My Friend Is a Teacher, And The Boss Sucks! Advice? - Page 4 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

albertGQ · 10-15-2009, 02:27 PM

Not all professions are paid for their overtime. Lots of salaried workers stay past their "scheduled shifts" on a consistent basis

Just playing devil's advocate here, but everyone seems to rebutt Sliver's comments about the OT and vacation, but not one has mentioned their pension either

Is it a gold plated one that the media portrays it as? I'm curious to know

Sliver · 10-15-2009, 02:27 PM

For the love of!

Can't believe I started another page like this.

flip · 10-15-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

For the love of!

Can't believe I started another page like this.

Hahahaha. Take that Sliver. Now you know how I felt in the Handicapped thread a while ago.

You let slip one controversial opinion and pretty soon you are the Hitler of CP. People don't have short memories either, this thread will haunt you for eons.

One thing I would like to ask/point out about the whole "teachers stay up until 10pm planning lessons" comments.

I can see that for teachers who have an evolving curriculum or are new but I had plenty of teachers who had been teaching Calculus for 10+ years and I just don't buy it that they had to start their lesson plans from scratch every year. I can almost guarantee that they work off the same lesson plan they had been using for the last decade. That also goes for English, Social etc, stuff that the source material just doesn't change that much over the years (Shakespeare will always be the same). No need for new lesson plans every year.

Just my two cents.

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Not all professions are paid for their overtime. Lots of salaried workers stay past their "scheduled shifts" on a consistent basis

Just playing devil's advocate here, but everyone seems to rebutt Sliver's comments about the OT and vacation, but not one has mentioned their pension either

Is it a gold plated one that the media portrays it as? I'm curious to know

nope its not as great as the media portrays. I wont disclose what my wife's will be after she retires, which is in another 11 years, but her gross income then will be approx. 45% of what her net income is now. She will then have to wait 7 years before CPP and OAS kicks in.
hope that makes sense.

Sliver · 10-15-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip

Hahahaha. Take that Sliver. Now you know how I felt in the Handicapped thread a while ago.

You let slip one controversial opinion and pretty soon you are the Hitler of CP. People don't have short memories either, this thread will haunt you for eons.

One thing I would like to ask/point out about the whole "teachers stay up until 10pm planning lessons" comments.

I can see that for teachers who have an evolving curriculum or are new but I had plenty of teachers who had been teaching Calculus for 10+ years and I just don't buy it that they had to start their lesson plans from scratch every year. I can almost guarantee that they work off the same lesson plan they had been using for the last decade. That also goes for English, Social etc, stuff that the source material just doesn't change that much over the years (Shakespeare will always be the same). No need for new lesson plans every year.

Just my two cents.

lol yeah I remember that because I started the handicapped thread.

flip · 10-15-2009, 02:39 PM

Dude don't thank me or quote me. Now people will associate me with the villainous teacher hater.

Just kidding...sort of.

albertGQ · 10-15-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sample00

nope its not as great as the media portrays. I wont disclose what my wife's will be after she retires, which is in another 11 years, but her gross income then will be approx. 45% of what her net income is now. She will then have to wait 7 years before CPP and OAS kicks in.
hope that makes sense.

So her public pension starts 7 years before her CPP and OAS does? That seems like a good deal to me. I'm assuming she is choosing to retire early as opposed to working until she is 65?

Russic · 10-15-2009, 02:40 PM

To the OP: Finding a job at this point of the school year would be pretty difficult I would imagine. They could take over for a maternity leave or something similar, but that wouldn't be a permanent position and could come back to bite your friend. I'd make your complaints through the appropriate channels and hope for the best. I think it'd be too risky to try and find another position.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

Whatever. I jobshadowed a bunch of different teachers for 12 years. I have a very good idea of what they do.

That's like saying I've been jobshadowing not one but TWO parents for 26 years and it looks pretty easy. Make a few meals, wipe some ass and show up to the soccer games. You may disagree with me. The difference between us? You know what it takes to be a parent whereas I haven't done it yet. My point is that a lot of things seem easy until you try them out.

12 years job shadowing hey? Dess made this exact argument before. Drove me insane then as it does now. Some people think that because they graduated from high school they have unique knowledge that the rest of us fail to possess. Being a student gives you zero idea of what a teacher really does. Zero.

My wife is a teacher and if they got 6 months off each year I still wouldn't even consider being a teacher. It's way too much work. Unlike some people, I actually like watching tv at night without a giant binder on my lap marking tests. It's perfectly fine to say that some teachers are lazy and take advantage of the system, but to say all teachers travel on easy street is pure ignorance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip

I can see that for teachers who have an evolving curriculum or are new but I had plenty of teachers who had been teaching Calculus for 10+ years and I just don't buy it that they had to start their lesson plans from scratch every year. I can almost guarantee that they work off the same lesson plan they had been using for the last decade. That also goes for English, Social etc, stuff that the source material just doesn't change that much over the years (Shakespeare will always be the same). No need for new lesson plans every year.

