Why It’s So Hard to Be a Teacher Right Now blog

[MarkT]

https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/kzn8pn/why-its-so-hard-to-be-a-teacher-right-now

WARNING this is a web site called Vice but I did not see anything bad when I allowed ads.

 I have ad block on my browser 

 

The article seems legit - Apple News provided it to me on my iPad

 

You could download as HTML only and open in Word (newer versions).

 

other articles on that site may not be appropriate for younger children

[MarkT]

Mark, you might want to check the link. It landed me somewhere I wasn't really wanting to go.

I added warning

the site just seems to have a stupid name

 

I did a google inquire they seem legit

 

update some links in article

 

https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/2017_eqwl_survey_web.pdf

 

http://www.badassteacher.org/

 

https://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2016/rwjf430428

 

https://ampersand.gseis.ucla.edu/ucla-idea-heated-political-rhetoric-spills-over-into-classroom-increasing-stress-and-undermining-learning/

 

http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-02330-001

[Joyofsixreboot]

I wanted to read it (dd is a teacher in an inner city area, it is surreal) but don't need any hypnosis, thankyouverymuch ;-)

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[retiredHSmom]

The link works for me and I am in the US. I think Sadie is right that hers is linking to the AU version.

[DawnM]

Teachers these days are stressed out—maybe moreso than ever before.

One 2017 survey of nearly 5,000 teachers, conducted by the American Federation of Teachers and the Badass Teachers Association, found roughly two-thirds feel their jobs are “always†or “often†stressful—roughly double the rates of stress experienced by the general workforce.

Another recent report, this one from Penn State University and the non-profit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found 46 percent of teachers experience high levels daily stress. That ties teaching with nursing as the most stressful occupations in America. 

 

While reports going back decades indicate that teaching has always been a nerve-fraying profession, some experts say the current political climate, the public perception of teachers and public schools, and a Fed-level push to improve standardized test scores are all drivers of sky-high teacher stress and burnout.

“For years, we saw there was stress because of the testing obsession,†says AFT president Randi Weingarten, referring to standardized tests and federal education policies that prioritized raising student test scores. “Teachers wanted to meet the needs of children, but they were held accountable to test scores.â€

Other experts reiterate this point. “There has been a big emphasis on test scores, which puts the teaching emphasis on test prep,†says Joshua Brown, coauthor of the Penn State report and an associate professor of psychology at Fordham University. “Teachers can feel like they don’t have a voice or a sense of autonomy or control over curriculum.†That loss of autonomy, research shows, can drive up job-related stress.

While those test-prep stressors haven’t gone away, Weingarten says they started to abate late in 2015 when President Obama signed into law an act that gave states more power to determine public school curricula without the threat of federal penalties tied to standardized test scores. “There was hope things would get better,†she says.

But then a new source of stress emerged: the 2016 election, and President Trump’s appointment of Betsy DeVos to the post of Education Secretary. DeVos is a prominent charter-school advocate, and at times has been highly critical of America’s public schools. (She once said America’s public schools are “a dead end.â€)

 

Weingarten says this sort of “toxic rhetoricâ€â€”leading up to and following the election—engendered widespread disdain for public education. “Teachers feel that [disdain], and they hold that stress every day when they’re trying to do the best for their kids,†she adds. (New research backs her up on that.)

Laurie Matthews*, a middle school teacher with Rochester Community Schools in Oakland County, Michigan, says she and other teachers have felt a change in the way parents and the general public view their profession. “There’s this negative connotation that teachers only work so many hours, and have summers off, and have holidays, and I don’t think we’re as respected as we once were,†she says.

She says these negative views turn up during some parent-teacher interactions, and can make her job more stressful.

She mentions a comic strip she once saw that contrasted a parent-teacher conference from the 1970s to one held today. In both illustrations, a parent and student are sitting across from a teacher who’s saying the student isn’t performing at the level he should. “In the 1970s one, the parent is turning to the student and sort of yelling at him, but in today’s, the parent is yelling at the teacher,†Matthews says. “I think there really has been a societal shift where, before, we had the support of parents, and now we’re being blamed when students don’t do well.â€

Experts say a lack of administrative support and clarity is also common, and can promote high teacher burnout.

