Teachers are at the end of their rope.

[CFO]

My kids have done jack squat for last 3 weeks. Teachers didn't want to teach before end of year.

It's like any profession. Some good. Some bad. In general people complain and want more.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Do people actually think catholic schools indoctrinate kids with Catholic ideology?

I don’t recall ever doing anything religious at all at school ever. Never stepped foot in a church, was never asked to or encouraged to pray or believe etc. I don’t recall doing anything remotely religious except religious studies…where we learned about world religions, not Catholicism.

On the other hand, my school had better teachers, sports and programs than the public option available to me at the time.

Seems like people hoping for the better education minus the indoctrination already got their wish.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

Is that akin to an Arts degree not being a degree at all?


This thread has been great. I don’t think the OP has posted since the thread was started. Until the next teacher thread, take care.

No, the U of C used to call their bachelor-level after degree "Master of Teaching" and offer a separate Masters Level "Master of Education".

They took so much flack and were losing students to U of A and U of L that they eventually switched back, and now they offer a 4 year Bachelor of Education again, as well as a 2 year after-degree Bachelor of Education, but that's how it worked for years.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

Is that akin to an Arts degree not being a degree at all?

This thread has been great. I don’t think the OP has posted since the thread was started. Until the next teacher thread, take care.

You're such a whiner, dude. I posted a basic fact. I didn't invent the system or the degrees. I just stated what is true and then you start crying like a little baby. Get over yourself, guy. Nobody is out to get you. I corrected you with facts and you moaned about it and pretended you're a victim of...idk, reality? lol, unreal.

BTW, I have an arts degree. I'm not here to #### on anybody's degree - they're all accomplishments and none of them are easy.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by CFO

My kids have done jack squat for last 3 weeks. Teachers didn't want to teach before end of year.

It's like any profession. Some good. Some bad. In general people complain and want more.

Just want to point out most teachers hate the last 3 weeks of school because they aren't really teaching (it's babysitter mode), and they don't really get a lot of freedom in what they teach and when they teach it. It's not as though they can simply say "ya know what? I don't want to teach before the end of the year." There's a schedule to follow, and dates for final exams and report cards are not set by them.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Do people actually think catholic schools indoctrinate kids with Catholic ideology?

I don’t recall ever doing anything religious at all at school ever. Never stepped foot in a church, was never asked to or encouraged to pray or believe etc. I don’t recall doing anything remotely religious except religious studies…where we learned about world religions, not Catholicism.

On the other hand, my school had better teachers, sports and programs than the public option available to me at the time.

Seems like people hoping for the better education minus the indoctrination already got their wish.

Do Catholic schools teach comprehensive sex education (including how to properly use different types of contraceptives) as part of the standard curriculum? This is a legitimate question, btw -- I honestly don't know the answer.

If Catholic schools don't provide this information to students, then I would say that is indeed letting the Church's religious beliefs interfere with providing children with necessary information they will need as adults.

[Mr.Coffee]

Two more things that annoy me with not necessarily just teachers but education generally is why progress reports are so rare now. I get 2 / year for our school and the first one I got was like March. Wtf. Way too much time had passed to have a sense from their teacher as to how my kids are doing.

And before all the teacher white knights come swarming, yes, I know, it is also mainly my responsibility- got it thanks. But it's just one more example of responsibility and obligations shifting to parents and then teachers sitting back and blaming parents for ####ing everything. And it's just not how it used to be. We used to get more frequent reporting and I'm just unsure why that needed to stop. I mean, I do tend to follow my kids education pretty closely and had a pretty good sense anyway, and keep on them about tests / homework, but it still is not super comforting having such little feedback from their teachers. And again- white knights, yes, I know, nothing stopping me from reaching out to the teacher etc. But- why? Why do you shift this burden to me? So you don't have to report as frequently? And quite frankly, with all the PD days, I feel like they can get another reporting round in. Like how about less PD and more designated days off (same number of days) that a teacher can spend on report cards.

Secondly, going online to various websites and having everything digital is super ####ing brutal. Gone are the days a kid can just you know, have a textbook. Now you have three different accounts and three different instructional online situations to follow and track everything and then chase down teachers who don't post homework online properly or there is no actual good instructional stuff on these internal portal thingies in the event your kid is struggling with a concept. Like, it's such a massive time suck and pain in the ass to ####ing fumble around all these portals and ####. Why we couldn't just keep textbooks that worked for like a century is beyond me. This whole online portal thing is 100% an example of technology not improving anything, especially for parents. Usually these things involve super low guidance from the teacher, your kids if they're young don't know how to operate / login / figure out their user / pass and navigate the usually not-intuitive portal spaces and it's honestly such a clusterfata. So ridiculous.

there ya go #3, that was a bit more ranty / angry haha.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Do Catholic schools teach comprehensive sex education (including how to properly use different types of contraceptives) as part of the standard curriculum? This is a legitimate question, btw -- I honestly don't know the answer.