It's not quite that simple as rarely will a teacher only teach one thing all the time. After several years of teaching my wife is still given the task of teaching material she's never had to before.

To be fair, I don't remember the ###### thread ...

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip

Hahahaha. Take that Sliver. Now you know how I felt in the Handicapped thread a while ago.

You let slip one controversial opinion and pretty soon you are the Hitler of CP. People don't have short memories either, this thread will haunt you for eons.

One thing I would like to ask/point out about the whole "teachers stay up until 10pm planning lessons" comments.

I can see that for teachers who have an evolving curriculum or are new but I had plenty of teachers who had been teaching Calculus for 10+ years and I just don't buy it that they had to start their lesson plans from scratch every year. I can almost guarantee that they work off the same lesson plan they had been using for the last decade. That also goes for English, Social etc, stuff that the source material just doesn't change that much over the years (Shakespeare will always be the same). No need for new lesson plans every year.

Just my two cents.

you sir, are correct. a veteran teacher does not need to spend as much time planning as a newer teacher. However, cirriculums have been changing quite a bit recently, so updating needs to be done annually.
however, the marking time, doesn't decrease. you still have to mark the same as you did before. that part of it is very time consuming.
with the cutbacks though, even veteran teachers are getting new subjects to teach, so they do have to plan for anything new that gets tossed their way.

Yeah_Baby · 10-15-2009, 02:41 PM

There is a difference between a controversial opinion and one that has no basis in fact.

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albertGQ

So her public pension starts 7 years before her CPP and OAS does? That seems like a good deal to me. I'm assuming she is choosing to retire early as opposed to working until she is 65?

oh its a good deal to have it start upon retirement, but I will say that having been in the financial sector for many years, teachers are terrible financial planners. its a real kick in the ass when you hit retirement and your income is cut to less than half. many teachers dont plan for it.
many teachers will continue to substitute to offset income. but they have to be careful about that too cause I believe you can only sub so much and they start taking away pension.
most teachers are still young enough that they can become walmart greeters and offset their pension income.

flip · 10-15-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sample00

you sir, are correct. a veteran teacher does not need to spend as much time planning as a newer teacher. However, cirriculums have been changing quite a bit recently, so updating needs to be done annually.
however, the marking time, doesn't decrease. you still have to mark the same as you did before. that part of it is very time consuming.
with the cutbacks though, even veteran teachers are getting new subjects to teach, so they do have to plan for anything new that gets tossed their way.

Thanks. I personally have no real opinion on teachers either way. Some I had really were great and I wish I could go back and thank them...others I wish I could murder in the night and not get caught.

Obviously some curriculums that involve evolving technology (like math 30) will require retooling of lesson plans. Subjects such as Social Studies classes that have to deal with terrorism and 9/11 clearly need to be updated but the base of many subjects doesn't seem to change.

Edit: haha. Reading my last paragraph there I obviously shouldn't thank my English teacher. I'll try and clean that up a bit because that was some terrible writing.

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 02:46 PM

c**ksucker! and I was doing so well. Now I've derailed the thread!
damn you, sliver!

Yeah_Baby · 10-15-2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip

Thanks. I personally have no real opinion on teachers either way. Some I had really were great and I wish I could go back and thank them...others I wish I could murder in the night and not get caught.

Obviously some curriculum that involve the evolving technology (like math 30) will require retooling of lesson plans as well as Social Studies classes that have to deal more with terrorism and 9/11 etc but the base of many subjects doesn't seem to change.

Any effective lesson plan isn't 'canned'. No matter what the curriculum is. Every class is different and thus the lesson plan for the same course is different from year to year, or even class to class.

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Any effective lesson plan isn't 'canned'. No matter what the curriculum is. Every class is different and thus the lesson plan for the same course is different from year to year, or even class to class.

plus having to deal with special needs children, IAP children, etc etc.
please remember all classrooms are intergrated now with all different abilities and learning levels.

flip · 10-15-2009, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sample00

plus having to deal with special needs children, IAP children, etc etc.
please remember all classrooms are intergrated now with all different abilities and learning levels.

Speaking of teachers and special needs children, has anyone seen that great commercial about a developmentally disabled kid?

A disabled girl is standing in front of her teacher and explaining/apologizing why she isn't a good student. Stuff like she is disruptive and can't focus etc. Then a "normal" kid steps up and says "me too".

