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Harney Middle School teachers David Frobes, from left, a U.S. History teacher, Tom Figueroa, a math teacher, and Jeff Bagford, an algebra teacher stage a protest off school ground after walking out at 2:41 p.m. the end of their contractual workday Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 | 4:46 p.m.
Sun coverage
At 2:41 p.m. Wednesday, the front doors to Harney Middle School swung open and half a dozen teachers marched out.
They stopped quickly at their cars to grab signs, then took post just beyond school property to greet a stream of parents picking up their children.
Their signs listed names of local schools where fine arts programs have been slashed and equated funding and teachers with students' futures.
The teachers were protesting Gov. Brian Sandoval's proposed cuts to education. It was a scene that played out across Las Vegas.
About 45 teachers at Cadwallader Middle School also protested. They got the idea from teachers at Miller and Greenspun middle schools, who have been walking out of classrooms every day at 2:41 p.m. for a few weeks.
The time is significant. At 2:41 p.m., teachers' contract hours end, meaning their official work day is over.
Normally, the teachers stay late to grade papers, tutor students or run extracurricular activities. Many reported regularly working 50 or 60 hour weeks, without overtime pay.
Not anymore.
"If we're not going to get pay increases or stable pay, we're only going to work from 7:30 a.m. to 2:41 p.m." as dictated by contract, Harney English teacher and girls' basketball coach Brandi Thomas said. "Obviously, working extra hours helps the kids, but this is for the kids, too."
The teachers worry that Sandoval's proposed education cuts will further decimate K-12 education. They said they've already seen it happen. Choir programs, language classes and extracurriculars have been shuttered. Support staff has been let go.
Clark County school officials expect cuts of up to $400 million if Sandoval's budget is approved.
"I work really hard for what I earn," Cadwallader geography teacher Brian Boothe said. "I'm not trying to earn $100,000 a year, but I want to be respected."
At Cadwallader, several students joined their teachers to protest. The teachers vowed to continue until education funding is restored.
Saturday, members of the Clark County Education Association will join parents, students and other union workers to rally for education at Cashman Field. They have a singular message for the Legislature: You can't cut public education funding and expect students to succeed.
A plan also is in the works for a district-wide teacher walk out Monday, the start of "Teacher Appreciation Week."
"We don't get paid for our overtime, and we're not looking for that," Thomas said. "We just want things to remain stable for the kids. The only way we're going to fix Nevada is these students."
Invest in education - invest in the future. Check out these PSAs about the negative ramifications of continued cuts to education.
http://vimeo.com/channels/educationcuts#...
wow, will you send a photographer and reporter to every "protest" I stage with 4 other people? We can be found complaining at the local bar most nights, and sometimes there are more than 5 of us. We can make signs if that will help.
There should also be an upper limit to the number of students in any class. Cut it off right at the number.
Every CCSD employee and every NSHE employee should be there with them.
The money just isn't there. Come on teachers, if you care so much about the kids do not short-change them. Protest another way.
I find it interesting how people think teachers should log in extra hours without getting paid because it's "for the kids." Do other professions work without getting paid? I don't think so. What about the parents stepping up to help out their own kids by being involved in their schooling?
Also, it's interesting how the district won't cut sports, but they will cut other aspects of education. School is NOT sports. Other countries don't have sports integrated into their school system. Maybe it's time we take a good look at what they are doing.
Here's a thought.
.
Perhaps parents could pay for their own childrens education.
.
Just a thought.
Why is there this expectation that teachers should take a vow of poverty similar to that of a nun for the sake of "the children?"
Pediatricians also help children. I guess they should work for free.
Teachers have bills and sacrifice enough to educate children. The idea that they should just roll over and die for the children is insulting.
Would you work for free?
We threw more and more money at teachers for years and received less! Lets try it the other way and see if we can get back to a decent education for a decent cost, because throwing more money at teachers sure didn't work!
Some of the things folks do not see is the inside politicing that is now going on within schools, pitting teacher against teacher for next year's positions. It is real hard to have any kind of unified rally with the inward bickering going on.
Also, you have the factor of NON-UNION teachers and support staff who are magically getting positions/or place holder positions for now. The general public is NOT aware of the many battles going on these days.
We are very concerned about instructional hours and minutes (a critical issue), adequate environmental conditions for student learning, continued technology support, and students getting the needed coursework completed for advancement. It is a tall order and all requires funding and a long term commitment to fund, not this continual fly by night every other year battle over funding that Nevada foolishly follows for lack of a better plan and solid leadership.
