It is always someone who is looking from the outside in. Long weekends, holiday weeks, summers off does look like you have it made! Which you do in terms of scheduling.
People just don't see what you really have to do.
Many of the parents as you realize, are over worked themselves. They would love to have the schedule that you do. Well then, they should have considered teaching!
So, maybe we need to strategize a bit here so the next time you are approached you can have a good answer and not feel attacked by their comments.

You could not pay me enough nor give me enough holidays to make me want to be a teacher. Being trapped in a room with kids all day is my idea of hell, although I love children very much.
My hat is off to you. Kudos. Just let that passing remark roll off your back.

My sister teaches fifth grade and I know how many hours a week she puts in. My dd is an educator as well. Bless you for being a teacher. It's hard to not let those jerks get to you, but just realize that most of us know how hard you work and how many hours you put in.

I hear you, daisychain! Been there, done that. Spent yesterday writing an IEP and today have spent a couple hours on another one-I have three IEP meetings next week. Funny (or not, really) about the bathroom break thing! Teachers have no down time and it is not an exaggeration when daisy says she sometimes doesn't get to the bathroom! We have one bathroom for 19 teachers on my floor, so even when you find a minute to get there, it is probably in use.

If we add up all the hours we spend, our hourly pay is less than that of plumbers, sanitation workers, and lots of others. People forget that we do not get paid during the summer. We have to take classes in order to keep our licenses and we pay for those ourselves (if you've taken a graduate level class lately, you know that is not cheap and also demands a huge investment of time). Our paperwork demands increase every year. Most people making what we make do not take work home with them on a regular basis. I think that until we stop doing all the extra work and stop buying things for our classrooms out of our own pockets, nothing will change. Of course, we do this because we see it as a calling and are dedicated to our students, so we would never do anything that would shortchange them.

The best schedule I ever had was when we had a "modified caledar" or what some call year-round school. We had it in six Title One schools in our county. Students still had the winter and spring breaks and five weeks in the summer. Teachers got a month off in the summer, but there were intersessions (two weeks in October, an extra week after winter break, and two extra weeks at spring break). The intersession was optional, but most of our students enrolled in classes. We offered reading and math enrichment or remediation and elective classes that would combine academics with fun" classes.It was great. Teachers could choose to teach or not. If they taught, they were paid since it was more hours that the regular school contract. As someone nearing retirement, I chose to take the weeks off. Our test scores went up and it offered our kiddoes a chance to experience what most middle class kids experience outside school. Unfortunately, it costs more to run those types of programs. The district dropped it.The affluent schools would never support it because their students have camps, sports, etc. in the summers and after school.

I routinely work through my 20 minute lunch period and get to school at 7:15. I leave between 4:30 and 5:30. Then, I work grading papers or doing paperwork for special education Monday through Thursday nights for a minimum of an hour and often more than that. I doubt many people would jump at that schedule. Thank goodness I don't have children at home anymore. DH has to fend for himself.

So, sorry for adding my own rant, but please do not tell us what a great schedule we have. We love our kids and most of us are very good at what we do, but it is far from easy and we certainly don't need to hear cheap shots, like the one daisy did, from parents. I also am linking a cute story that is most likely fictitious, but teachers will like it.

Here is a link that might be useful: teacher

This post was edited by cyn427 on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 16:02

amen, dead tired. I love teachers. Yes, you may have an extra day off but OMG, that job is a calling! And for very little monetary gain. You aren't appreciated at all.

Personally, I believe we need to pay our teachers the salaries of football stars. Every single one of my children have that special someone who loved them, appreciated them, guided them and held them accountable.

I have become great friends with Aimee's kindergarten teacher (Aimee is 43 years old and I was twenty when Aimee was in her class.) We think it is funny how much we admired each other way back then. Aimee had the ability to make me look very, very good ( as she carefully chose my outfits for parent teacher conferences and totally excelled in class.) Marilyn is a huge fan of our family and we are a huge fan of her.

Please do not own other peoples ignorance. Brush it off and know there are so many if us who are grateful and believe your pay is a joke.

ditto what dedtired said: the flexibility people see in your job makes some idiots feel like they can make rude comments, if you could only make him read this.
And understand.

we're proud of you, all teachers, thanks for taking care of our kids ( in my case, grandkids !!!)

Ah, this is the place of "feel good." Thanks everyone for not taking me to task for whining and reminding me it is his problem, not mine.

ellendi, I agree, I need a comeback. I think I should just carry around copies of the story cyn linked and press them into the hands of the boorish. If I was braver, I think I would tell them to picture the hardest day they've every had at work and then imagine they had 20 children to take care of at the same time.

golddust, I strive to be that teacher that aimee was so lucky to have. I don't always hit the mark for every kid, but I'm trying.

The best part of my parent/teacher interviews this time around was that at least half the parents took the time to say that their child could not wait to come to school in the morning. I have to remember to listen to those parents and not the others.