If Catholic schools don't provide this information to students, then I would say that is indeed letting the Church's religious beliefs interfere with providing children with necessary information they will need as adults.

They did 2 decades ago. Unsure about now.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The energy and tech fields are both cyclical. Anyone working in those fields will experience many rounds of layoffs over their careers.

Yep, and everybody going into those fields should be well aware of how volatile it is. You make great money when you're in those fields, but layoffs are normal. Sort of the risk you choose when you decide on a career in that field I suppose, it's boom and bust.

Yeah in public sector jobs it seems once you're in, you're in, but it takes a lot longer to get to that point, and way more hoops to jump through (first few years are probably just fixed 1-2 year contracts. As a teacher, 1 year). Whereas in the private sector you're pretty much permanent from day 1, with all the perks. Each side has its own advantages, pick your poison I guess.

Also, teachers may not get laid off from the district altogether, but surpluses happen regularly every school year. You could be a high school teacher and suddenly you're in elementary because there's no more HS jobs in your specialty after getting surplused, that would be a hard adjustment. Or just put on the sub list, that's what happened to my buddy in Edmonton Public and why they ended up here.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Two more things that annoy me with not necessarily just teachers but education generally is why progress reports are so rare now. I get 2 / year for our school and the first one I got was like March. Wtf. Way too much time had passed to have a sense from their teacher as to how my kids are doing.

Starting in junior high, at least at my kid’s school, you can track their progress in each class online at any time.

I haven’t had any phone calls or emails from the teachers about any issues (pretty sure that’s because my kids are clearly doing much better in school than I did at their age ) but I imagine the teachers do reach out if there are concerns.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Do Catholic schools teach comprehensive sex education (including how to properly use different types of contraceptives) as part of the standard curriculum? This is a legitimate question, btw -- I honestly don't know the answer.

If Catholic schools don't provide this information to students, then I would say that is indeed letting the Church's religious beliefs interfere with providing children with necessary information they will need as adults.

So I just spent a little time looking through it here:


https://www.cssd.ab.ca/curriculum


and wow, now I'm even more disturbed tax dollars go to these schools. Everyone here likes to say it is not really different than public schools, but just these points are disgusting lies and trash.





This was about the only reference to contraception I could find. Do they really no teach anything valuable about it?


There are also a few articles from 2017 when the NDP was in charge, and the Catholics were trying to get curriculum approved. Now that the UCP seems to be rooted in God, I presume they are hastily crafting new curriculum full of mounds of bull#### that will only serve to damage individuals and society. I can't believe it's 2023 in Canada and we still have this type of nonsense fight, let alone government that endorses it.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ulum-1.4368378


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tley-1.4370304

[Spurs]

Originally Posted by Sliver

IDK, man. You seem to have a lot of opinions on this yet know very little. Masters of teaching is basically the standard-issue qualification for teachers and has been for a decade or two. I believe it's the only option at UC to becoming a teacher. Some people used to go to UofL to get their certificate quicker, but I don't really know if that's still the case.

A Masters of teaching is not a Masters degree; it's beneath it in the little academic hierarchy.

LOL

I know a hell of a lot more than you with much less extreme opinions.

You don't get the extra pay unless you have a proper Masters degree, so if U of C label their degree a masters but it isn't an actual masters degree teachers don't get to max out their pay.

Masters of teaching is not the standard issue qualification.

[Spurs]

Originally Posted by Locke

Okay. This is where I step in. You are absolutely, conclusively, 100% incorrect.

I have well over 100 teachers as clients and have been doing taxes for 20 years. I see their T4s.

I can tell you that there are a significant number of teachers in Calgary alone who make that. With absolute certainty.

And thats okay, I just dont understand why you wouldnt believe it. Its just their pay-scale.

If you've been a teacher for a minimum of 10 years you make $103K. Thats just how it is.

I wouldn't believe it because I can see the teachers grid salaries and know many teachers at the 10 year+ mark that do not make 100K.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

So I just spent a little time looking through it here:


https://www.cssd.ab.ca/curriculum


and wow, now I'm even more disturbed tax dollars go to these schools. Everyone here likes to say it is not really different than public schools, but just these points are disgusting lies and trash.





This was about the only reference to contraception I could find. Do they really no teach anything valuable about it?


There are also a few articles from 2017 when the NDP was in charge, and the Catholics were trying to get curriculum approved. Now that the UCP seems to be rooted in God, I presume they are hastily crafting new curriculum full of mounds of bull#### that will only serve to damage individuals and society. I can't believe it's 2023 in Canada and we still have this type of nonsense fight, let alone government that endorses it.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ulum-1.4368378


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tley-1.4370304

It was a long time ago but I believe the education was:

In Elementary: Here are all of the parts of the human body and how they work
In Jr High: We believe is abstaining until marriage. Here are parts of the human body and how everything works with contraceptives.

I don't recall anything about abortions and killing babies until seeing billboards and protestors on the side of the street. I might be wrong but I certainly was not indoctrined into thinking 1 thing was bad over the other.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Spurs

LOL

I know a hell of a lot more than you with much less extreme opinions.

You don't get the extra pay unless you have a proper Masters degree, so if U of C label their degree a masters but it isn't an actual masters degree teachers don't get to max out their pay.

Masters of teaching is not the standard issue qualification.

I have a close relative with a Bachelor of Fine Arts undergrad and a 2 year Ed after degree from the U of C who was credited for 6 years of education and gets the pay for 6 years at CBE. This person isn't at 10 years experience yet, so isn't maxed out on the grid, but will be in a few more years.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Do people actually think catholic schools indoctrinate kids with Catholic ideology?

I don’t recall ever doing anything religious at all at school ever. Never stepped foot in a church, was never asked to or encouraged to pray or believe etc. I don’t recall doing anything remotely religious except religious studies…where we learned about world religions, not Catholicism.

On the other hand, my school had better teachers, sports and programs than the public option available to me at the time.

Seems like people hoping for the better education minus the indoctrination already got their wish.

So why bother having a separate Catholic school system?

[Spurs]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Do people actually think catholic schools indoctrinate kids with Catholic ideology?

I don’t recall ever doing anything religious at all at school ever. Never stepped foot in a church, was never asked to or encouraged to pray or believe etc. I don’t recall doing anything remotely religious except religious studies…where we learned about world religions, not Catholicism.

On the other hand, my school had better teachers, sports and programs than the public option available to me at the time.

Seems like people hoping for the better education minus the indoctrination already got their wish.

it is odd hearing this as it is 100% not the case where I live and not the case when I went to school in Calgary. But it seems to the be majority opinion of many people who I assume are in Calgary.

[Matata]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

It was a long time ago but I believe the education was:

In Elementary: Here are all of the parts of the human body and how they work
In Jr High: We believe is abstaining until marriage. Here are parts of the human body and how everything works with contraceptives.

I don't recall anything about abortions and killing babies until seeing billboards and protestors on the side of the street. I might be wrong but I certainly was not indoctrined into thinking 1 thing was bad over the other.

A lady came to our school to do a few anti-abortion classes, I vaguely recall seeing some models of the fetus at various stages of development, nothing too overt or memorable about it. Pretty much everyone regarded it as this really volatile issue that they didn't want to talk about or even want to understand better.

[timun]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

No, the U of C used to call their bachelor-level after degree "Master of Teaching" and offer a separate Masters Level "Master of Education".

They took so much flack and were losing students to U of A and U of L that they eventually switched back, and now they offer a 4 year Bachelor of Education again, as well as a 2 year after-degree Bachelor of Education, but that's how it worked for years.

Today I learned the UofC offered a bachelor's level "Master of Teaching". Reminds me of the faculty of law changing of LL.B. to J.D., purely because American law schools had done so and new grads from Canadian law schools complained that their LL.B.s were perceived as "lesser than" on name alone.

Not unlike the absolutely hilarious title inflation in the financial/invest banking industry, where the lowest level of customer-facing nitwits are "vice presidents".

[Slava]

Originally Posted by timun

Today I learned the UofC offered a bachelor's level "Master of Teaching". Reminds me of the faculty of law changing of LL.B. to J.D., purely because American law schools had done so and new grads from Canadian law schools complained that their LL.B.s were perceived as "lesser than" on name alone.

Not unlike the absolutely hilarious title inflation in the financial/invest banking industry, where the lowest level of customer-facing nitwits are "vice presidents".

The number of "Vice Presidents" in finance is quite hilarious. On one hand, I don't know who they think they're fooling. But on the other hand there are a lot of people who don't see this regularly, so it probably comes across as genuine.