Badtux the Snarky Penguin

In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin.

Religious fundamentalists are motivated by the sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere, is having fun -- and that this must be stopped.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Why I quit teaching

This could have been me.

Anybody who is still teaching in an American classroom in this day and age is woefully underpaid given the risks they're taking and the amount of work they're putting out. I'm making four times more money now than I made when I was teaching... and I'll tell you one thing, I worked twice as hard as a teacher, not to mention being physically threatened with violence more than once. (Which doesn't work on me, my Cajun comes up, but still... ).

I got tired of dealing with rude, violent, disrespectful people every day... and those were the parents and my principal. Good riddance to all of them. A pity about the kids, but shit, if their parents gave a fuck, teachers would make six figure salaries in the first place. I don't feel bad at all about the fact th at now an English teacher is "teaching" the Algebra and Geometry classes I once taught. We get the school system we want -- and deserve.

-BT

Labels: culture, education

Posted by: BadTux / 2/28/2007 05:17:00 PM

Comments:

That's the same kind of crap that made me leave the police department: the belief that we -- "the system", "the oppressors" -- had to do the job of the parents when the parents were either too lazy or unable to do their job themselves. And yet, when we tried to do that very same job, the one abandoned by the parents, the parents were the first in line to criticize (and sue).

This is about the only area where I tend to agree with the mouth-breathers: kids are not taught to be responsible, because the parents -- that's OUR generation, boys and girls -- came up through the 60's and 70's, with their emphasis on personal freedom.

My 12-year-old son got caught with an I-Pod in school (my ex bought if for him, without my knowledge). He complained to me when the teacher took it; the teacher returned it to me... and I took down to the workshop, and smashed it.

Until the upcoming generation learns responsibility, I fear for our nation. This "entitlement" mentality, of which george bush is the prime example, is destroying us.
# posted by andrew618 : 1/3/07 4:19 AM

I don't think giving them more pay is the answer, everyone always thinks they aren't making enough money, people are just never happy with what they have.

Reduce the pay of the administrators they make way to damn much and have way too many stupid ideas.

Give the classrooms back to the teachers so they can have some control over the kids, don't give them too much work, and if the spoiled parents don't like it they can put their kids in private schools.
# posted by BBC : 1/3/07 5:10 AM

Well, BBC, the most I ever made as a teacher was $21,700 per year. If I had been making twice that, I would have stayed in teaching. Crap, I'd be coming up on retirement now, I'd have been stupid to leave teaching (despite the workload and physical risks) given the 20 year retirement benefits and all that jazz.

WIth the salaries so low, nobody's going to put up with all the crap teachers have to put up with unless they're stupid or desperate or just plain nuts. And any of us with a degree in mathematics are neither stupid nor desperate, there's just too many people willing to throw money at us.

We get the schools we want -- and deserve.
# posted by badtux : 1/3/07 8:17 AM

The most I ever made in a year was 23 grand, with no benefits. It got me by just fine.

Now I'm retired and live on 956 a month, and it is enough also. It just depends on how you look at and do things.

You can pay a teacher 80 grand a year, but then a carpenter or mechanic will cost you 200 an hour.

No solution there.
# posted by BBC : 2/3/07 3:39 AM

I know a couple that both just retired from teaching. They say they are so glad to get out now, because of all the problems.

the trouble is in this little district trying to find replacements.

How's fault is it? I think it's simplistic to just blame teachers or parents or students. We all have to take some responsibility.
# posted by L>T : 2/3/07 7:44 AM

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"Keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce." -- Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

-- Plato

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