 

“A classroom is often a stressful environment, and many teachers have groups of students who are demanding,†says Paul Fitchett, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte’s Cato College of Education who has studied teacher stress and burnout. “If teachers in those situations go to their administrators, and the administrators are not supportive or clear in their vision of how to work with those students, that’s a situation that can lead to a lot of stress.â€

Again, Matthews says all this dovetails with her personal experience. When it comes to new teaching approaches and educational initiatives, “nothing is consistent,†she says. “Every few years, there’ll be a big push to adopt some new best practice, but just when we’re starting to get good at it, which takes a few years, there’s a new push.â€

Yet another source of educator stress: technology. â€œOver the last few years, cell phone use has become more and more of an issue in classrooms,†says Gina Spiers, an English teacher at San Lorenzo High School near Oakland, California.

While that may seem like an easy problem to fix—just tell the kid to put his phone away—Spiers says it’s not that simple. “Reminding students [to stop using their phones] becomes an endless loop of remind, put away, take out, remind, put away, take out,†she says. If students continue to use their phones, she says, confiscating it is an option. “But our school has a large number of students who are dealing with the effects of trauma, either in the past or currently,†she says. “When they are asked to give a phone to a teacher, a lot of them react badly.†While some “panic,†others flatly refuse, she says. In any case, all this causes a huge disruption in class.

 

Spiers says she has had to deal with this issue “every period, every day,†which she describes as exhausting. Alongside these newer stressors are the long-standing pressures associated with trying to engage and educate young people who would rather be somewhere else. Many teachers in the AFT survey also pointed to the heavy amount of planning and paperwork they’re expected to complete outside of their normal work hours. One offered this high-level critique: “I am overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, questioned and blamed for things that are out of my control.â€

And teacher stress doesn’t just affect educators; it hurts American society in real, measureable ways. When teachers are emotionally exhausted, that seeps into their teaching and taints student performance and educational outcomes, research shows. Teacher stress also leads to high turnover among educators, which costs the economy billions.

What can be done to fix the problem? Just as the drivers of teacher stress are manifold, any meaningful fixes will have to be multi-faceted.

Fritchett says getting young, inexperienced teachers more training resources and support early on would be a big step in the right direction. “What we have now is baptism by fire for young teachers,†he says. If we devote more money and resources to training teachers to handle classroom difficulties and diverse student populations—as well as the challenges of working in bureaucracies, which our school systems surely are—that training would help teachers manage stress and avoid burnout, he says.

 

Brown says mentorship programs and workplace wellness initiatives—designed to encourage teachers to monitor and improve their physical and emotional health—would also be beneficial.

Finally, Weingarten calls for a “culture of collaboration†among teachers, parents, administrators, and education officials to develop non-partisan solutions, and to create a more safe and welcoming environment for teachers. “Every single day, our teachers are trying to do the best for our kids,†she says. Feeling that the public supports and appreciates their efforts would go a long way toward lowering their stress. 

*Not her real name

Read This Next: We're Working Nurses to Death

 

[DawnM]

I copied and pasted the article.  

 

Hopefully a little bit of this will help people understand why I get a little protective of those who criticize teachers.  The profession has changed so much since I started it in 1989, when I used to love what I did and be proud to say I was a teacher.  I no longer love it like I did and I no longer encourage others to go into it.  

 

Pay used to increase roughly 2-3% per year for cost of living increases.  It no longer happens.  We used to be contracted from 8-3 (or whatever) and get most of our work done during our planning period.   Teachers no longer have planning periods.  They must attend 504 meetings, grade level meetings, intervention meetings, content core meetings, more parent meetings than ever, and on and on the list goes.  Our current admin says, "Oh, paperwork?  You can just take that home and do it on your own time!"  I am dead serious.  

 

Pay is horrible.  We could no longer make it if it were just my salary.  Hours are longer than ever.  The evaluations are very detailed and expectations are very high.  Test scores are KING and if your students don't meet them, you get bumped into a different grade level or even transferred to a different school.  Teacher incentives are pretty much gone.  Our rewards/incentives were removed this year.    And add parents who come in demanding things we can't provide, threatening to go to the media if we don't do X or Y, and it is not a field I wish for anyone anymore.

 

 

[Joyofsixreboot]

I copied and pasted the article.

