labst60 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 My husband is in his 50s, is a professional, and has rarely worked more than 40 hours per week. He also gets 5 weeks of vacation as well as federal holidays. When he worked as a university professor (taught accounting), he worked even less hours and made a pretty good salary. He chose those two jobs over Goldman Sachs so that he could have time to be with our kids. Less money but good decision on his part, I think. About 3,000 work at his agency, and I don't think many work more than 40 hours per week.  A lot of professionals do work more than 40 hours per week but not everyone.  Personally, I think trying to milk too much out of employees is a bad idea and a recipe for an unhappy, less productive employee and possibly high turnover.  That is awesome for you and your family. I must say I am surpised by the work environment at GS. As an accountant and married to an accounant, we have always well exceeded 40 hours. DH is now a controller - anyone in his dept who wants to advance (position wise) works more than 40 hours. I have friends in many fields - and anyone I know wanting to get ahead works more than 40. Some family members/friends are happy in the current role - they work closer to 40 - but they will always be in that type role with col increases -not signficant promotions. That's fine for them - but as a capitalist I am all for work harder/smarter, make more. I think that should apply to teachers too - the question is just how? It is harder to apply that matrix in a classroom environment - but there has to be a way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Also most of the teachers in CPS from what I read have Master's Degrees, why shouldn't they make that much? We should be paying our teachers what we pay our doctors. Â Teaching and medicine are not comparable professions. Not only do doctors have more schooling, medicine is a much more intellectually-demanding profession. There is a lower supply of qualified individuals for practicing medicine as compared to teaching. Â Why are teachers (not necessarily good teachers, but any teachers) so easy to find? A masters in education does not have a reputation for being difficult to earn. Qualities that make a good teacher may be more difficult to measure and may not be part of the grad school application process, unlike the academic and intellectual markers that make or break applications to other types of grad school, which are gatekeepers to those professions. Â I suppose therein lies the rub, that the qualities that make a good teacher are difficult to measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterflymommy Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Wow, I thought Michigan was bad for only requiring 6 hrs. per day of instructional time and 180 days per year. I think it's getting really hard on the people working 60-80 hrs. per week, years on end for no pay raises or bonuses to see any "meat" to the teachers' demands. Even if they grade work or do lesson prep at home, the reality is with a 5.5 hr. school day and only 170 days of school, and even if they have to take one or two three-day seminars in the summer to keep their licenses current, they still won't approach the work hours that many people are keeping.   Agree with a lot of this. As nasty of a job as it might be, the reality is they have three months a year off (if you count various vacations throughout the year), plus very generous benefits compared to the rest of the workforce-- at taxpayer expense to the tune of ever increasing property taxes. I might have more sympathy for them if they worked year round and weren't producing students who are functionally illiterate, year after year. But I see it as a failing system all around.  And I don't buy the notion that poor kids can't learn, which is the excuse always brought up for teachers. I'm not saying the fault for illiteracy (in all subjects) falls squarely on the teachers but it does fall squarely on the system with its "fad" curricula and countless other problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 For those who are wondering, some schools are open and caring for kids in the morning but not teaching. Area churches are offering to watch kids in the afternoon. If you go to Chicago Tribune's website, you can find this information there. Â Also, a teacher who was interviewed mentioned that they were trying to get the talks finished well before school began so that they wouldn't have to strike. I believe he mentioned that they began last November but that certain key individuals did not take them seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 For those who are wondering, some schools are open and caring for kids in the morning but not teaching. Area churches are offering to watch kids in the afternoon. If you go to Chicago Tribune's website, you can find this information there. Also, a teacher who was interviewed mentioned that they were trying to get the talks finished well before school began so that they wouldn't have to strike. I believe he mentioned that they began last November but that certain key individuals did not take them seriously.  They have been working on this contract negotiation for five years. These teachers have been working without a contract for over a year. It has also been 25 years since Chicago Public School teachers have had a strike. (I am agreeing with you.