Teacher Strikes

[Jake]

Just wondering what everyone's opinion on teachers' strikes are. I know where I am, it's getting pretty bad as it seems like one school is constantly on strike. One suggestion I've heard is to force teachers to take the last and best offer, placing them into the category of police and fire fighters.

[John Dibble]

Well, I don't exaclty have a great opinion of them since it screws over the students really bad, but I could see them as sometimes being needed, so they should only be used as a last resort.

[Dave from Michigan]

I thought governor Engler signed a law banning teachers from striking but I must be mistaken or heard wrong because the Detroit teachers have gone on strike several times. they almost went on strike this year

[Max Power]

Well, I don't exaclty have a great opinion of them since it screws over the students really bad, but I could see them as sometimes being needed, so they should only be used as a last resort.

^^^^^

There's going to be a pretty big strike in my school district this year, and my brother is a senior, so he's not in a good position.

[MaC]

striking is a sissy way to complain.  Setting a bag of burning poop in front of the board of ed's house would be a much more mature and humorous way to deal with the problem.

Also I hate the phrase teachers don't get paid enough.  That's horsecrap.  Think about the normal pay rate is $40,000 however they get off weekends, Christmas, winter and spring break, and get the whole summer off.  So, they really get closer to $75,000 for the actual time of work compared to the rest of us.

[ATFFL]

I'm a teacher and I can tell you a lot of the underpaid stuff is overblown.

You do have to realize that most teachers also have a ton of paperwork and have to grade papers/tests and such.  Most put in an additional hour or two a few times a week.  Even if you are very good at managing your time, you will be putting in a few extra hours with lunch duty, faculty meetings, parent meetings and the like.  Teachers really work about 37-38 weeks per year.

This is not mentioning benefits.  Teachers get state pension/retirement plans, which tend to be more than adequately funded.  This also tends to come with state health care plans, which are also among the best.  We also get a ton of unmentioned benefits, such as discounts and freebies from stores.

[??????????]

Also, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to fire a teacher. The longer they've been around the harder it is to fire them. I think I heard that it cost upwards of 800k dollars to fire a teacher who has 10 years in.

[Bono]

The worst public schools function, the better.

[John Dibble]

The worst public schools function, the better.

No, because people aren't going to want to get rid of them even then.

[angus]

Well, I don't exaclty have a great opinion of them since it screws over the students really bad, but I could see them as sometimes being needed, so they should only be used as a last resort.

funny you should type something like that.  I was thinking, when I read the thread, that I'm usually of a low opinion of unions, but I have a soft spot for public school teachers.  I agree with their general rants (underpaid, underrespected, undervalued, losing their authority to take control of their classrooms by PC government types, etc.) 

I really don't know.  I know all workers can and should have the right to strike for any reason.  And that all companies ought to have the right to fire their sorry asses and replace them with (not scabs) but permanent, but more grateful, employees.  But the public High isn't a company, is it?  and, no matter what H. Ross Perot says, it's goal isn't to make money.  So it's a little hard to apply antiunion bigotry to teachers. 

I totally disagree with the statement that schools underperforming is good.  Presumably Bono thinks that this would create more incentive for voucher programs, and the possible eventual eradication of all state funding of schools.  But one doesn't necessarily follow the other, and anyway a state that neglects the minds of future citizens is a doomed state. 

But, yeah, striking teacher screw those young minds as well.  I'm on a fence about my opinion regarding these teachers.  I'll have a Rod Paige moment here.  Not because I'm trying, but just because it spontaneously occurred to me to make the analogy that sometimes, even though I agree with the goals of freedom fighters, I do not approve of their tactics.  (wow, I just had a little epiphany.  a little insight into Paige's head.  that was kinda cool.)  anyway, it's possible to agree with their motivation but to disagree with their strikes.

[TheresNoMoney]

I'm a teacher and I can tell you a lot of the underpaid stuff is overblown.

What do you teach?

[Everett]

Neutral, I guess; my mother used to be a schoolteacher (K-12, though she generally worked with the younger crowd) and says that life wasn't that great. She rarely got reimbursed for the classroom supplies she bought, oftentimes had issues with parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, whoever the kids lived with, and didn't live that well. Still, though, she liked teaching enough to stick with it even if she could have done something else (like opera singing). These days, teachers have better lives, possibly even better if they work in wealthier school districts, but regardless of how many hours they work, they still have a tough job. It would be nice if they found a way to voice their complaints without hurting their students, but it's their choice if they want to strike. Striking isn't a great way to solve problems, though.

anyway, it's possible to agree with their motivation but to disagree with their strikes.

Indeed, angus.

[ATFFL]

I'm a teacher and I can tell you a lot of the underpaid stuff is overblown.

What do you teach?

Special Ed.  Which means I am one part teacher and three parts paper pusher.

[TheresNoMoney]

Special Ed.  Which means I am one part teacher and three parts paper pusher.

Republican special ed teacher? That is commendable!

That is the last job I would expect a Republican to have. Good for you.

[TheresNoMoney]

By the way, teacher's pay really isn't that bad considering they only work about 9 months a year with quite a few vacations. For those who choose to work during the summer, they can supplement their income very nicely.

[ATFFL]

Special Ed.  Which means I am one part teacher and three parts paper pusher.

Republican special ed teacher? That is commendable!

That is the last job I would expect a Republican to have. Good for you.

Teachers in NC have surprised me with how conservative they are.  I was working in a couple of Civics classes last year.  I decided to do a point counterpoint discussion brining in a second teacher who wa sa registered Democrat.  Give the students information about the parties from a member of each.  I literally could not find a single teacher who was available that was a registered Democrat.  I ended up doing both positions using the party platforms approved at the conventions. 

[TheresNoMoney]

I thought teachers in public schools indoctrinated liberalism into their students!!

[ATFFL]

I thought teachers in public schools indoctrinated liberalism into their students!!

I've found it varies by state and region in the state.  Where the NEA is dominant, liberalism is the order of the day.  NC teachers are non-union, so all the teachers who hate the NEA come here (and to other non-NEA states.)

[TheresNoMoney]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the NEA?

[John Dibble]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the NEA?

The teacher's union I think.

[Blue Rectangle]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the NEA?

The teacher's union I think.

National Education Association

Yes, they are the national public school teachers' union.  In Colorado, there is also the CEA (C for Colorado).  Many states also have the state union.

[Giant Saguaro]

I think it depends entirely on the situation. If demands are not unreasonable, I guess I don't mind it as much. As to money, I don't think that teachers should forever be in the 40K range, but there are places in the U.S. where teachers make over 90K in as little as 15 years, so it depends. I value education, so I think the more professionally teachers are treated the more professionals will be attracted to the profession. Yeah, you run the risk of getting college kids who are just then in it for the money, but I'm somewhere in the middle, especially now that teachers have to put up with politicians who never taught and have never been in a classroom telling them what they expect.

[??????????]

I thought teachers in public schools indoctrinated liberalism into their students!!

I've found it varies by state and region in the state.  Where the NEA is dominant, liberalism is the order of the day.  NC teachers are non-union, so all the teachers who hate the NEA come here (and to other non-NEA states.)

They sound like freedom fighters!

[Max Power]

I'm a teacher and I can tell you a lot of the underpaid stuff is overblown.

What do you teach?

Special Ed.  Which means I am one part teacher and three parts paper pusher.

That's what my aunt teaches. Interesting field. What type of Special Ed do you teach?

[Jake]

It seems like every teacher I know of outside of school teaches special-ed of some kind.