Are there really that many people that do not know a teacher?

[Ohio Joe]

I grew up in a small town in NE NJ. A lot of the teachers were local... almost all of them I think. You saw them year round because a lot of them took full time jobs in local stores during the summer and went part time during the school year.. They were leaders in the scouts and were involved in town sponsored sports.

My mom became a teacher after I was out of school. She started off teaching special ed in the Fort Apache section of the Bronx, then went to do the same in Newark NJ before she retired.

One of my best friends in Ohio, his wife teaches French. A guy in my APA pool league in Ohio was also a teacher. One of the best programmers I ever met used to be a music teacher in a small Ohio town.

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head... I'm sure I've met more... and you know what? They all did it because they thought it was important... Not for the money because fuckin-A, anyone that really believes teachers make too much money is an idiot. IMHO, they are one of the most under paid professions one could choose to be in.

This "War on Teachers" the repuglicans are waging is just plain stupid... Teachers create our future. They are an important factor in helping to make the America and the Americans we all want.

Teachers... Ohio Joe salutes you and stands with you. Fuck the repuglicans.

[Lifelong Protester]

1. Thank you Ohio Joe!

[driver8]

2. Right on, Ohio Joe!! Lots of teachers in my family...thanks for the support! n/t

[elocs]

3. I must admit that I do not know a teacher. I've always believed that teaching is a calling

and not simply a job choice. I had the education and the ability to have become a teacher, but I've never felt it as a calling.

I've heard that 50% of new teachers burn out after 5 years and frankly with the lack of respect that teachers get throughout this society along with so many Americans who think that they are overpaid I am surprised that people would chose to go into teaching even if they felt it was a calling.

[doc03]

4. The one I know best has ranted about kids getting free meals,

was against the NEA and is a Teabagger. I wonder how she feels now that she is retired and Kasich is after her pension.

[TheKentuckian]

5. The disconnect is amazing. I have known and presently know several teachers

and that is complete inoculation from the corporate and Reich wing propaganda.

Their nonsense spits in the face of reality but even if you don't know even one teacher personally it should still fail to jibe with good old common sense. These are professionals with a Masters making under 50k for the most part and almost none come within shouting distance of other people with a similar education and certainly not with such a high level of responsibility.

This whole deal is beyond fucking insane.

[Ohio Joe]

6. That sums it up far better then I did

Exactly the point I was aiming at, well said!

[RB TexLa]

7. My parents were in education but I don't know any personally today.

[WinkyDink]

10. I believe your parents would suffice here.

[RB TexLa]

21. They have both passed.

[Chemical Bill]

8. I know a local drummer and a bass player who have day jobs teaching. n/t

[MedleyMisty]

9. Why should knowing any personally make a difference?

They are alive. That is all you should need to know to care about them.

Plus there's the whole thing where the issue is much much larger than the particulars of it and affects everyone in the world. It's humans versus the fascists and big business. And surely we all know a human, right?

If it's normal to have to personally know someone to care about them and to not see the effects that these policies have overall - then no wonder humans are so fucked up.

[Ohio Joe]

12. That is true

As I said to TheKentuckian (and he makes the same point you do), my words are not the best. I was speaking from the heart, knowing many teachers and how hard they really work for so little, a failing I have. You are absolutely correct though and manage to express my thoughts better then my words are able to.

Thanks :hi:

[hfojvt]

11. lots of people have unhappy memories

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_bvT-DGcWw

and teachers do make more money than lots of other workers

that's a simple fact, even though teachers will always say they should make more

[Ohio Joe]

13. So that they make more then some justifies demonizing them?

Sorry but I find that a bullshit concept and will not buy into it. Teachers should make more then they do.

[senseandsensibility]

14. Teachers do NOT make more than workers with

similar education. Sorry. In California you need five years of college, and you need to continue training at the college level long past that. I really don't understand this attitude by some DUers (not you, obviously. Thanks for the support!). If they think it's so easy and pays so well, it seems like they'd be beating down the door to enter teaching.

[Ohio Joe]

15. Agreed

A point I knew and should have made but... I missed it... DOH!

Thanks :hi:

[senseandsensibility]

16. You have nothing to apologize for.

Your post was very uplifting for me personally. Also, I disagree with some of the posters above that it doesn't matter if people know teachers personally. It does. Personal relationships with parents and community are the only way we can combat the misinformation and propaganda in the media. Thanks for your kind words.

[Ohio Joe]

17. You know... It just bugs the crap out of me

Teachers... WTF? They are stooping so low as to rag on those that create our future... It just makes no sense. I don't get it at all... the "let's screw over the creators of our future and make excuses for the corporate overlords that fuck us all" mentality is simply insane. I do not understand how the repugs convince their followers that this is a good idea. It's just plain stupid.

[a la izquierda]

18. They SHOULD make more! Good grief!

Lots of people have unhappy memories about a lot of things. The teachers provided unhappy memories? Boo freakin' hoo. Unless teachers beat or molested kids, if you didn't like school, tough cookies. My husband hated school, but he never hated his teachers.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. They don't make more than other college educated workers

Teachers have always been at the bottom of that scale.