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Divide and conquer. This is what the powers that be want. If we're kept busy fighting amongst ourselves, we won't question or fight them. Tara Amen, sister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 That is awesome for you and your family. I must say I am surpised by the work environment at GS. As an accountant and married to an accounant, we have always well exceeded 40 hours. DH is now a controller - anyone in his dept who wants to advance (position wise) works more than 40 hours. I have friends in many fields - and anyone I know wanting to get ahead works more than 40. Some family members/friends are happy in the current role - they work closer to 40 - but they will always be in that type role with col increases -not signficant promotions. That's fine for them - but as a capitalist I am all for work harder/smarter, make more. Â Goldman Sachs can be a killer environment. My husband was invited to join but he declined. It would have paid very well but who cares when you're half-dead and you don't see your family much? I'm all for working harder and smarter, but if a person is working 60 hours per week routinely, are they really working smarter? At some point, productivity starts to go down. So, I'm not for working more than 40 hours per week if at all possible. No thanks! Â And despite his choices, my husband makes a great salary. We live fairly well. Plus, he gets to work at home 1-2 days per week if he wants. Soon he'll retire with a good pension and bennies. He chose this job for all those reasons. Much better than working for a consulting firm (as my daughter is finding out). :tongue_smilie: Â Btw, high school teachers in our 'burb can make as much as 160K, and if you want my opinion, they're worth it. Some do have PhDs from excellent universities and chose to teach here instead of a university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 They have been working on this contract negotiation for five years. These teachers have been working without a contract for over a year. It has also been 25 years since Chicago Public School teachers have had a strike. (I am agreeing with you.) Â Wow! I didn't realize it was five years. Good grief. They showed some photos from the strike of 1969. Love the picture of the lady drinking coffee alone in the lunch room. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 For those who are wondering, some schools are open and caring for kids in the morning but not teaching. Area churches are offering to watch kids in the afternoon. If you go to Chicago Tribune's website, you can find this information there. Also, a teacher who was interviewed mentioned that they were trying to get the talks finished well before school began so that they wouldn't have to strike. I believe he mentioned that they began last November but that certain key individuals did not take them seriously.   These locations are open for 4 hours in the morning WITHOUT transportation. So many of these families have do not have cars.  The CPS board practically begged the CTU to continue the negotiations into the late night. They refused.  Although the CTU knew hours before, the reps decided to wait until the 10 o clock news to announce the strike. When asked about the reasons, not ONCE did they say a thing about conditions. Not once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie75 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 :iagree: what I find:Â "Keep in mind that CPS is a system where the average median salary for teachers*is $76,450 a year, compared to the $53,976 made by the average private sector employee..." " Â * not to mention the demand for a 30% increase in exchange for a little more instructional time would have put the average salary to around $100,000. Â If this is true, what the heck are they complaining about? This number doesn't even count the amount they well recieve in PENSION money when they retire. Can you imagine not having to save for retirement? Seeing that number makes me wish I had become a teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 :iagree: what I find: Â * not to mention the demand for a 30% increase in exchange for a little more instructional time would have put the average salary to around $100,000. Â Wow. That's way more than dh makes and he's been at the same company for 20 years. No pension or retirement benefits. Health insurance is OK, but quite a bit more expensive and less coverage than 7 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 These locations are open for 4 hours in the morning WITHOUT transportation. So many of these families have do not have cars. The CPS board practically begged the CTU to continue the negotiations into the late night. They refused.  Although the CTU knew hours before, the reps decided to wait until the 10 o clock news to announce the strike. When asked about the reasons, not ONCE did they say a thing about conditions. Not once.  