 

Hopefully a little bit of this will help people understand why I get a little protective of those who criticize teachers. The profession has changed so much since I started it in 1989, when I used to love what I did and be proud to say I was a teacher. I no longer love it like I did and I no longer encourage others to go into it.

 

Pay used to increase roughly 2-3% per year for cost of living increases. It no longer happens. We used to be contracted from 8-3 (or whatever) and get most of our work done during our planning period. Teachers no longer have planning periods. They must attend 504 meetings, grade level meetings, intervention meetings, content core meetings, more parent meetings than ever, and on and on the list goes. Our current admin says, "Oh, paperwork? You can just take that home and do it on your own time!" I am dead serious.

 

Pay is horrible. We could no longer make it if it were just my salary. Hours are longer than ever. The evaluations are very detailed and expectations are very high. Test scores are KING and if your students don't meet them, you get bumped into a different grade level or even transferred to a different school. Teacher incentives are pretty much gone. Our rewards/incentives were removed this year. And add parents who come in demanding things we can't provide, threatening to go to the media if we don't do X or Y, and it is not a field I wish for anyone anymore.

Dawn -my dd concurs. Let's add that in her 3rd grade class there are 1 kids w/emotional or behavior probkems. There are no services for these kids. She has been hit, spit on, kicked and hit by a flying stool. She also has a desk thrower. How much teaching is possible in that environment? Yes, I know services are "mandated". Not happening. Then she gets to work until 6-7 nightly and weekends. I can see her burning out before my eyes. :-(

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Joyofsixreboot]

Oh, and all for $34,000/year.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[DawnM]

Oh, and all for $34,000/year.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

And if she had dependents to get health insurance for, take about $5,000 more out of that amount, minus taxes, minus basic living expenses......can't be sustainable.

[lavender's green]

It's always interesting to hear from DH's grandfather, who was in a teacher in, say, the 50s through 70s, give or take. He's the nicest, sweetest man, very wise, raised a warm and wonderful family and is very involved with raising his grandkids and great-grandkids. I give you this background because OHMIGOSH the stories he tells from his teaching days! Absolutely jaw-dropping. Nowadays people would go ballistic if a teacher did those things. There'd be police reports, a social media frenzy, national news headlines, teacher would lost his job at the very least, and probably be locked up. I laughed out loud at the part about kids being too traumatized to willingly give up their phones. No, that wouldn't have flown back then.

 

Actually I think that line about the phones and trauma is key. Back then the teacher was King and everyone knew it. The parent usually backed the teacher, and if they didn't, they and the kid could take a hike and figure out how to get an education elsewhere. Nowadays the kid is King and the parent will do anything to back the kid, and the school is terrified of getting sued, so they back the parent, too.

 

That's actually happening right now, at the very school he used to teach in. There's a highly disruptive and violent kid who terrifies this former teacher's granddaughter. She shakes like a leaf all day and hardly any learning goes on in that classroom. They can't change classes and the violent kid can't be removed. He has his very own aid, but that's not enough to keep him in line. Everyone's scared of getting sued, so they're deadlocked, held hostage by one kid and his dad.

 

I think this change has been coming about for quite a long time, not since the election. I mean, it's true that rhetoric has gotten over-the-top, but both sides do that, and these are all things I noticed when I was a student 10-20 years ago. I think under the politics is a tidal change in how we view kids and authority, plus the threat of litigation.

 

If your kid refused to give up his cell phone, would you be okay with the teacher slapping him with a ruler? Paddling him in front of everyone? What if your kid was a chronic trouble-maker who was giving the teacher a particularly hard time? Would you be okay with the teacher taking him out to the hall to discipline him, and then actually fighting him when the kid wouldn't have it? With other teachers backing up the teacher, so it was several teachers against one kid? What if your kid was just a chronic disruptive little a-hole? Would you be okay with all these teachers bodily lifting and throwing him out the school doors and down the hill? 'Cause in the time and place that DH's grandpa was teaching, that was how particularly difficult kids were dealt with. Everyone knew it, everyone willingly backed the teachers, and everyone respected the teacher and his decisions about discipline. They were NOT abusive power-trippers. Not at all. They ran a very tight ship and they were highly respected, not to mention being well-paid enough to raise a large family on a single income.

 

Somehow I don't think we'll return to that any time soon.