How is it, that a state, so rich in natural mineral, solar, wind, and gas resources, plus the gaming and resort industries, does not find the wealth in taxes to fund its infrastructure richly?
There is something terribly wrong here.
Teachers will continue to carry signs, and make their voices heard. But will anyone listen?
As we all know, Nevada has some of the worst students in the nation, and listening is not a strength for many here, let alone comprehending.
Sorry.
Wow..these teachers can't spell strong or tell time. Just because dismissal time for school is 2:41, they are required to stay until 4:30 or 5. How many private employees get to protest their employers on the company dime?
Sandm, my contract is for 7 hours and 11 minutes per day, for 184 days a year. That's ALL I am paid for. I am not required to stay past my contract time, which for me is 2:01. I do so because I care about my students, not because I am required to do it. Anything I do outside of contract hours I am doing for free. I am not protesting on the "company dime", but rather my own time. Let me ask you this-- would you work for your private employer beyond your scheduled work time for no extra money? No? Then why should I?
Last time I checked, Strong was spelled S T R O N G; just like on the sign. Maybe the $ used for the S confused you?
Dismissal time is 2:41 for middle school teachers. They aren't protesting on company time; thus the "Working only contract hours" protest. They walk on campus at beginning of the time they are paid, and are walking off when it ends.
No one is required to stay until 4:30 or 5. Teachers who stay after school each night until 4:30 or 5 (or 6-7 like me) don't get paid for those hours.
How many private employees give their employer 3-4 hours of unpaid time every day, and come in on their days off?
Public school is overrated
For decades parents and voters have been force-fed the myth that public schools are vital in preparing our youth for gainful employment and a well-adjusted adulthood. Schools can't do that today and they never have. Real education begins when you join the private sector workforce and move away from mama. That's when you learn there are three types of people - those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that don't know what's happening. If your job is your highest priority you will likely succeed. If you strive to learn everything about your profession you will likely succeed. If workplace contributions give you the second-best feeling possible you're on the track to be a success. Or, you can be an $80,000 per year baby sitter school teacher. Take it from a one-eyed high school dropout with 40 years of management in the medical device industry.
Retiredgenius, how about some facts to disprove what you're saying? Check out this data: http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm If education doesn't matter, like you say, then how are these facts possible? I think the problem is that people of your ilk make stuff up to support whatever position you believe in. I certainly believe that you were successful without a formal education, but you are the exception and not the rule. And those are the FACTS.
jzetzman & teachers:
Help me understand here; does your 7:11 per day include any time for lunch? Are you paid for lunch or other breaks during the day? What is the breakdown of your salary divided by number of hours per 7:11 workday (minus lunch) divided by 184 workdays per year?
Call your legislator at 1-800-978-2728 and DEMAND that they support education and vote against Gov. Sandogibbons devastating future for Nevada. End this budget and start over. Just like his predecessor, Brian Sandogibbons does not care about our children or working families. Only the corporations and the rich get tax breaks. The rest of us can eat cake.
@JLOKC. Teachers, by contract get a 30 minute lunch period, which is required by Federal Law, that is part of the 7 hours 11 minutes. If you are working more than 4 hours, you are entitled to a lunch break. Many teachers do have one period that they don't have students. That is when they return parents phone calls, take part in parent conferences, put grades into Parent Link, and for most teachers that period is less than 55 minutes. If you check the news for the past several months, I am sure you will find stories where major corporations were sued and lost for requiring employees to work unpaid hours.
@Jackiebrown. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think that I took easy courses and I also graduated from a good university(West Point, Class of 1975). As far as those who can't do teach, come to my classroom. I teach high school math. Do what I do for a week, and that includes all of my unpaid time, writing lesson plans, grading papers, most teachers have loads of 150 students or so, so that's only 500-600 papers per week to grade, preparing for the next day's instruction. See how you feel after that week. I have been a city manager, the business manager of treatment center, worked for a major corporation, and owned my own business. What have you done?
Please, do not compare teachers to pediatricians. Pediatricians have so much more education than a teacher. Pediatricians do not walk off the job at quitting time to "protest". Pediatricians can't say "that's close enough". They must be exacting. Pediatricians save lives while teachers only want to save jobs. Comparing a teacher to a physician is very insulting to the physician.