The parents could use the public transportation, couldn't they? Yeah, it's probably a pain, but it's doable. We lived in Chicago without a car for over ten years ourselves and got around that way even with little kids in tow. Chicago has a good public transportation system and is a very walkable city. Some of the rougher areas are making due by having adults walk groups of children safely to their destinations. They do this during the regular school year as well. The powers-that-be should have cleared this up a long time ago. I don't blame the whole group of teachers, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I prefer evaluation systems in which student progress is measured individually rather than in aggregate. Johnny might increase three grade levels in reading while in Ms. Smith's class but still be below grade level. Ms. Smith should not be penalized for this. Â :iagree:My mother had this happen several times while she was teaching. Thankfully she is retired now but she taught in a very inner city school for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 The parents could use the public transportation, couldn't they? Yeah, it's probably a pain, but it's doable. We lived in Chicago without a car for over ten years ourselves and got around that way even with little kids in tow. Chicago has a good public transportation system and is a very walkable city.  Sure. However, their jobs may interfere with doing this(the main reason they are using this service to begin with.) You must be aware of the crime in this city? No way I would let my 10 yo walk to the YMCA in the city. The crime rate has gone crazy this year. And with kids out of school, there will be even more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 :iagree: It scares me to think of living in a country where people fighting for their rights are told to just suck it up and are insulted because of the way they look. It scares me to think of workers dealing with pitiful pay, ridiculous hours, and crummy working conditions because the are so thankful for the crumbs they receive from mega-rich corporations. Â :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Considering my CPA husband makes more than double I could make as a teacher (WITH 16 years of experience and two MAs I might add), I think it reasonable that teachers should make a bit more than they do. I also often worked more than 40 hours.  BTW: My husband works 40 hours a week unless it is busy season.  Dawn  That is awesome for you and your family. I must say I am surpised by the work environment at GS. As an accountant and married to an accounant, we have always well exceeded 40 hours. DH is now a controller - anyone in his dept who wants to advance (position wise) works more than 40 hours. I have friends in many fields - and anyone I know wanting to get ahead works more than 40. Some family members/friends are happy in the current role - they work closer to 40 - but they will always be in that type role with col increases -not signficant promotions. That's fine for them - but as a capitalist I am all for work harder/smarter, make more. I think that should apply to teachers too - the question is just how? It is harder to apply that matrix in a classroom environment - but there has to be a way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Teachers must pay into retirement. It was taken out of my check each month. I had no say in how much I wanted to contribute.  Dawn  If this is true, what the heck are they complaining about? This number doesn't even count the amount they well recieve in PENSION money when they retire. Can you imagine not having to save for retirement? Seeing that number makes me wish I had become a teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen A Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 A nice summary of the situation: Â http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/10/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-chicago-teachers-strike-in-one-post/ Â "Everything you need to know about the stike in one post" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Sure. However, their jobs may interfere with doing this(the main reason they are using this service to begin with.) You must be aware of the crime in this city? No way I would let my 10 yo walk to the YMCA in the city. The crime rate has gone crazy this year. And with kids out of school, there will be even more...  We used to live in Hyde Park, East Rogers Park and downtown, and I still travel into the city often, so I'm aware of the crime.  No doubt some people are going to have problems figuring out what to do, but it seems the kids do have multiple options near their homes (kids were assigned to places near homes). Parents will have to be resourceful and try to work with the schedules. The links at the bottom offer more details. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.  Those individuals who could have prevented this, should have a long time ago. At this point, I am not exactly sure who is more to blame and will have to read up on it to get some sort of idea.  From the Trib:  The Chicago Public schools will have 144 campuses open as part of its "Children First" plan to provide a safe environment, food and activities for students. In addition, local churches, libraries, the park district and community-based organizations are offering programs.   http://www.cps.edu/childrenfirst/Pages/default.aspx  http://www.cps.edu/ChildrenFirst/Documents/Coordinated%20Children%20First%20Efforts%20to%20Keep%20Students%20Safe%20and%20Engaged.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Ug.  The problem here is the parents have ridiculous expectations of schools.  