Thanks again everyone. Back to writing reports (cyn, I feel for you. I am so glad I have no IEP's this year.)

My hat is off to all the teachers. I can't imagine doing that job-but the teachers I know all love it.

I'm a public servant also, and I hear it all the time about how we get so much time off and so many perks and on and on and on. I just let it roll off my back any more. Unless one walks a mile in your shoes, they have no business talking smack about your profession and all that you must do within the confines of the bureaucracy that lawyers, administrators and legislators deem is necessary in order to do your job. Never mind the human aspect of it all.

Hugs to you.

..........my favorite is when they tell me that they pay my salary..........and therefore I should stand on my head and spit wooden nickels.

I wasn't a teacher but a librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia and honestly I seldom encountered that type of rudeness. I know I could not be a teacher but I absolutely loved working with kids when they came into the library. It was fun helping them with their school assignments but the challenge was trying to find something that might interest them when they merely wanted a book to read.

Teachers are definitely overworked, underappreciated, and under-paid.
I have several friends who are teachers. They constantly pay for class supplies out of their own pockets. They keep an eye out for kids with issues and try to find a way to help them. Most teacher friends tell me that they feel overwhelmed with regulations, paperwork, state achievement testing (and prep), constantly changing expectations, budget cuts, etc.
They keep doing it because of the kids.
I appreciate all of the teachers through the years who have loved my children and taught them well.
Thank you, daisychain01, for being a teacher.
Teachers make a difference in this world!

My hat is off to all teacher who do the job because they can and do make a difference to our children and communities.

I don't think you can educate these boors by using facts about how hard you work, but I think a comment like, "Isn't it surprising with the perception that the hours and benefits are so great that EVERYONE isn't breaking down the doors to a become school teacher?

Or, with a smile, "Oh? Why didn't YOU become a teacher?" I think we all know the answer. WE don't want to work that hard with all that grief, just to have a few weeks off in the summer. Some of us just want to grouse about what we perceive as a great benny we don't have. But we don't want to deal with parents like him, fight continually to keep our inadequate salaries from going lower and watch funding for schools diminish, while expecting better and better results.

There is something really messed up when the people who handle our money, or the financial side of our society can pull down multimillion $$ jobs and the people we trust with our most precious valuables are at the bottom of the salary scales.

Great feedback here!

I read something on The Happiness Project blog recently that somewhat addresses your point, at least item #1 does. It's called 6 Hard Facts About Shared Work and here is what Gretchen Rubin says:

"Fact 1: Work done by other people sounds easy. How hard can it be to take care of a newborn who sleeps twenty hours a day? How hard can it be to keep track of your billable hours? To travel for one night for business? To get a four-year-old ready for school? To return a few phone calls? To load the dishwasher? To fill out some forms?
Of course, something like “performing open-heart surgery” sounds difficult, but to a very great degree, daily work by other people sounds easy, certainly easier that what we have to do. This fact leads us to under-estimate how onerous a particular task is, when someone else does it, and that makes it easy to assume that we don’t need to help or provide support. Or even be grateful. For that reason, we don’t feel very obligated to share the burden."

Doesn't that sound like what that rude person did to you?! After all, how hard can it be to work a job 'only' during school hours, and have the whole summer off etc etc. (NOT!)

I admit it, I've been guilty of this myself SO many times in judging others' loads! It's not nice but it certainly must be pretty common, else Ms.Rubin wouldn't have nailed it so well.

Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 Hard Facts About Shared Work

I'm not going to minimize the work and effort that teachers go through, but as a business person, my regular days started at 5:15 a.m. and I didn't get home until 7 pm at night...that was a normal day. Very often work would entail even longer days and into the night. Then there was business travel...I would get up at 3 am to catch a flight out at 5:30 or 6 am to get to where I had to go to put in a day worth of work and then get home by 11pm if all went well and if I was lucky...only to get up at 5:15 am the next morning to put in a full day again. If I wasn't lucky I ended up spending the night at some airport trying to get on planes to get me home. And I did not get summers off, but had to work 5 years before my vacation time was upped to 2 1/2 weeks. In the old days, there were many nights at the office until midnight or 1 am...in the later times, there was computer and email so that it wasn't unusual to be up at 4 am working at home before I even got to the office. And I don't know, but I have a sneaking suspicion that your boss never called you at 6 am while you were in the shower, wondering how soon you could get to the office.

And then the snow days....all those days when kids and teachers are home, I was slogging to work to get to meetings or presentations or airports in the hope I could catch a plane out that wasn't too delayed by de-icing.

Yeah, so whether or not us business types have a full appreciation for what teachers go through, when we see all the week-long breaks throughout the year and the summers off to be home with family or traveling, it does seem like a job with benefits we don't enjoy. And what you're hearing is jealousy.