Jackie- If that's what you believe, come do my job for a week. ALL of it, planning, meetings, defending your practices, the research, deal with the parents, the kids who lick themselves, hum, sleep, and throw things at you...Plan lessons for teaching 1st -6th grade reading levels all in the same 90 minutes and then children who use their fingers to add to 10 and students who can multiply 2 digit by 2 digit numbers in their head all in the same 70 minutes, teach English to the child who just moved to this country and then teach them all manners and social etiquette. I am an expert in 7 subjects and 6 grade levels; but I only "teach" 1 grade level. I dare you to do my job if you think I only teach because I can't do anything else.
You're right, I can walk away. Yes I did choose teaching, and yes, I didn't go into teaching for the money.... but that does not make me a door mat, it does not mean I have to take the insults or disrespect. And it sure as hell doesn't mean I have to leave the country.
And yes, I could have a job in Finance, Business or even Engineering. I actually would be very successful. I'd be successful in whatever I chose to do. It's called education and I am dang smart.
Now, if Jose and Shaniqua (nice racist names there) can't read by 8th grade, what makes you think that a teacher staying after school for 2 hours without the children, will change that? Just curious.
JLOKC- it works out differently for each teacher. However, with a Master's Degree and 15 years experience it works out to roughly 30 an hour for at work time. We don't get paid for 30 minutes lunch, but I work through mine every day and often have kids in for tutoring and detention (despite it being contracted no student unpaid time). Prep time is paid, but it is for meetings, grading, parent conferences, report cards, progress reports, planning, etc. and is only 50 minutes. (when my doctorate is done, it will only add about 3 bucks per hour if I'm lucky)
What "breaks" are you talking about? We don't get any other then our lunch and prep.
@rejecto. The analogy being made was the just because teachers work with children, we shouldn't be expected to do things for free. Teachers aren't allowed to leave when when their contracted workday is over? Then, by extension the casino union employees should leave work when their contracted day is over. See how that goes over.
I don't ever recall a teacher ever saying "that's close enough". Teachers have a standard to achieve just as any other profession. Our standard is called the Proficieny exam, and other mandated district tests. "Close enough" doesn't work, it has to be exact.
Try writing a coherent, 5 paragraph one page essay on a topic you have never seen until you read the prompt, One of the past ones was "Do you think that students should be able to drop out of school before the age of 18? Support your position." Make sure that you use correct spelling, punctuation, and have no other grammatical errors. Now, do it a second time on a completely different subject. Oh, you don't have any reference materials like a dictionary. Make sure your essay supports your position. It will be handwritten, and must be legible. It will be graded by three different evaluators and your score will the average of those scores. That just the writing exam.
Here is a link to a practice math exam. http://nde.doe.nv.gov/Assessment/HSPE/HS...
Why don't you look at it, see how well you do. It will cover everything that you learned in math from elementary school to algebra and geometry. The only reference material you may use is the formula sheet in the front of the test. You may NOT use a calculator. Now tell me "close enough" is acceptable.
Gotta laugh at the haters...
Teacher Bashers are a dime a dozen in this burg, and not a one of em' has a lick of sense.
"We've thrown money at teachers for years!"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!
Man, that's a hardy knee-slapper, tbvegas!
Another favorite;
"They hardly put in any hours. They get paid for THAT?"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
Man, you guys are really ON TONIGHT, but STOP! My side hurts!
And this made-up malarky, courtesy of the Right-wing NutJob Machine:
"The money just isn't there."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
THAT WHOPPER has really become a MULTI-PURPOSE, catch-all line of B.S. no matter WHAT the question is. Getting a LOT of TRACTION out of that one, state AND fedrul.
Well DANG. All this FREE ENTERTAINMENT!
It's been a hoot, as always!
Pat must be "tied up" with all his Wranglin' & Ropin' & Rustlin', or I am SURE he would weigh in with a few doozies himself.
@tanker 1975 What do you think the result would be if every legislator and the Governor had to take the HS proficiency exam? I bet the results from an N6 school would be better. Then if we broke it down by gender and race the results would be more interesting. Here is a new cell to put in the matrix... Rs and Ds. I bet the legislature would have at best 10% proficiency...
Just think the Legislature Improvement plan could read something like this..."By 2012 20% of legislators will be proficient in mathematics."
@Gaskin, ROFLMAO. I did some research today. In the 2010 Census, the population of Nevada was approximately 2,700,000. If you remove the populations of Washoe and Clark County, the rest of the counties of the state have a population of approximately 328,000. According to CCSD figures, the total enrollment was approximatly 300,000. Do the rural members of the Legislature understand the size of CCSD?
@MelissaSmith -- I'm implying that I hate it when people use a dollar sign for an s. Please don't teach english.
So let me get something straight..I'm private employee and I have to work 8 hours M-F all year minus holidays and 2 weeks vacation. I don't get $40K the day I step out of college. I have to wait 90 days for any medical coverage.
I guess I'm calling my Legislators and DEMANDING for a private school voucher.
I was one of those people who believed teaching was an "easy" job. That was until my son became an elementary teacher seven years ago. He is not a "moron," like some people would like to believe all teachers are. He was a National Merit Scholar in high school and he has degrees in elementary education and mathematics.
I have seen how much time he puts into his job. Evenings, weekends, and "vacations" seemed to be filled with schoolwork. He received awards for his dedication.
However, he decided that he was done with the constant attacks. He took a job two months ago as an assistant manager of a clothing store. The job doesn't require an advanced degree or any special skills, yet the pay is better than teaching. My son has said that he finally feels like he can relax on his days off and that he isn't owned by parents or administrators.
The continued attacks on teachers will likely lead to more stories like this, especially as the economy improves. My son loved teaching, but there hits a point where love of ones job is not enough to offset the difficulties.
School unions in Clark county have fought against paying school taxes based on the value of their homes like the rest of the country for decades,their union leaders want everyone else to help pay their salaries and benefits except them.They only work part time 184 days per year @ 7 hours per day. There is no mention of the personnel days off they had put in there contracts, in my school district they have 5 paid personnel days off per year.We not only have to pay them when they are off we have to pay another employee to take their place. School employees took over the school system a long time ago and now that their incomes and perks are being exposed they are blaming everybody but themselves for this unsustainable financial mess they created.If the rest of us had the days off you clowns get with the salaries and retirement benefits you have we would not complain we would keep our mouths shut and be grateful for all that the hardworking people in this country do to pay your overpaid/ungrateful butts.So here is my solution to your problem of feeling that you are not paid enough for what you do,go get a real 8 hours per day 5 days per week job with 2 weeks vacation.There are plenty of unemployed folks who would be more then happy to take your place and they would be grateful to be as compensated as your whining butts are.So after you read this sit down at the computer and compose your resignation letter and print out a copy of your resume.While most of us work 8 hours per day 5 days per week and 50 weeks per year for a total of 2000 hours you clowns work 7 hrs per day 184 days per year for a total of 1288 hours per year minus your personnel days and those half school days for which you are paid for the entire day.Good luck in the real world.
@sandm- "I'm implying that I hate it when people use a dollar sign for an s. Please don't teach english."
1) capitalize English. 2) you said (and I quote) "teachers can't spell strong". There is no inference or implying in that sentence. Take an English class.
"So let me get something straight..I'm private employee and I have to work 8 hours M-F all year minus holidays and 2 weeks vacation. I don't get $40K the day I step out of college. I have to wait 90 days for any medical coverage."
I didn't get $40k the day I stepped out of college either, and I had to wait for insurance as well. Where do you get your info? The insurance comment just came out of left field.
"I guess I'm calling my Legislators and DEMANDING for a private school voucher."
Why? So you can go back to school? Not being snarky, but that's the flow of your rant. There are no connections and everything jumps all over the place.
Private school vouchers are another argument.
Vouchers are nothing more than Friedman's free market economic theories that do not work.
In this debate, the non-teachers are definitely getting schooled!
I love it.
Carry on...
I'll say it again just because it's so dang fun:
Most people simply lack the understanding of precisely what the mechanism is within teachers that drives them to teach.
What it is NOT: summers off, high pay, working indoors.
When they choose to dedicate their talents in enriching lives and enabling self-discovery, when they create lessons that invigorate littler ones to make progress inward and upward, when they manufacture routes for developmental integration of facts, processes and personal attainment; then those teachers find a satisfaction unlike what most people know.
If it were easy, anybody could do it. If it were high-paying, many people would strive to develop the skills to make the big bucks. It's neither.
They do it because of the sense of accomplishment, of fulfilled purpose and of mastery - not unlike musicians creating a piece of music and playing an instrument so well that the crowd explodes in applause.
But in the well-run classroom, the crowd implodes with understanding, with self-reliance and with self-worth.
JLOKC: We get 25 minutes for lunch, and I have worked through mine nearly every day for sixteen years as a teacher.
Dear Fellow Teachers:
I have been in this forum and quit because of too many bloggers who are ignorant and I felt it was a waste of my time. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THEM. THEY REALLY WILL NOT CHANGE THEIR MINDS. THEY ARE WHO THEY ARE AND NOTHING CAN CHANGE THAT. YOU ARE SIMPLY WASTING YOUR TIME. "Birthers" as they are, they will find other ways to put us down. Here's a suggestion:
Write about the good things happening in your school. Let us show them what we do. Not that it will make them change their minds, but it is a turn toward the positive aspects of what dedicated teachers, students, and parents do of which these people have no clue.
Thank you.
For Nancy/ASadTeacher: Okay, you are on,here is just one positive story from one in the trenches:
Yesterday, as a ploy towards fun and learning, and to teach my 3rd graders how to outline, do some scientific observation and notation skills, seasoned with social studies, I paired them with $2 bills, paper, and magnifying glasses. Started them with with a K-W-L, did a mini lesson on outlines, history, money, and government and turned them loose.
It seems for every fact they jotted down in their outline, they had also generated a question. Time flew by and the bell rang and they were not too happy about setting this aside to pass into their reading groups. But this is an example of how I roll, and I am happy to slum around Las Vegas bank to bank trying to locate and buy $2 bills for my students to use. This lesson goes with the Trophies story all 3rd graders are reading, "How You Make a Million." For math, we played a game I invented called, Casino, where they scramble to make sums of money correctly using various denominations of money. They learn about "greed" in that game as well (a little lesson in character building). There's your 3 Rs! and a wee bit of science! Come join us, why don't you?!
Good lesson approach Ali! They discover learning on their own - that's the best approach!
By the way, I have a few $2.00 bills. Want them? All for a good cause! Thank you.
Arent they protesting on the clock? Isn't there a 20-30 minute after school bell period where teachers are still on duty?
Mr. Crawford,
9 out of 10 random assignment studies on the efficacy of vouchers show they do in fact work. Importantly the biggest positive impacts are on low-income minority children.
Patrick: Students are let out of Harney Middle School at 2:24. It appears that 2:41 is the end of the contractual time for teachers, according to the article. I know you'd dearly love to discover that teachers are protesting "on the clock," but that's not happening.
I just want to take a moment to say, thank you thank you thank you!! to the teachers who do the tireless thankless, job of teaching, mentoring, and caring for our children. As a whole, this community is doing their best to try and stop Sandoval from decimating your ability to do the best job you can do, and I apologize that we have yet to succeeded. But we will continue to do our best and we appreciate that instead of simply walking out the door at 2:41 and going home that you come back to fight these budget cuts, not because it's your job that is being affected, but because you believe in the power of education and the future of our youth. Once again, we recognize your hard work and appreciate all that you do. You are the unsung heros of our community.
Education funding has been steadily increased for a decade and student performance has steadily declined...WHY? Education consumes 55% of the states budget.
For all of the people who say they would gladly support higher taxes, none that I know have made any donations to the Public Education Foundation to support edcuation. WHY?
And since the Unions and their members are so strongly in favor of rasing taxes, let's implement a 10% tax on all union dues. I have suggested this and leadership has not run with it....WHY ?
Take Action
Write your legislators or do one better and write all of them at once!
Nevada Student Coalition has a page where you can->
http://cc-nsc.com/?page_id=201
If you're not sure what to say we have ideas listed that will get you started.
Write your legislators TODAY
and remember to tell your friends...
He couldn't cut the muster as a teacher, wasn't qualified or motivated. He was 'let go' early and moved on. Now he says teachers only spend their time at school, don't grade papers, make lesson plans, research, meet with parents or probation officers or other faculty to plan and reverse-plan, and somehow still he thinks he knows enough to criticize those whose motivation he'll never have or even understand.
Poor Patrick. Sniping away because he CAN'T HANDLE it and from his remarks, would 'take' our salary but not the work load.
way to go, all i can say is that why nevada schools will continue to remain at the bottom of the list of all states in the quality of education given.
@Patrick. How many voucher students do you think the Meadows will take? How about Dawson School, or Las Vegas Day School? How many do you think the Catholic Schools will take? How about the Faith Luthern?