It is NOT the job or the duty of the school to:  Provide transportation of any kind To provide meals of any kind To provide baby sitting when not in session for any reason at any time  Suck it up and parent. Which means if a parent values education, then they do what is necessary to make it happen, including dress them, feed them, and get them there.  All that aside...  I don't care if the teachers strike. I don't think it will result in a better education if the primary concern is how dare they inconvience parents by having to feed and watch our own kids during school hours,:glare:  Personally, I have no sympathy for them. They have an awesome schedule with great benefits and most certainly a living wage. They are better off than most citizens these days. However, if they want to have a go at finding a job with a better pay/conditions - good luck to them. As for what level of education they have meaning they should be paid more - no. If they weren't okay with the expected income/conditions of their degree field, then they should have chosen another.  And yes, I agree to some degree that far too many people are taking huge reductions in pay/work terms because they are scared of having no job at all. It sucks. It doesn't beventually because history tells us that eventually those people are going to be more angry than scared and it won't be pretty. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Yikes. That's crazy. Self made solution. Fire her and hire 4 more teachers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) I read through most of this thread and don't think I saw this site mentioned.http://www.illinoisloop.org/index.html There's a lot of information there. A lot. Some of it is older.  Finances and Spending is here Chicago spending: In 2008, the Chicago Public Schools system had 435,000 students and a budget of $4,930,000,000. That is $11,333 per student, Kindergarten through high school. Hmmm....what could I do with $11,333??? Send my kids to a private school?  Check out under Running Schools/Salaries and Pensions http://www.illinoisloop.org/salary.html  Still looking around the website, but they had all salaries from 2011 here. Check out this teacher's salary  Teacher Details Name: Umbles, Leslie Salary: $234,386 Position: High School Teacher Full/Part Time: Fulltime Percent Time Employed: 100% Assignment: Art Years Teaching: 28 Degree: Master's School Name: Washington G High School District Name: City of Chicago SD 299   Except that's not her salary. It includes a one-time settlement for back pay and other remuneration. I found this with 10 seconds of googling:  http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/The_Board_of_Education/Documents/BoardActions/2010_03/10-0324-AR9.pdf  ETA Here's her entry for 2010: Salary: $82,875 Position: High School Teacher Full/Part Time: Fulltime Percent Time Employed: 100% Assignment: Art Years Teaching: 26 Degree: Master's School Name: Washington G High School District Name: City of Chicago SD 299 Edited September 10, 2012 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Except that's not her salary. It includes a one-time settlement for back pay and other remuneration. I found this with 10 seconds of googling: http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/The_Board_of_Education/Documents/BoardActions/2010_03/10-0324-AR9.pdf  ETA Here's her entry for 2010: Salary: $82,875 Position: High School Teacher Full/Part Time: Fulltime Percent Time Employed: 100% Assignment: Art Years Teaching: 26 Degree: Master's School Name: Washington G High School District Name: City of Chicago SD 299  That's still an awful lot for an art teacher at a high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Now that is completely reasonable! Yay! Â Tho I wonder why she was getting back pay of that much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 That's still an awful lot for an art teacher at a high school. Â I don't think so when considering that is also 26 years experience. IF she is great at her job and has 26 years of expertise AND excellence in her field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Â That's still an awful lot for an art teacher at a high school.That may or not be the case for a teacher with 26 years experience (FWIW, I don't think it is); however, it's a far cry from the figure cited by the "Family Taxpayers Foundation" as her salary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie75 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Teachers must pay into retirement. It was taken out of my check each month. I had no say in how much I wanted to contribute.  Dawn  They only pay about 10% in IL, and pension benefits are based on the highest salary ever earned. I think it's safe to say that the tax payer pays the majority of the pensions going out, not teachers.  Many pensions are above 50k per year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Now that is completely reasonable! Yay! Tho I wonder why she was getting back pay of that much...  http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/The_Board_of_Education/Documents/BoardActions/2009_03/09-0325-RS6.pdf  I'm sure there's a more interesting story behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Now that is completely reasonable! Yay! Tho I wonder why she was getting back pay of that much...  