Then the commercial ends with the disabled kid writing lines on the chalk board. (the point of the commercial being that all children are the same regardless of their disabilities or not)

It really reminded me of the South Park about the Fetus nurse or about hate crime laws. If we as a society make different rules for people just because they are different all we do is single them out and make them feel worse about their differences, not better. Everyone should be equal and have the same standards applied.

Now that is how to derail a thread!

Sliver · 10-15-2009, 02:55 PM

Okay suffice to say the derailment seems to have become the main topic. I imagine it would be a waste of bandwidth to start a new thread so I suppose the conversation will go on unless a mod sees fit to change things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

That's like saying I've been jobshadowing not one but TWO parents for 26 years and it looks pretty easy. Make a few meals, wipe some ass and show up to the soccer games. You may disagree with me. The difference between us? You know what it takes to be a parent whereas I haven't done it yet. My point is that a lot of things seem easy until you try them out.

Well it's not like you have no clue what's involved in parenting. You watched your parents parent you and have a very good idea what's in the job description. Plus I'm sure you have some friends that are parents and know about the challenges. Nobody has ever said parenting is easy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

12 years job shadowing hey? Dess made this exact argument before. Drove me insane then as it does now. Some people think that because they graduated from high school they have unique knowledge that the rest of us fail to possess. Being a student gives you zero idea of what a teacher really does. Zero.

Honestly, who cares what dess said? I don't think you're being fair to the arguement to say it has zero relevance. Of course it has relevance. I know exactly what teachers are doing from 8 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. Monday-Friday for nine months of the year. I also know there is some work involved before and after that. And the other three months of the year I also know what they are doing - not working.

It's not like it's some secret profession like gynecologist that I have never seen in action before. I sat and stared at one for years and years of my life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

My wife is a teacher and if they got 6 months off each year I still wouldn't even consider being a teacher. It's way too much work. Unlike some people, I actually like watching tv at night without a giant binder on my lap marking tests. It's perfectly fine to say that some teachers are lazy and take advantage of the system, but to say all teachers travel on easy street is pure ignorance.

I never said they were lazy. I never said they got 6 months a year off. And I never said they don't have homework. I also am not saying teachers are taking advantage of the system. I am merely saying they are unusually well compensated for their work in more ways than one and in my view are unappreciative of the deal they have.

Sample00 · 10-15-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

Honestly, who cares what dess said? I don't think you're being fair to the arguement to say it has zero relevance. Of course it has relevance. I know exactly what teachers are doing from 8 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. Monday-Friday for nine months of the year. I also know there is some work involved before and after that. And the other three months of the year I also know what they are doing - not working.

you are so beyond wrong with this comment, its unbelievable!
I've lived with one for 16 years now, does she get time off, you bet, does she get three months off, not a chance!
and I have gone in to a classroom to guest teach on a number of occassions. you couldnt pay me enough to do that job!

Sliver · 10-15-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sample00

you are so beyond wrong with this comment, its unbelievable!
I've lived with one for 16 years now, does she get time off, you bet, does she get three months off, not a chance!
and I have gone in to a classroom to guest teach on a number of occassions. you couldnt pay me enough to do that job!

Then how much time does she get off? I can't be that far off base. There's 8 weeks in the summer, 1 week at Easter, 2 weeks at Christmas, plus Thanksgiving Day, Rememberance Day, Family Day, Labour Day and Victoria Day. That's very close to 3 months dude.

flip · 10-15-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

My wife is a teacher and if they got 6 months off each year I still wouldn't even consider being a teacher. It's way too much work. Unlike some people, I actually like watching tv at night without a giant binder on my lap marking tests. It's perfectly fine to say that some teachers are lazy and take advantage of the system, but to say all teachers travel on easy street is pure ignorance.

I don't mean to nitpick but much like my post about lesson plans I feel the need to make you clarify your statement. It isn't like there are 200 tests every year so saying they spend EVERY night is totally bunk. (I know you didn't specify every night I just think your statement was a little extreme)

Even if a teacher has 4 classes (I have no idea how many they usually teach in a semester but I think that is about right) there is maybe 2-4 tests in every semester.

So to say they sit EVERY night and mark tests is totally misleading. I was a student not THAT long ago, and even with 30 kids in a class, it isn't like a teacher spends every day and night marking.

Not unless my teachers just like to mark random stuff for no reason.

Furthermore, even if a teacher had more tests than 2-3 in a semester, they likely are teaching in a subject that has scantron, or Math, where tests can be marked extremely quickly.

Social and English essays might require more time per test but there are way less tests per semester.

I'm in University now and most of my teachers say MAX it takes 40 minutes to mark a 5-15 page paper. Multiply that by 20-50 kids and it isn't a crazy amount of work. Sure it is time consuming but there is usually only one paper per semester plus a midterm so realistically they only have to do that for about 2 weeks out of the semester. Oh plus finals so maybe 3 weeks.