[Happy2BaMom]

It's always interesting to hear from DH's grandfather, who was in a teacher in, say, the 50s through 70s, give or take. He's the nicest, sweetest man, very wise, raised a warm and wonderful family and is very involved with raising his grandkids and great-grandkids. I give you this background because OHMIGOSH the stories he tells from his teaching days! Absolutely jaw-dropping. Nowadays people would go ballistic if a teacher did those things. There'd be police reports, a social media frenzy, national news headlines, teacher would lost his job at the very least, and probably be locked up. I laughed out loud at the part about kids being too traumatized to willingly give up their phones. No, that wouldn't have flown back then.

 

Actually I think that line about the phones and trauma is key. Back then the teacher was King and everyone knew it. The parent usually backed the teacher, and if they didn't, they and the kid could take a hike and figure out how to get an education elsewhere. Nowadays the kid is King and the parent will do anything to back the kid, and the school is terrified of getting sued, so they back the parent, too.

 

That's actually happening right now, at the very school he used to teach in. There's a highly disruptive and violent kid who terrifies this former teacher's granddaughter. She shakes like a leaf all day and hardly any learning goes on in that classroom. They can't change classes and the violent kid can't be removed. He has his very own aid, but that's not enough to keep him in line. Everyone's scared of getting sued, so they're deadlocked, held hostage by one kid and his dad.

 

I think this change has been coming about for quite a long time, not since the election. I mean, it's true that rhetoric has gotten over-the-top, but both sides do that, and these are all things I noticed when I was a student 10-20 years ago. I think under the politics is a tidal change in how we view kids and authority, plus the threat of litigation.

 

If your kid refused to give up his cell phone, would you be okay with the teacher slapping him with a ruler? Paddling him in front of everyone? What if your kid was a chronic trouble-maker who was giving the teacher a particularly hard time? Would you be okay with the teacher taking him out to the hall to discipline him, and then actually fighting him when the kid wouldn't have it? With other teachers backing up the teacher, so it was several teachers against one kid? What if your kid was just a chronic disruptive little a-hole? Would you be okay with all these teachers bodily lifting and throwing him out the school doors and down the hill? 'Cause in the time and place that DH's grandpa was teaching, that was how particularly difficult kids were dealt with. Everyone knew it, everyone willingly backed the teachers, and everyone respected the teacher and his decisions about discipline. They were NOT abusive power-trippers. Not at all. They ran a very tight ship and they were highly respected, not to mention being well-paid enough to raise a large family on a single income.

 

Somehow I don't think we'll return to that any time soon.

 

Believe it or not, there is a large - very large - continuum of discipline between being afraid to confront or dismiss disruptive children and beating or bodily lifting and throwing a child out the physical doors of the school. 

 

The fact that so many don't see that such a continuum exists is a large part of the problem. 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Happy2BaMom

[lavender's green]

Believe it or not, there is a large - very large - continuum of discipline between being afraid to confront or dismiss disruptive children and beating or bodily lifting and throwing a child out the physical doors of the school. 

 

The fact that so many don't see that such a continuum exists is a large part of the problem. 

 

Well, of course. I can tell a story about how a certain school used to be run without being for it. I'm saying that attitudes toward teachers and kids have radically changed since then. That's part of the problem too.

[Happy2BaMom]

Well, of course. I can tell a story about how a certain school used to be run without being for it. I'm saying that attitudes toward teachers and kids have radically changed since then. That's part of the problem too.

 

I understand. It just seemed as though you were extolling the success/virtues of the days teachers could do those things. 

 

Attitudes are a large part of the problem. I was a teacher. I saw a shift after NCLB. I said to a teacher friend, "they are taking all the problems of society, packaging it up, delivering it to school, and telling us to fix it or face repercussions". From parents who don't parent their children (there are many) to right[-wingers who see public education as a force of evil, it's never ending. 

[lavender's green]

I understand. It just seemed as though you were extolling the success/virtues of the days teachers could do those things. 

 

Attitudes are a large part of the problem. I was a teacher. I saw a shift after NCLB. I said to a teacher friend, "they are taking all the problems of society, packaging it up, delivering it to school, and telling us to fix it or face repercussions". From parents who don't parent their children (there are many) to right[-wingers who see public education as a force of evil, it's never ending. 