We make more than waitresses, hotel maids, retail workers, and several other jobs that DO NOT require a college degree. But when you compare us to college degreed professions, we have always been at the bottom.

My first teaching job was at a school not far from the GM Leeds plant. Most of our parents worked at the plant. Many did not have a high school diploma. And they all made better salaries than any of the teachers at our school made.

And yes, I've always said teachers should make more money. Cause they should.

[hfojvt]

23. where I work, 3 of the 4 janitors have college degrees

including one part-timer (me) who has a master's degree.

I would not be surprised if some of the GM workers had college degrees too. I'd be making more money today if the Kraft plant, where I worked as a temp for three years, and applied four times, had hired me, or the parts store inside the plant where I applied twice.

Not to mention the six promotions I have been passed over from my current employer.

I could have sworn people told me that a college degree was supposed to get me hired ahead of people who don't have such degrees.

Point is, at least for this math major, a college degree is no guarantee of a good paycheck.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Is a college degree REQUIRED for those jobs?

Does the GM plant REQUIRE college degrees?

Big difference between workers who HAPPEN to have college degrees and workers whose jobs actually REQUIRE them.

For several years after I graduated from college I worked several jobs that didn't require degrees. The pay was horrible. But I had no right to complain and was glad at the time to have a job.

You have chosen to work in a profession that doesn't require a degree. You'd have a valid complaint if your degree was required for your job. But it's not.

[hfojvt]

27. I have not chosen to work in any such profession

I applied for the job because I thought I could get it based on previous experience. The choice I have as a job applicant is to pick the lesser of evils of the jobs that are available.

As for a college degree being required. Funny thing there. My grandmother graduated from High School in 1912, took a test and became a teacher of grades K-8 in a one room country schoolhouse.

That's standard Guild procedure though. Create barriers to entry to justify the higher fees you charge/get paid.

Teachers are lucky though, or smart, in that there is an employer in their field in every city in the country. I would die of starvation trying to find an employer who required a degree in math or economics.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Well I am glad to see standards for teaching have improved in 100 years

My aunt also taught school as soon as she graduated from high school (about 1920?). She did eventually go to school to get a degree in education. But it was common for many years to hire teachers who were merely high school graduates.
There are a couple reasons for that:
1. Most teachers were women and for many years, it was rare for a girl to have more than an 8th grade education. So a high school graduate represented the well educated women in our society.
2. As teachers became more well-educated, they began asking for higher salaries. As states moved towards requiring college degrees for teachers to be certified, smaller (poorer) school districts fought the requirement, because they feared they couldn't afford to pay college degreed teachers. The certification requirement also resulted in the closing of many one room school houses, where teachers taught all grade levels, in many rural communities. Most of the few remaining one room schools have closed in the past decade due to No Child Left Behind and its certification requirements.

As for your situation, you can teach Math. Many districts have programs for Math degreed folks to get on the job teacher education training. There is still a rather significant shortage of Math teachers.

[auntsue]

19. People seem to only remember the bad teachers but

forget those went the extra mile to help. People forget that while the students do get to leave at 3:00, teachers almost never do. There are meetings and other duties that keep their minimum day at 4ish so 7:30 (or maybe 8am)to 4 or 4:30 is not exactly a short day. Remember too that teachers may not leave their student unsupervised so bathroom breaks are only at scheduled times In an "emergency" you could call the office and get someone to cover but it WILL be noticed if you do it too often.

The "workday" is not over just because the on-site requirement is ended. There is an expectation that lessons will be planned, work corrected, parents called etc. AND many, many teachers are taking classes to further their education or just keep up with new things so a couple nights a week they go to school for 3 or 4 hours and then have to write papers and study for tests. Parents night, and all those lovely holiday pagents have to be planned and attended at no additional compensation.

Teachers have to be aware of medical and first aid basics because students come with all sorts of physical needs. Basic psychology is needed because there are so many students with emotional issues. Teachers are "mandated reporters", which means that they are required to be alert for signs of abuse and neglect and if thay fail to report they could end up in jail.

Please won't someone do a "reality" show on what teachers have to deal with. Why do they do it. Well you have to feel what it feels like when a kid"s face lights up and they say "oh I get it now." It IS not just a job it's a calling. I am disabled, almost retirement age anyway but I tutor my neighbor's children and volunteer with some foster kids - I can't explain it is rewarding - however my landlord, and the grocery store only take cash.

edited for spelling.

[Ohio Joe]

22. There was one

With Tony Danza no less.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/31/entertainment/la-et-danza31-2010mar31

[LWolf]

25. Thank you

for your support of my colleagues in Ohio.

[Initech]

26. I grew up around teachers, and I know several of them.

It really sucks that the GOP has unleashed a full-out assault on the education profession. But what's really ironic is that the school administrators - the ones who directly benefit from this - are buying into the bullshit that Fux News is spinning. :grr: