extracurricular activities involving their students. If it's not in the contract, it doesn't happen.

Is it a majority of teachers? Of course not. And I'm only bringing it up here to try and bring some balance to the conversation. The original article that started this thread is absolutely ridiculous. That's obvious. But there seems to be an assumption in all the follow-up posts that the level of dedication and skill that you're talking about is universal among teachers everywhere.

So in all honesty, I want to work where all of YOU who have posted here work. In a place where teachers in the building have the same level of expertise and dedication that you're so eloquently describing here! That would be an extraordinary working environment.

In one sense, teaching is no different than any other profession. There are great teachers who are truly dedicated to what they do, and there are others who probably ought to do something else with their lives. Can any one of you honestly tell me that there aren't a few teachers in your building who don't dedicate themselves like you do? That don't have the same level of skill that you do? That don't care for their students with the same fervor that you do?

Those are the people that are perpetuating the myths and inaccuracies elucidated in the original post. It's not you guys, who actually take the time to read websites like this so that you can participate in a community of learners to increase your skill. You're the victims of a limited number of your colleagues lack of professionalism.

I had to stop working when my twins were born and one of them was very sick. We've been in and out of hospitals for the past year and I could not put my kids through the uncertainty of a teacher gone that often. I supplemented my income by babysitting for my sister. I worked about the same hours as I did in school. I made $400 a month for one child. My average class size was 17. The math here equals about $6,800 a month or $61,200 a year. I'm ready to get paid for babysitting on a regular basis.

Preach it! Somewhere on the Internet is an article sarcastically called "Teachers get paid too much" and calculates what teachers would make if they got baby-sitters wages of $5 an hour per kid (approx 20) for 5 hours a day for about 180 days. This comes out to be $90,000 a year. I don't know any teacher that makes that much.

Money aside, teachers contribute to society as a whole. Just imagine where we would be if we didn't have an education system with individuals who feel it is their calling to mentor to young people.

Do you really have ANY IDEA what you are talking about????? I have been teaching for 25 years because it is my calling, and it is a calling only for a select and very special poplulation of which you could never be a part. Why? Because you have no passion for bringing out the very best in children who feel hopeless, unloveable, and unteachable. You have no passion for helping to shape the lives of chidren who feel they have nothing to offer. You have no passion for looking beyond dirty little hands and smelly, unclean clothes to teach them how to see mathematics, or analyze a piece of literature, or summarize the cycle of water. You have no passion for taking children from impoverished backgrounds and making them feel like they can do or become anything. You have no passion for teaching children how to read who only think about what they may eat that day, or wonder who will be there to care for them when they get home, or maybe don't even have a home. You, sir, have no idea what you are talking about. Your perceptions are quite warped, to put it mildly.