 

I said it was jaw-dropping. I can see how that might have been forgotten by the end, with the wording I used. I do think it's interesting to hear from people who taught back then.

 

I was in high school or so at NCLB. I don't know all the specifics, but it was obviously a huge strain on the teachers. One called it No Teacher Left Standing.

 

Also, right-wingers who see public education as a force of evil? :lol: Like I said, both sides use over-the-top rhetoric.

[DawnM]

Not defending anything being foisted upon teachers, just noting that here starting teachers make about twice that. And it just goes up from there. Administrators quickly get into six figures. Some of the prinicipals in the area make well over $150k a year. Here (not saying everywhere) I don’t think pay is the problem. I think the entire administration and structure is that leaves teachers in a can’t win situation. I honestly wonder why anyone would chose to enter a field as a PS teacher at this point. I get if you’re trying to get out and retire, but otherwise it just seems masochistic to start a career in it in this day and age.

 

 

I am definitely currently in the wrong part of the country.  I took almost a 50% paycut when we moved.  It stinks.

 

Curious where you are though.  Online teacher salary schedules for Houston and Dallas start at around 50K, not 70K.  Principals max out at 100K after 18 years of service unless they are in a hard to staff school, and then they get an extra $20K (Houston area, which shows higher than Dallas for pay.)

[DawnM]

It's always interesting to hear from DH's grandfather, who was in a teacher in, say, the 50s through 70s, give or take. He's the nicest, sweetest man, very wise, raised a warm and wonderful family and is very involved with raising his grandkids and great-grandkids. I give you this background because OHMIGOSH the stories he tells from his teaching days! Absolutely jaw-dropping. Nowadays people would go ballistic if a teacher did those things. There'd be police reports, a social media frenzy, national news headlines, teacher would lost his job at the very least, and probably be locked up. I laughed out loud at the part about kids being too traumatized to willingly give up their phones. No, that wouldn't have flown back then.

 

 

 

And it all varies depending on where you are.  SC schools seem quite overly sensitive about race issues (and I do get it, but I live right across the border in NC, and we don't have the same issues). My friend got fired for making a comment that was misconstrued as a racist comment (it wasn't.)  BTW:  My friend is black, so I am still shaking my head trying to figure out what happened.

 

Meanwhile, a NC teacher kicked a student and was on leave for 2 weeks before being transferred to a nearby school.

 

It seems like it is one extreme or the other.  Where anything rational stands, I have no idea anymore!

[MarkT]

I added most of the linked items in a post above for those who do not see the article.

===================

Just saw that DawnM posted the text

(need more coffee)

 

I am very pro teacher / GS counselor

my mother was a HS Math teacher 

my father was a Guidance Counselor at one point in his career

my sister is a Guidance Counselor now

 

I am fiscal conservative that wants better conditions and pay for the "troops"  and less on gadgets and sports stadiums

spend our tax money wisely!

 

 

[lavender's green]

And it all varies depending on where you are.  SC schools seem quite overly sensitive about race issues (and I do get it, but I live right across the border in NC, and we don't have the same issues). My friend got fired for making a comment that was misconstrued as a racist comment (it wasn't.)  BTW:  My friend is black, so I am still shaking my head trying to figure out what happened.

 

Meanwhile, a NC teacher kicked a student and was on leave for 2 weeks before being transferred to a nearby school.

 

It seems like it is one extreme or the other.  Where anything rational stands, I have no idea anymore!

 

Yup, one extreme to another. With a good bit of regionality thrown in, for sure!

 

To be clear, though, my MIL was a student at that school at the same time, and even though she sassed at her teachers a bit, she was basically a good kid, and so never faced any corporal punishment. It was really only pulled out for hard cases, but the community trusted teachers to make that call. Since the school still exists and DH's young cousins go there, we know there's a totally different atmosphere now.

 

I'm open to the idea that perhaps they went too far and that's why the pendulum has swung the other way.

[DawnM]

I added most of the linked items in a post above for those who do not see the article.

===================

Just saw that DawnM posted the text

(need more coffee)

 

I am very pro teacher / GS counselor

my mother was a HS Math teacher 

my father was a Guidance Counselor at one point in his career

my sister is a Guidance Counselor now

 

I am fiscal conservative that wants better conditions and pay for the "troops"  and less on gadgets and sports stadiums

spend our tax money wisely!

