Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What teachers think

In my district and in my brothers district (same state) teachers make 100,000. In my brothers' district they would strike every year they were asked to contribute to their health care ins costs ( they paid nothing towards it). Last year, when they went on strike, the local newspaper posted the teachers' salaries and that's when they stopped striking ... People were furious. We not nearly as an expensive state as Cali and they make 100,000 and get several weeks off paid during the school year as well as in the summer. So with all that I think they can find it hearts to put up with us few "difficult" parents.

I don't know where you live but in our wealthy county in California, the median teacher's salary is only $56,000. That is NOT a lot of money, especially if you live in an expensive area. A lot of California has very expensive housing. They keep giving pink-slips to teachers in California (and, I'm sure, nationally). I would never want my kids to become teachers- not because it isn't a great field but because it pays poorly and you have a real danger of losing your job from year to year.

Wow, I may be taking things a little different. Not everything is so black and white, but they do tend to move certain directions. If you are reading this you are most likely are a very involved parent in your child’s education, this is a good thing. My DW is a TA in a public ES and works with special needs students. I run a math club within the MS and I am currently advocating for better math within the district. Much of what the article speaks to is true, and much is also missed. Teachers are people with good and bad days, great teachers and some very bad teachers. Blanket statements about teachers and parents are not overly helpful. DS10 has an English teacher that has a very bad reputation with a large number of parents for a very long time, she is retiring this year and I believe there may be a parent party. She teaches 6th grade and she gets most of the top students in her class. She is hard and place’s a lot of responsibility on the students. If you’re late you get 0, if you do not follow instructions you get 0. She has high expectations and many very good students do not do well with her. I believe about 1/2 have cried in her class. DS20 had her and had issues, many of the Scouts in our troop (20 years now) and their parents can’t stand her. I am on the fence about her. I like hard standards with no wiggle room for the students. It teachers them a lot more than just good English (By the way she does have high expectations of her students) she also gives out a lot of homework, lots of writing, with multiple drafts, and yes show all drafts. I don’t like that she can be mean, and even demeaning. Still I believe her heart is in the right spot and that her intent is to make much stronger people. This is just one teacher, my DS 10 has some that all he has to do is turn in HW and you get an A. How many of us have students where most students get an A in the Class, how about other classes where less the 10% get A’s. DW has a parent , whose child is ADHD, yet the parent refuses to even discuss it, and if DW were to bring it up officially she could be fired. I still see things as a collaborative effort for 80% of the kids, our 1% on this board may have a much more difficult time than most. I have seen the pushy parent, the helicopter parents, and the one I see the most the uninvolved parent. Teachers today are glorified babysitters, we have asked our schools to teach morals, feed our kids, provide health care, all kinds of different services, we sue them if our kids get a skinned knee (Can’t run on the play- ground anymore), we sue if they have an allergic reaction (For some I understand this can be deadly, DS 20 peanuts), I think sometimes we ask to much from the schools. I think (Like anyone asked me) that this issue is much more than us vs. them. My sons will continue to have both good and bad teachers, and they will have to learn to deal with it, I will continue to advocate when needed, and if a particularly Bad teacher does something I will step in, after all I am an involved parent.

I think like any other profession - teachers want to be able to call the shots and not be questioned. Doctrs and lawyers want the same. And like teachers often we don't get it. I am lawyer and believe me we have plenty of difficult clients... the most difficult ones are usually the most knowledgeable and honestly they usually get the best result... They go toe to toe with you and are not always right but you learn how to deal with them, often you do better for them because of them and sometimes you even learn from them. The easy clients are the ignorant, compliant ones who don't question you. I am sure its the same with doctors. I don't think we ask too much from schools - I don't think we ask enough. For years they got to do whatever they wanted to children, now they are just pissed that such a situation is becoming increasingly unacceptable.

Having said all that, DS has had more good teachers than bad and some are wonderful. I have no problem with them being paid well if they do a good job. Still, they need to stop bitching that parents make their jobs hard b/c they simply don't just 'put up and shut up.' Go be a dog trainer if that is what you want.

Incidently, I don't care if DS gets A's... I just want him treated with respect and have access to his curriculum. I'd also like them not to lose his Epi-pen so, yeah, call me a overbearing but I'd rather him not die at school.

Yes, you have a whole different level of worry and advocacy.

The thing that bothers me about the system is that there seems to be no financial incentive to be a good teacher.

The pay scale should not just be based on certificates and years employed.

I didn't mean to imply all low paying jobs only attract mediocre workers--like I said, there are those who are called to it-- but a lot of potentially really great teachers, folks who have excelled in college, stay the heck away because they can go work in a professional environment and make $70k or more their first year, where starting teachers get 30-50k or so. This is pretty regularly discussed in articles lately it seems. There are some counties with great pay and some with lower pay, and the issue of teachers not being able to afford housing near where they teach is a longstanding one in California. And yes, the pink slip thing is no fun. But throwing more money at schools won't automatically solve all education problems (though CA is pretty darn low on student spending nationally I think).

That all said, I agree with Edwin that it's not black and white. And there are factions within schools among teachers--some are always complaining and trying to get away with whatever is easier for them, and many live for their students. But even some of them hate to hear from parents much. Personally I loved it, but rarely got much interaction because I taught high school, and it was sometimes terrifying to deal with some parents. I think more forums and opportunities for parents to interact with teachers would help. This article seems quite whiny; it's a teacher's job to work with parents. Of course you can nitpick but why? Most parents are amazingly supportive.

Irena, DH is an OB and I think he would agree with you. An educated patient with opinions about her care may be harder, but he actually appreciates it tons -- as long as she is respectful and not irrational.

...duly weighted in consideration of qualifications to offer advice in a particular area, and to be refuted with refereed literature/professional assessments in hand. Check.


If I were a teacher, I would be livid if this guy purported to represent my cause. To paraphrase him: "We wish we had the courage to be effective." Yikes.


I'll just switch my brain to blind faith mode. This is the Borg. Resistance is fu-tile.

As an aside, I often wonder if choice to work at a private school is an indicator of vocation in teaching. In our province, fully loaded average teacher pay and benefits are >$100k. Somehow, my little private high school managed to attract a team of remarkable teachers without matching provincial pay scales. These teachers almost universally supported extra-curricular activities, took a personal interest in each student, and were strong role models for myself and my classmates. Having spoken with them after I graduated, many said their choice of where to work was guided by the smaller class sizes and more pleasant working atmosphere of a university-bound crowd.