I am very confused. We have been at the bottom already despite funding education first for many years. Now we are falling apart just because we need to cut some salaries. Really? If the education system had been doing a better job all along I think you would get a little more sympathy. Almost all other state employees had to take a furlough day/pay cut. Why didn't teachers step up an do the same?
Tanker, don't expect an answer from Patrick. He tends to ignore those things for which he has no answer or an answer that doesn't fit with what he is spouting about. He's never been able to tell me what private schools in this city are affordable enough that a voucher would suffice for the tuition or even close enough that a parent who is poor (and that's who he claims he's advocating for) would be able to make up the difference.
notachance: Why didn't teachers step up and take furlough days/pay cuts? Because teachers didn't get all those great raises when everyone else was. Because the powers that be won't give furlough days...they'd rather make the teachers work for less instead of doing the fair thing and at least letting them have the day off if they aren't going to get paid for it.
Here we are Nevada, in deep financial trouble. Not enough taxes being raised to run our own government. At the same time, our Governor and others refuse to raise taxes to pay for our obligations. So, if we could pay for them before, why can't we pay for them now? Have our leaders granted too many raises to our public employees? If so, how much of a reduction have we made to bring the wages back down to the affordable level? I think we are there and may have already passed that point. Something else is wrong and no one seems to know or admit what the problem is. At some point taxes will have to be raised if we want to have all the services, etc. School teachers do deserve a good salary and the job should be treated as an honorable profession.
Hey rejecto - why should teachers work for less for the sake of the 'kids'... how bout the parents of these kids kick in some money and help make up the shortage? Why should the teachers be made to feel it's THEIR obligation to work for peanuts all for the sake of the kids? If the money just isn't there then perhaps the people having these kids should be the one to feel the money pinch out of THEIR wallets.
Abolishing the social-theft of taxation would free society of its parasites as well as the chains anchoring the responsible to a life sentence of forced social servitude.
Responsible parents don't subject their offspring to welfare-ed -- while the irresponsible are best eradicated by funding cuts.
: {
Maybe it hasn't been as well-known as education cuts, but are other public employees (i.e.-police, fire, etc.) being cut?
The average teacher salary is approximately $37,000/year. From information that was released in the past, fire and police average at least $100,000/year. Cutting those salaries would save more money, wouldn't it?
Yawwwwn. I'm sure it's all about the students, the children, right? Cut their pay a little and they all but riot. State employees, City, County have been hit with real cuts, layoffs, more to come and we should EXEMPT TEACHERS?
Average teacher pay in CCSD tops $58,000 and tenures up to $90K. FOR PART TIME "WORK" AT THEIR OWN PACE....
poor rosie, not a clue, always a snipe. Never any understanding, always a complaint, a grudge and a gripe.
This is what happens to the abused and neglected. They sour on life and prefer to spit on people who actually help folks grow.
It's a natural response for those poor souls deprived of understanding and respect as children.
Teachers see this every day and encourage all kids to find their own strengths rather than begrudge those who seem to have more. Rosie never got the message that she could have some special strengths inside so she snarls and bites, like a feral cat.
Abuse, neglect, abandonment and pain produce this anti-cultural streak in thousands of poor souls. Feral children grow up to be rosies.
Patrick the Gibbons Monkey spewing his Right Wing falacies.
If you can read, try this on for size, you failure:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/feature...
Vouchers are dead, and the rest of your right wing agenda will soon follow!!! What will you do then?? Teach?? HAhahahahahahahahaha!!!
quixotic59
thank you for this article. It's the skewer that Patrick the Gibbons Monkey has been asking for.
It reminds me of "Woof Tickets" - the just rewards that happen when hotshots ask for trouble, blabbing crap and then, lo and behold, some Waterloo sneaks up and...
IT'S MR BAGFOOOORD!! HE IS THE BEST TEACHER EVAAAR :DDD
I am not a teacher because I know that I would never have the patience that it takes to work with children. I realize my limitations. That said, I do not vilify those who do, although I have long been aware that teachers have more time off than the usual 9 to 5 crowd. However, what I am hoping some of the people who are "teacher-bashing" on this site will explain is why they did not become teachers if the job truly has as many perks (working only part-time, summers off, good salary and benefits, easy work, etc.) as they claim. I might be tempted to infer that the "bashers" seem a tad envious. What prevented you, "bashers", from choosing this profession? My curiosity is peaked. Please respond.