 

I have been both.  I am currently a school counselor.  

[Bluegoat]

Believe it or not, there is a large - very large - continuum of discipline between being afraid to confront or dismiss disruptive children and beating or bodily lifting and throwing a child out the physical doors of the school. 

 

The fact that so many don't see that such a continuum exists is a large part of the problem. 

 

I'm not sure that's so.  I don't see that the schools here have much leeway in terms of discipline at all.  Talk to the kid, miss recess, and suspension are about it.  And two of those are often counter-productive.

[Happy2BaMom]

I said it was jaw-dropping. I can see how that might have been forgotten by the end, with the wording I used. I do think it's interesting to hear from people who taught back then.

 

I was in high school or so at NCLB. I don't know all the specifics, but it was obviously a huge strain on the teachers. One called it No Teacher Left Standing.

 

Also, right-wingers who see public education as a force of evil? :lol: Like I said, both sides use over-the-top rhetoric.

 

Yes, just google "public education is evil" and you'll come up with multiple pages of blog posts, "news" articles, directives put out by religious organizations, etc. Not to mention some of the things I heard in person while teaching. Or have seen/heard in homeschool circles since. 

 

Which is really sad. Because something like 91% of all children in this country still attend public school. And I don't see that changing much, even with voucher programs & what not.

 

What my master teachers (mentors) used to tell me is that the largest changes they witnessed were: 1) how much needier their students were (compared to the old days) - whether emotionally (affection/affirmation), physically (hunger), mentally (LD's), they all needed SO much more from the teacher than students in prior decades, and 2) the vast increase in paperwork. To which I would add a 3rd: having to switch curriculum every few years & get up to speed with it. 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Happy2BaMom

[mellifera33]

 

 

Also, right-wingers who see public education as a force of evil? :lol: Like I said, both sides use over-the-top rhetoric.

 

I know families who believe that sending kids to public school equals walking in the counsel of the wicked, which goes against Psalm 1. I don't think it's terribly common in our heathen little corner of the country, but I could see it being more commonplace is other regions. 

 

eta: On the other hand, I know left-wingers who just as vehemently believe that public education is evil because it trains children to be consumeristic cogs in the corporate machinery of the world. I guess hating on public schools is an equal-opportunity pastime. 

SaveSave

SaveSave

Edited December 20, 2017 by mellifera33

[Happy2BaMom]

I'm not sure that's so.  I don't see that the schools here have much leeway in terms of discipline at all.  Talk to the kid, miss recess, and suspension are about it.  And two of those are often counter-productive.

 

There's a lot that the teacher can do in the classroom in ways that do not rely upon administrators or school policy. I have at least one teaching textbook filled with evidence-based strategies (meaning things that have been proven to work for other teachers) that have been used to integrate challenging children and handle discipline issues in ways that are very successful. I've seen a number of these strategies used successfully by master teachers as well. However, too often a teacher has not one, but multiple, very challenging children. Then there simply aren't enough hands/eyes/focused time to go around. 

 

There's a lot that can be done between what you outline above. (Edited to add: I'm not trying to be snarky. But there really is a lot that can be done other than the three things outlined. It just all comes down to time - by the time you've hit "talk to the kid" stage, you're already behind. A good teacher will have the skills - and time - to be directing & redirecting & engaging those kids after 15 minutes of the first class. But he/she can't do it with 28 or 30 or 35 other kids in the class, let alone if 3 or 5 or 10 of those are high-need.)

Edited December 20, 2017 by Happy2BaMom

[Bluegoat]

There's a lot that the teacher can do in the classroom in ways that do not rely upon administrators or school policy. I have at least one teaching textbook filled with evidence-based strategies (meaning things that have been proven to work for other teachers) that have been used to integrate challenging children and handle discipline issues in ways that are very successful. I've seen a number of these strategies used successfully by master teachers as well. However, too often a teacher has not one, but multiple, very challenging children. Then there simply aren't enough hands/eyes/focused time to go around. 