They let her go and had to rehire her from what I can find with a quick google search. Both her and the next highest paid teacher last year.  I don't think so when considering that is also 26 years experience. IF she is great at her job and has 26 years of expertise AND excellence in her field.  I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 They only pay about 10% in IL, and pension benefits are based on the highest salary ever earned. I think it's safe to say that the tax payer pays the majority of the pensions going out, not teachers. Â Many pensions are above 50k per year! Â Holy moly. If thinking of teaching 20+ other people's teens a high school subject didn't make me contemplate the value of a fork in my eye - I'd jump all over that.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I am seeing lots of anger at the idea of the teachers asking for more pay. They are also striking for smaller classes, actually having textbooks in their classrooms, and adequate and safe buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 They let her go and had to rehire her from what I can find with a quick google search. Both her and the next highest paid teacher last year. I do.   If the teacher sucks, she should be fired, not just paid less.  However, if they are a truely dependable and excellent teacher who continues to maintain and or improve in that capacity over a quarter century then absolutely I think a salary topping out at between 75k to 100k is reasonable. I would expect only a very select worthy few to earn that status and I would expect it to be well deserved and money well spent.  Starting out? Heck no that's nuts. Not particularly outstanding? Heck no.  Why would someone stay in a job 26 years if their pay tops out and they are no longer able to further better themselves in their position? Most wouldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 The optics and timing are awful for the teachers. Â They will lose. Â The mayor is the former chief of staff to the president. Arne Duncan used to be their head of education in Chicago. Â This is blue on blue. There is no winning for the union folks and the teachers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I am seeing lots of anger at the idea of the teachers asking for more pay. They are also striking for smaller classes, actually having textbooks in their classrooms, and adequate and safe buildings. Â And you know... if that's the case, I don't disagree with any of those things. It's wrong that teachers should do without the very basics. The problem, then, is the administration... if the schools are getting over $11,000 a year per pupil, as someone stated upthread, then something's not adding up. Â If you have 25 students in a classroom, that's $275,000 for that classroom... even after you pay the teacher, divvy some out to the administrators and building use/maintenance... where's the rest of the money to actually use for, you know, education?? Â Not saying this is the teachers' fault at all. I just think the whole system is somewhat broken and the kids are the ones who suffer in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 And you know... if that's the case, I don't disagree with any of those things. It's wrong that teachers should do without the very basics. The problem, then, is the administration... if the schools are getting over $11,000 a year per pupil, as someone stated upthread, then something's not adding up. Â If you have 25 students in a classroom, that's $275,000 for that classroom... even after you pay the teacher, divvy some out to the administrators and building use/maintenance... where's the rest of the money to actually use for, you know, education?? Â Not saying this is the teachers' fault at all. I just think the whole system is somewhat broken and the kids are the ones who suffer in the end. Â Well, I know the answer to this because my school district is struggling with the same thing. The 'extra' is going to pensions and health insurance. The state made a commitment to teachers a generation ago to provide them with a pension. Those teachers are retired and are owed a specific amount of money. The stock market crash took a whole lot of money out of those accounts. In some cases, it devastated the accounts. (I know in my state the entire of premise of putting pension and retirement money in the market is now an issue being debated.) Now, I am not talking about teachers teaching currently. I am talking about retired people, many of them now elderly and dependent upon that pension. Â As for rising health care costs, that is affecting every single business around. That was part of why the auto makers (not the unions..the corporations) started lobbying DC for health care reform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynV Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 IRT the pensions in IL, teachers don't pay into, nor will they ever get, Social Secority benefits. It depends on the district whether teachers actually pay for their contribution to eir pensions (mandatory 9.3%) or if it's paid by the district. You might have heard, but we've had a long run of corrupt politicians from both sides of the aisle here in IL. :lol: The state has been borrowing (essentially stealing) from the teachers, police and fire pensions for decades. Suddenly the economy