I'm a long time reader of the forums, but have never really posted, but I thought I'd speak up here because I'm a teacher.
Teachers in Alberta start around $57K - $60K based on years of education, and go up to $95K - $100K also based on years of education. It takes 10 years to go from the starting salary to the max. (This is all easily accessible on the ATA website).
In my three years of teaching I have yet to meet a teacher that thinks we are underpaid. I have worked in several schools and worked with many different teachers. Alberta teachers make more than other teachers across the country, but most other professions in Alberta also pay much more than the rest of the country.
Hope that helps to get rid of some of the rumors... (Salaries, Time Off, The idea that Alberta teachers think they are underpaid...)
I might as well pipe in as my wife is in the same boat. We both feel that she makes very good money for what she does and isn't underpaid at all. I can't say I know anybody who complains about that aspect of the job at all. Generally it's the hours and dealing with parents who think their kids are unique little snowflakes.
The vacations are nice, but it's not all fun and games like many seem to think. For instance, you're forced to take your vacation at a certain time. Yes it's the most obvious time to take it, but if something arises and you need to take off for a few days, you can't really do it without taking on a sizeable financial penalty. If you need a personal day the money for a substitute comes right off your paycheque. I'm not complaining about the vacation, it has tons of upside, it's just that the inflexibility throughout the rest of the year balances out the benefit somewhat.
Way off track, I'll stop.
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Show me proof that teachers complain more then other professions. What I see (and this thread is a perfect example) is people complaining about teachers for reasons I don't understand... I teach kids who can barely write their name on a piece of paper because their skills are so low, yet they will go make twice what I make next year in the oil patch. (And they have no problem reminding me of it everyday.)
Do I care? No. But, what I can't stand is people crapping on me and my profession because we have 12 weeks (not 20) off a year. So what? You're right, every job has its benefits and drawbacks (mine being some extra time off). Some other profession make a lot more money, or have better benefits, or whatever. So why then do you insist teachers complain? Show me proof. I see YOU complaining about teachers.
Again, this thread is a perfect example... what should have been a discussion about a fan at a game turned into a bashing of teachers. Maybe teachers complain (which I don't see them doing) because they get crapped on by people like you for just doing their job. Same as everyone else.
BC teachers
"Teachers want a wage hike of 15 per cent over three years, while the government is offering a net-zero mandate."
has it really been 6 months from our last teachers make lots of cash but whine about everything threads.
I came in hoping to see something funny and or controversal about a guy getting kicked out of a yotes game and instead had to read through arguments we have all the time.
Has anyone pm'd silver letting him know there is a teacher bashing thread going on?
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One of my old roommates was a teacher in Calgary here and I thought she had said her salary was only paid out over the 10 month school year. So it would be $50k/yr (or whatever) but paid out over the 10 months.
She also said she qualified for IE during the summer months despite having collected a full years salary.
But this was going back 6+ years, so it's possible I've got those wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's how she explained it. I specifically remember hearing the IE thing her say "yeah, it's messed up, I don't even apply but some of my colleagues do"
I'm pretty sure the only teachers who are eligible for Employment Insurance are ones who don't have a full position. Teachers early in their career are often hired year by year so they're technically unemployed in the summer since they don't have guaranteed employment the next September (if there's no position for them they're back to subbing).
Once you get your hired for a recurring position (which is what the vast majority of teachers are) you cannot get EI. At least that's how I understand it.
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I'm pretty sure the only teachers who are eligible for Employment Insurance are ones who don't have a full position. Teachers early in their career are often hired year by year so they're technically unemployed in the summer since they don't have guaranteed employment the next September (if there's no position for them they're back to subbing).
Once you get your hired for a recurring position (which is what the vast majority of teachers are) you cannot get EI. At least that's how I understand it.
That would certainly make sense, she was a 1st or 2nd year teacher at the time.
I think it is important to recognize that the benefit package provided to employees in any industry is not solely about fairly compensating individuals for the work they do but also is a reflection of the demand for the skill set, education, experience etc. needed to perform said work. In other words, you need to consider how qualified/talented/educated/etc you want the candidates for a job to be when you determine the benefits package. Take medical doctors as an example, as a society we want the best (intelligent/qualified/talented/educated) person possible in our operating and emergency rooms. The compensation package provided to doctors will directly impact how successful we are at attracting the best doctors possible, and helps persuade the best of the best in our society to train to become doctors. The same principle holds true for teachers. Research clearly demonstrates that the most profound variable in the education of a student is the quality of the teacher (far outweighing class size, curriculum, access to technology, etc.) I guess the question becomes, how important to our society is the education of our children? How important is it to us that we have the best teachers possible teaching our kids?