 

There's a lot that can be done between what you outline above. (Edited to add: I'm not trying to be snarky. But there really is a lot that can be done other than the three things outlined. It just all comes down to time - by the time you've hit "talk to the kid" stage, you're already behind. A good teacher will have the skills - and time - to be directing & redirecting & engaging those kids after 15 minutes of the first class. But he/she can't do it with 28 or 30 or 35 other kids in the class, let alone if 3 or 5 or 10 of those are high-need.)

 

Time and reasonable numbers would make a huge difference, yes.

 

But I'm not sure I think that the kind of things you mention are ever enough - there will always be some kids who for some reason, push the envelope.  My experience has been that with that stuff, it important to have predictable consequences.  Not necessarily even huge ones, but really negative social behaviour should not result in .... nothing.

[lavender's green]

I just think it's difficult to have a conversation with people who make sweeping generalizations and snap judgments about others. It just shuts things down before they even get started.

[DawnM]

I don't want to put my district on here due to privacy, but we are smaller, and one of the top end districts in the state, but not in a major metropolitan district like Houston or DFW. I thought we were pretty par for the course in the area as far as pay, but I googled after I saw your post and the surrounding districts are a bit lower paid. But they're still in the mid-50's and up for starters, with $2-3k bonuses for bilingual, Master's degree and other things, and then I know our district gives yearly raises, because it hits all of the city information mailings we get. They seem to average around 3% a year with bonuses around 3-5k. 

 

I understand and I realized that after I posted.   I do question the bonuses though, as I was looking at the salary scale , it already included an MA, not as a bonus item, as a salary item.  

 

But again, here, we get no extras.  Bilingual, that's nice, no extra pay.  They even took away MAs for anyone who got an MA after 20012 or so.  

 

I also was under the impression that in the Houston area, Memorial, and places like Katy ISD were among the higher paying districts but I haven't confirmed. Anecdotally, I know two teachers who taught  in Katy though and they always said they were happy with their compensation, but the parents drove them out. Apparently the administration would never back them up in issues with parents and they both said that it wasn't worth it. They took pay cuts and moved to Pasadena to teach ESL in predominantly Vietnamese and Hispanic schools and were much happier.  Clearly money is not everything. 

 

But I am sure they didn't take a 50% paycut.   I too changed districts this year, to a lower paying one (from last year, still in NC), but it was a $3,000 difference, not 25K.

 

Our teachers in our district are on year to year contract, and they definitely do not keep anyone past 12 months if they aren't "up to par" in whatever way the district considers that judging by school board meetings. There is no long term job security, which I would think could add to the stress of a teacher, but since our district has such a reputation as it does it can pick and choose. At least from what I witnessed and have been told by the people I know that teach here. We're a small town, so it's probably a bit of a bubble. 

 

That's good they can hand pick the best.  What I am finding is that there is such a discrepancy between districts and areas.  I know if I go back to LA, I can get a job by the end of the week as a counselor or ESL teacher.  They are short staffed in both AND I still have some connections there.   Many districts can't find enough teachers.  They are moving out of NC in droves.

 

For principals, I found this article in the Houston Chronicle. I don't know what our HS principal makes, but the ones in Houston don't seem to be doing too shabby according to this: 

 

http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/highest-paid-houston-high-school-principals-2017-11955180.php#photo-13889374

 

The papers always pick the highest paid to tell taxpayers, "Yup, see, look at your tax dollars and where they go.  Shouldn't these people make less?"  

 

However, those TOP paying ones do make a significant amount.  I would love to have more of that in NC, but we will never see it.  

 

It would be interesting to also compare retirement plans, but that would take far too much time to dig into.

[frogger]

I said to a teacher friend, "they are taking all the problems of society, packaging it up, delivering it to school, and telling us to fix it or face repercussions".

You mean schools aren't supposed to fix whole generations of people on their own with no support? Gee, what do you think they get paid for?

 

 

 

Before I even get a response who thinks I'm serious I will add this is an example of sarcasm.

[DawnM]

You mean schools aren't supposed to fix whole generations of people on their own with no support? Gee, what do you think they get paid for?

 

 

 

Before I even get a response who thinks I'm serious I will add this is an example of sarcasm.

 

Oh, no problem!  We can do that!

[Happy2BaMom]

Time and reasonable numbers would make a huge difference, yes.