@ airweare, my pleasure. Idiots like Patrick the Gibbons Monkey think that everyone is as easily duped as they are. "Studies" are bought and paid for to produce the results they want. Anyone with any basic statistics and research background (like MANY teachers) know that statistics are easily manipulated to produce desired results.
@ RosalitaM, like any other job, teaching has its good and bad. I was an engineer before becoming a teacher, and even though my official hours were longer, I worked less than I do as a teacher. Oh, and Patrick, no "study" needed, just straight counting of hours. If a teacher does their job properly, as 99% of them do, the hours in the classroom are massively draining. Trying to guide a group of children in learning is never easy. Add the multitude of emotional needs they have and it's a daunting task. I have witnessed grown men and women reduced to tears in the space of 45 minutes by a room of 8th graders. Patrick knows this feeling!!!
The time off we do have is often used partly to do work outside of regular hours and also to recover. I don't care what anyone says, teaching is a hard and demanding job. I have worked in many different jobs including driving cabs, working in offices, and teaching and none of them required the range of skills and patience that teaching does.
As many teachers say, out of frustration, "I dare you to do my job for a week". Many of the "hotshot" new teachers that people like Patrick the Gibbons monkey, Arne Duncan, Michelle "Screeching B I T C H, grunting jacka$$" Rhee, and Mike "The Midget" Bloomberg, support, leave the profession within 5 years. The simple reason is they just can't hack it.
The bashers haven't got the "stones" necessary to do the job. So they bash.
For teachers, it's really not about the money. They don't want to be rich. They really want the money for books, desks, paper, computers, and suppplies. So sad that in a country where Exxon announces $11,000,000,000 profit for one quarter, we complain about funding schools.
@roseanrose. See my response to rejecto above. Let me know how you do on the math proficiency. "Part time work at their own pace"? Really, for somebody who claims to have been in hundreds of classrooms and many in CCSD, I'm suprised that you don't know about the Subject Benchmarks. It is a calendar that indicates what topics teachers should be teaching and when they should be taught. Those are checked district wide with the quarterly interim assessments and the Common district finals, at least in math. Then, let's throw in the scheduled proficiency dates that kids have to be ready for. Please share with us your capacity when you were in all those classrooms.
First: Thanks Nancy for the $2 Bill offer, I got it covered finally, after driving across town from Nellis to Henderson.
What has happened to money in our country? I was stunned on how difficult it is to obtain foreign bills and coins for the children to examine and work with in a lesson I was planning (it might never happen). That will be a combined geography, reading, and math lesson. What a week!
This coming week is Teacher/Educational Staff Appreciation Week. Might I even be so bold to include those who volunteer helping in the PTA, as well?
Please take time to remember these kind folks. Being "appreciated" is a pretty big deal these days, especially when there's so much negativity in the media. You wouldn't have life without your parents, nor would you have a well-rounded education without schools. They are still important--- that schoolhouse is just an empty building without all the kind folks who are there every day to make it a school. Show some love at them, please.
Some of the BEST GIFTS parents can give their children are dictionaries, thesauruses, and atlases. They will last a child through their educational years. Teachers along the way will provide instruction how to use them effectively. I encourage this for my 3rd graders, and they rock finding information on their own (a skill that is so very important to learn, especially when parents are still at work, and the child is home alone doing homework). These items can even be purchased at dollar stores, and you can get better ones later when opportunity avails. Many times, students do not have homework done because they LACK the tools at home. Doing this will empower a child.
Our country is in an economic crisis. Nevada seems to be in one every time the Nevada State Legislature meets!!! Have you noticed, that prices for food, housing, insurance, fuel, well, pretty much everything has gone UP, not down, in the last 25 years? Are we going to blame the teachers for that too?
Look, Nevada LAWMAKERS have AVOIDED REFORMING THE TAX STRUCTURE OF NEVADA for decades!!!! Are you going to blame teachers for that?
There isn't a thing on this planet that couldn't be improved and made better/more efficient/or made to cost less. Because we are dealing with the public trust and public monies, it is vital to have transparency on financial records and the numbers be made available. Even Governor Sandoval and Superintendent Jones are having a hard time getting solid numbers to work with---go figure! Someone has something they don't want known, obviously, as they know it would cause extreme outrage. Are you going to blame the teachers, schools, and government workers/agencies for that too?
Let's keep examining where to safely cut and do it. Let us remember that we have a responsibility to care about others, whether or not we agree. In the Web of Life, we all affect one another.