You know these are awful examples right? I said "prove teachers complain more then other professions". These links prove nothing. Besides, other professions have asked for pay increases, so why single out teachers? The BC teachers are being offered a zero percent increase despite inflation... and the Ontario articles are only talking about how the government threatened the teachers if they wanted to strike. These don't show teachers being any more unreasonable then any other profession.
Air Canada's employee's are "complaining" a lot lately... I'm gonna go find a different internet site and bitch about flight attendants... damn complainers. Then I'll post links to news articles proving their complaining.
Last edited by brodiemillar; 04-13-2012 at 03:08 PM.
So are you saying the salary figures reported here are assuming 12 months of pay but teachers don't actually get that, or are you saying that the salaries reported here are for 10 months of pay?
Teachers don't get regular wages for the summer months. My father, a teacher now retired, informed me years ago that money was deducted from this monthly salary for the summer so that it would equal his monthly pay. He received all of that savings back when Alice Cooper officially let us know on the radio that school was indeed out for summer. Vacation pay, which was not paid for the whole time off, was included as well.
Here is a bit of info from 2010, but unfortunately it doesn't get into details, but Teachers get just over 4% of their paid day towards vacation pay. But does not talk about 10 or 12 months of full salary. So that is still up in the air for me to prove beyond what my father said.
Now, if things have changed and I just set myself up for a paintball shot to the brain, brought to me by Valo403, I'll take it. However, I would be open to reading any source information that says they receive full salary over the summer months.
I'm a long time reader of the forums, but have never really posted, but I thought I'd speak up here because I'm a teacher.
Teachers in Alberta start around $57K - $60K based on years of education, and go up to $95K - $100K also based on years of education. It takes 10 years to go from the starting salary to the max. (This is all easily accessible on the ATA website).
In my three years of teaching I have yet to meet a teacher that thinks we are underpaid. I have worked in several schools and worked with many different teachers. Alberta teachers make more than other teachers across the country, but most other professions in Alberta also pay much more than the rest of the country.
Hope that helps to get rid of some of the rumors... (Salaries, Time Off, The idea that Alberta teachers think they are underpaid...)
I would agree with what you wrote. Go south of the border and its a completely different story. Teachers ARE vastly underpaid and many struggle to make ends meet. Teacher's college is a joke in the US and there is a saying that if you can't get into any program, become a teacher. When I applied to teacher college in Ontario, over 3000 people applied for 300 spots. They are undervalued and overworked but luckily in Canada (and internationally) its a different story.
Teachers don't get regular wages for the summer months. My father, a teacher now retired, informed me years ago that money was deducted from this monthly salary for the summer so that it would equal his monthly pay. He received all of that savings back when Alice Cooper officially let us know on the radio that school was indeed out for summer. Vacation pay, which was not paid for the whole time off, was included as well.
Here is a bit of info from 2010, but unfortunately it doesn't get into details, but Teachers get just over 4% of their paid day towards vacation pay. But does not talk about 10 or 12 months of full salary. So that is still up in the air for me to prove beyond what my father said.
Now, if things have changed and I just set myself up for a paintball shot to the brain, brought to me by Valo403, I'll take it. However, I would be open to reading any source information that says they receive full salary over the summer months.
I don't know why, but that bolded sentence and the way it was used really made my day. Well done.
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Research clearly demonstrates that the most profound variable in the education of a student is the quality of the teacher (far outweighing class size, curriculum, access to technology, etc.) I guess the question becomes, how important to our society is the education of our children? How important is it to us that we have the best teachers possible teaching our kids?
Do you have a link to this research?
I'm curious, because from my personal perspective, the upbringing (parental support) and parental background would be a far larger variable in the education of a student than any teacher.
Teachers are paid extremely well for what they bring to the table. There's many other underpaid professions - teachers would not even be close to the ones most deserving.
EDIT: Found some research that corroborates what you said. But it did say that the strongest correlation of good teaching was with low-income and ethnic groups. Could explain why it was my personal experience that teachers did not affect my education.
BC teachers are always complaining, granted they arn't top in the country pay wise, none the less as someone who worked as a teachers assistant in a probation school I have to say teaching was the easiest job I have seen assuming you had the slightest ability what so ever.
Mostly teachers here have only ever been teachers and so don't realise how ####ty life in the real world working for a d*****bag boss is.
BC teachers are always complaining, granted they arn't top in the country pay wise, none the less as someone who worked as a teachers assistant in a probation school I have to say teaching was the easiest job I have seen assuming you had the slightest ability what so ever.
Mostly teachers here have only ever been teachers and so don't realise how ####ty life in the real world working for a d*****bag boss is.
I am told, again my source is my father, that BC Teachers have a better pension then Alberta Teachers and get almost double once they retire. I have an Uncle who is a retired teacher in BC.