 

But I'm not sure I think that the kind of things you mention are ever enough - there will always be some kids who for some reason, push the envelope.  My experience has been that with that stuff, it important to have predictable consequences.  Not necessarily even huge ones, but really negative social behaviour should not result in .... nothing.

 

Agreed. And I don't know of any decent teacher who thinks that really negative social behavior should result in nothing. It certainly doesn't in my school district which has a very clearly spelled out discipline policy that is pretty well followed. 

[DawnM]

So our district does the additional items on top of base pay. If you are fluent bilingual- that’s one, if you’ve a Master’s that’s another, teaching certain tracks- that’s another. The bonuses are flat lined across universal, regardless of position. At least what it released to us, the taxpayers. The retirement plan currently I’m not so sure. I am a member of the Texas Teacher retirement plan from working at state universities, and at that time, it was good. There was a mandatory 7% (or 6.8 or something right at 7) withdrawal but they matched 100% of that and after 5 years you were vested. In the 90’s it was a great plan. But our accountant and also our financial advisor advised us to pull my $$$ out many years ago, as they said states were no longer managing money like previous and it was no longer a sure thing to have any growth or return. I know they’ve revised the plan so many times, depending on when you started so I honestly have no idea if it’s any good or not. I was vested, so I took my money and invested elsewhere.

 

ETA- I will also add our cost of living in TX is a lot lower than yours in NC. It’s been creeping up the last 3-5 years, but it’s still not like Raleigh or Apex or Charlotte. No where close. We have very affordable housing, so that factors in on comparison too.

 

Yeah, it is very good pay for the COL area you are in.

 

I was thinking of health insurance in retirement too.  It varies.

 

If you were vested, did you qualify for health benefits in retirement?

[Hilltopmom]

You mean schools aren't supposed to fix whole generations of people on their own with no support? Gee, what do you think they get paid for?

 

 

 

Before I even get a response who thinks I'm serious I will add this is an example of sarcasm.

Hey, I’ve got my special ed teacher magic wand- don’t You know?!?

[Ausmumof3]

Yup, one extreme to another. With a good bit of regionality thrown in, for sure!

 

To be clear, though, my MIL was a student at that school at the same time, and even though she sassed at her teachers a bit, she was basically a good kid, and so never faced any corporal punishment. It was really only pulled out for hard cases, but the community trusted teachers to make that call. Since the school still exists and DH's young cousins go there, we know there's a totally different atmosphere now.

 

I'm open to the idea that perhaps they went too far and that's why the pendulum has swung the other way.

I think that in many cases abuse in the past has led to loss of trust so the pendulum has swung maybe too far. But with some of the stuff that's happened there's no way I want my kids in a school that uses physical punishment on the kids. It becomes too easy to see that as the solution to real learning difficulties.

[AngieW in Texas]

Increased pay would certainly help. I am a high school science teacher with a master's degree in physics. I'm in my 4th year of teaching and make less than $50,000/year which includes teaching a two week EOC test prep bootcamp in the summer.

 

During the school year, I am generally at the school until at least 5:30pm every day and then I come home and work for another 3-5 hours. And I work at least 10 hours every weekend.

 

While I do technically have a conference period every day, I often have a 504 meeting or an ARD meeting or some type of professional development or other administrative task that I have to do during that time.

 

[Bluegoat]

Agreed. And I don't know of any decent teacher who thinks that really negative social behavior should result in nothing. It certainly doesn't in my school district which has a very clearly spelled out discipline policy that is pretty well followed. 

 

Hmm.  

 

Here is is.... not so hot, IMO.  Which given the numbers of teachers I hear complain that they have no tools seems really common.   But instead they have kids that are constantly rude and disrespectful in the class making it difficult for the others to get much done.  As long as they aren't violent, there is little recourse.

 

Consequences are pretty slim.  At the high school level they can be kept from some activities.

 

They can be kept in from recess in elementary.  They can be expelled.  Sent to the office so the principle tells them they were bad rather than just the teacher.

 

You can't give extra work.  Nor detention because so many are bussed.  

 

Now - it really is spelled out in detail in policy.  If a kid is flagged as being in some way involved in an incident there is an incident report, a generic email goes home to parents telling them - even though the child might hear nothing about it at school, or may only have been in proximity to the incident.

 

Totally a case of people thinking that surrounding "incidents" with bureaucracy will accomplish something.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Bluegoat