crashes and IL is facing ginormous pension obligations, along with a massive budget shortfall. Â As far as $71K being a huge salary, it's not in Chicago. The cost of living is amongst the highest in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 And you know... if that's the case, I don't disagree with any of those things. It's wrong that teachers should do without the very basics. The problem, then, is the administration... if the schools are getting over $11,000 a year per pupil, as someone stated upthread, then something's not adding up. Â If you have 25 students in a classroom, that's $275,000 for that classroom... even after you pay the teacher, divvy some out to the administrators and building use/maintenance... where's the rest of the money to actually use for, you know, education?? Â Not saying this is the teachers' fault at all. I just think the whole system is somewhat broken and the kids are the ones who suffer in the end. Â To the teacher salary for those 25 students, you add in buses, building maintenance, lunch staff, insurance, employee benefits, specials teachers, office staff, administration, lawyers, books and supplies, computers, speech therapists, aides, nurses, police or security, athletic coaches and staff, guidance counselors, and on and on. You also have to figure that special ed classrooms have smaller numbers, as well as more staff, so you have to average that in. And some of the money comes with special requirements (technology funds, building funds, etc.) Â It takes a lot to run a school system. I don't necessarily agree with all of it, but it is the nature of schools these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 And you know... if that's the case, I don't disagree with any of those things. It's wrong that teachers should do without the very basics. The problem, then, is the administration... if the schools are getting over $11,000 a year per pupil, as someone stated upthread, then something's not adding up. Â If you have 25 students in a classroom, that's $275,000 for that classroom... even after you pay the teacher, divvy some out to the administrators and building use/maintenance... where's the rest of the money to actually use for, you know, education?? Â Not saying this is the teachers' fault at all. I just think the whole system is somewhat broken and the kids are the ones who suffer in the end. Â Methinks you have answered your own question. Â It was eye-opening to me to learn how MANY PEOPLE are employed by our school district, who are not actually teachers, but are FT employees of the school district. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Why do you assume they don't? What do the parents have to do with the strike? What control do they have over the contracts? Â Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Why do you assume they don't? What do the parents have to do with the strike? What control do they have over the contracts? Â :001_huh: They have everything to do with the strike and all the control and they either don't even know it or refuse to accept it and act accordingly. Â Parents are not helpless. These are their kids!!! Not the states. Not the unions. Not the teachers. Not the administrators. Â Parents could and SHOULD threaten a strike against low performing schools and crappy teachers. Dang straight. They should group together and hand picket signs to their kids and refuse to take them to schools that suck. Refuse to do without textbooks and school supplies until and unless a detail quarterly expense report is published explaining where their taxes are going. And if they aren't going where parents feel the educational dollars should go - they should go on strike then too. Â Kids in seats = $ Â No kids in seat = less $ Â Kids "belong" to parents. Parents have ALL the power. But they have to have the cajones to use it and get organized to protect it and they need to be willing to risk jobs and comfort to make it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I think that $70+ is more than enough for teachers. The Professor that I know, with 2 doctorates... after teaching at a college/seminary level for 40 years isn't making more than that... Then his outside job is writing books... (He's written about 40 published books) Then to stay in "that circle" he has to attend professional type seminars/meetings 3 or so times a year. I'm just not gonna say that teachers have it too bad ;( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 :001_huh: They have everything to do with the strike and all the control and they either don't even know it or refuse to accept it and act accordingly. Parents are not helpless. These are their kids!!! Not the states. Not the unions. Not the teachers. Not the administrators.  Parents could and SHOULD threaten a strike against low performing schools and crappy teachers. Dang straight. They should group together and hand picket signs to their kids and refuse to take them to schools that suck. Refuse to do without textbooks and school supplies until and unless a detail quarterly expense report is published explaining where their taxes are going. And if they aren't going where parents feel the educational dollars should go - they should go on strike then too.  