Bill to shorten school year....

[PoisonSnake]

I'll go as far as to say I admire anyone that helps special needs children. Teachers, occupational therapists, what have you.

While in college, I likened a teaching certificate to that of a degree in psychology or sociology. For the amount of effort you put in (I'm just talking about getting the degree mind you) and the 30k salary you receive, why in the heck would you do it? Answer I always received was the 4 or 5 months out of the year they were not working. I guess I can see the point of that logic. I mean you could go to school 4 years, get a degree in biology or criminal justice, get a job with the MDC and work 5 times the amount of hours out in the field, and actually make less. I don't feel sorry for them either.

In the bootheel, in many school systems, the salary has been capped around 20k. That is why my mom went to another school. They offered her 24k.

[Great White Hunter]

Good teachers are few and far between.

My Mom, Sister, and Brother-in-law are teachers. They deserve 10 times the money they get paid.

[Big John]

When I was in College my Drafting professor left the engineering world to become a teacher because he wanted more out of his career than designing jet airplanes for McDonald Douglas. He left a $100,000 a year job for a $50,000 a year job just to teach. I don't think teachers get into the job for the money or benefits but they do it because they want to pass on to young people the knowledge that they acquired in hopes that it will make a difference for the kids. My wife is an OT and up until last year she worked for a company ( Franziska Racker Centers) that only dealt with children with disabilities. She spent many late nights working on paper work and activities and with a little help from me designing and building equipment that some of the parents couldn't afford. All for her getting $23,000 a year just so she could come home with tears of joy in her eyes when a child she had been working with used a spoon to feed his/her self etc etc... She left the place because the wanted her to work PART TIME through the summer instead of getting it off with pay, (bare in mind that she was working 80hr+ pay periods and getting 70hrs of pay)to cover the summer and she was going to loose that benefit, which was something we could not afford. She now works clinical OT with less emotional rewards.

So beating up on teachers when most of them are not to blame (for the most part) is not right. I still believe that kids need to be in school all year with maybe 2-2week breaks. I also believe teachers should be paid over time for every minute they are performing their educational functions, correcting papers, working on their plans for the next day etc etc as long as they are in the school.

[PoisonSnake]

That silly son of a beotch makes a statement that good teachers are hard to find these days and then goes to say he has 3 that are related to him. I know this is pure horsechit. That and the fact that they deserve 10x the salary they are making. Make that number 1.5x and I might agree. But, being as there is SEPS genes in at least two of those individuals, I would probably have to disagree with that one as well.

[Great White Hunter]

PS - I can't help it that I'm a smart sumbuck. Deal with it.

[Triton X2]

I retired from the teaching profession after 29 years and I can tell you without a doubt it was because I was coaching basketball. My first contract was for coaching 3 sports abd teaching Jr. high Science for 6,400 dollars. Like PS said I knew what I was getting into, or at least I thought I did, but geez things have changed over the past years. Yes, salaries have improved and my retirement isnt too bad since I was a principal for the last 4 years in a Middle School. I really enjoyed the teaching and the helping kids. I guess that is why I stayed in it for so long and I was a pretty egotistical SOB and pretty competitive from the sports line.

I will bet though that every one on here that has a higher degree was able to get it because of their education, namely a teacher.

[BornBad]

PoisonSnake said:

BornBad, I don't disagree. However, things are much different today as opposed to when you and I were growing up. Most kids would be better off in school year around as opposed to playing video games 24-7.

I think I played video games 12-7 and my totally rad air guitar to Misfits the other 12/7.