Kids in seats = $  No kids in seat = less $  Kids "belong" to parents. Parents have ALL the power. But they have to have the cajones to use it and get organized to protect it and they need to be willing to risk jobs and comfort to make it happen.  :iagree:  And are we seriously debating whether or not a teacher of 26 years deserves $86,000 a year? I know most of us have rejected public schools, but really? A professional of 26 years(!!!!!!!!!!!), teaching kids from crime-ridden neighborhoods about the beauty of the world? Providing unruly students with an outlet for their harsh lives? Is that the hill we are going to die on? Really? Are we going to b!thc and complain about teachers working with adequate materials? Seriously? I know people everywhere are struggling. Maybe those guys should rise up and protest their situation instead of begrudging others for protesting. If all the workers in cruddy situations complained, maybe things would change for the better. Don't hate on the Chicago teachers for having the balls to stand up for their God-given rights. Do something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 They better watch out, or the churches will help out too much... and the kids will score better than ever this year :) If churches stepped up and put good private schools together... the state might be kicked out of their job ;) How can they NOT teach kids who are with them for a few hours a day :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 IRT the pensions in IL, teachers don't pay into, nor will they ever get, Social Secority benefits. It depends on the district whether teachers actually pay for their contribution to eir pensions (mandatory 9.3%) or if it's paid by the district. You might have heard, but we've had a long run of corrupt politicians from both sides of the aisle here in IL. :lol: The state has been borrowing (essentially stealing) from the teachers, police and fire pensions for decades. Suddenly the economy crashes and IL is facing ginormous pension obligations, along with a massive budget shortfall. Â Right on! The thievery in the state and Chicago is something special, and it's been going on for ... ever? It is utterly shocking how financially corrupt Chicago is. Â I would not be surprised if they've been dipping into the pension funds. Go after the real abusers. Â As far as $71K being a huge salary, it's not in Chicago. The cost of living is amongst the highest in the country. Â Yes. Housing and taxes are high here if you want to live in a relatively safe area. Evanston, a relatively safe and nice area, has break-ins, armed robberies and a murder or two each year -- sometimes near the high school. Â Chicago is also one of the most congested cities, so depending where you live and where you're travelling, commutes can be long. My husband only has to commute about 2.5 hours per day (walk to train station, train ride, then walk to work), and we live 17 miles from his work place. If he drove, it would take just as long since rush hours span about 3 hours mornings and evenings. He would also have to pay for parking downtown which is not cheap. Â Go after the political corruption and the abuse. Â While you're at it, go after the mega-rich CEOs stealing from their corporations. Â Pay the teachers. Â I'm all fired up, find me a rally! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) They always strike....... :glare: IL is broke..... I have no idea where they plan to squeeze anymore $$ out of. Â Â We will see how long this one lasts. Â Yup. I swear there was a strike almost every year growing up. I know elementary teachers are underpaid by far here, but our state is broke! 90 staff/teachers in our tiny area were laid off a couple years ago, even. I would be careful to hold onto my job in this economy and strike later when there is something to squeeze! Â High school teachers here make a HuGE salary out of proportion to our COL, IMHO. But then again, they do a hard job (well, some do!). Edited September 11, 2012 by mommymilkies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) . Edited September 11, 2012 by WordGirl not responding to strawman arguments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The tax payers pay the entire salary of everyone in the school district, so I don't think that is a valid argument.  In my district in CA, they took the top 3 years of salary and came up with an average, then retirement was 80% of that amount, provided you worked a min. of 30 years and were at least 62.5 years old.  I don't think this amount is unreasonable.  Dawn  They only pay about 10% in IL, and pension benefits are based on the highest salary ever earned. I think it's safe to say that the tax payer pays the majority of the pensions going out, not teachers.  Many pensions are above 50k per year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirth Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Still on strike ... I wonder if parents who have been largely sympathetic will change their tune as the days or weeks drag on. Â Now the school custodians are about to strike too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Just read this will continue tomorrow. Wow...what a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Has anyone learned what they're making? That'd be interesting... Didn't see it in the thread yet... (maybe it's there...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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