Annie, one thing I've learned is that you don't have to go very far to find some one who has it harder than you. Did you ever consider becoming a teacher?

Runninginplace, that is so apt. Even at school we do this to each other - so easy to fall into comparing schedules between high schools and junior schools. At one staff mtg two teachers from different schools started one upping each other with all the extras they each had to do. I started laughing and said, we get it, you both work really really hard.

Sometimes you just need someone to notice how hard you're working and give you a pat on the back. I acknowledged I was just feeling sorry for myself when, instead of a much needed pat, I got what felt like an insult. I appreciate all the pats I got from you all and know I share them with all the others who are working hard and not getting the kudos.

This post was edited by daisychain01 on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 20:00

Daisy and Cyn, I'm sorry some parents can be so insensitive; I agree, you do need a good come back unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions that would be considered acceptable and not equally as rude :c) .

My daughter had some of the same teachers I had growing up and even after all those years they were still just as dedicated their class and students. My 4th grade teacher saw I was dyslectic and worked with me after school for months to help me correct it. She didn't have to but I'm so glad she did, I still benefit from her time and think about her often. My point is, what you do DOES matter and does stay with those students forever.

While jealousy is surely the motive for such a rude perspective, I have family members with jobs that very much match the description of the job Annie D speaks of but I don't really feel there is a comparison between a corporate job and that of a teacher. Not because they both aren't hard work but because the salary for a corporate job will typically commensurate with the responsibilities that comes with it and surely its much larger than the salary of a teacher. It also in many cases comes with additional perks such as bonuses and larger benefit packages. While the salaries of corporate jobs are beginning to rise, teachers salaries are still shrinking. Even so the demands put on teachers by the school systems continue to rise and there are more out of pocket expenses for them. While it is understandably a PIA to deal with flights, airports and weather, I'd take it any day over the thought of managing 30+ kids every day 5 days a week for years on end. I'd honestly never survive!

Olychick, I think that is a wonderful comeback. I am going to write it down so I don't forget.

lukkiirish, fortunately, the parents like you do out number the complainers. As others have said, I shouldn't let one criticism get me down. Why is it that one sharp remark can seemingly cancel out all the compliments? That is definitely something I have to work on.

It seems most jobs have their pros, cons and frustrations. Until you do the job yourself you really don't know what people go through. It's easy to think the grass is greener when you're not doing the job yourself. I don't know much about teaching these days since I don't have kids and no friends who are teachers. From the anecdotal feedback I hear it's much more difficult than it was back when I was a kid. I know some former teachers who retired in their 50s with a generous pension and fully paid health benefits. If people still get that kind of thing I'm sure if I was a teacher I'd be anxiously looking forward to retirement day.

Gibby, as is the case with many jobs these days, we don't even get fully paid benefits while we are still working. Once we retire, we still have to pay if we want to continue benefits, but the cost is higher. My salary has been frozen for four years now and was also frozen for two years in the 1990s. This includes no COLA either. Yes, I am looking forward to retirement, but not because I will have any golden parachute-I'll be lucky if I have any parachute at all. I have a Master's degree plus 30 credits and National Board certification and if I retire at 62, I will receive less than $2000 per month before taxes. Of course, I live in a right-to-work state with a governor who has moved $100 million from the teachers' pension fund to make it look as if he has balanced the budget. He will be out of office by the time that money is supposed to be repaid. The retirement scenario could be much bleaker when I do go out. If Gov. McDonnell ever runs for national office, I hope no one supports him! Other states may have different plans. I can only speak to mine.

I am discouraged, but like daisy, I certainly appreciate all the kind words and support for teachers that have been expressed here.

My parents were both educators (my dad was also a h.s. principal), as were my aunt and one of my grandmothers, so I get it. Some people are simply rude and thoughtless, and I hope that all of us who value you and the other teachers who have touched our lives and those of our children outweigh such callous remarks.

True story.

A good friend of mine is a teacher (band director) and his wife taught also. Both of them in public schools, with long careers. They were at a function that our then governor attended. My friend's wife was excited to meet the governor. He asked her what she did. She said "I'm a school teacher." The governor responded "so you're the one that's keeping the state broke" and went on to the next person.

I s#+t you not.

Teachers don't get a fraction of the respect they deserve.

This post was edited by jakabedy on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 23:00

Thank you for being a teacher daisychain01.

I am sick of the meme that the public sector is a problem for our country . We need you. That guy is ignorant and we should all feel sorry for him.

Teaching creates all other professions. ~Author Unknown

daisychain,
We are educators as well. We hear these things frequently. The big one here (we live in a fairly poor area) is that teachers are paid too much. I wish everyone who thinks that teachers have it made would have the opportunity to volunteer in a school on a regular basis. These are the ones that never do. I am not talking about coming in to bring in goodies for a classroom party. What teachers do everyday can not even be described to those that have no experience in a school setting. There is not enough room to type it all! If you have not worked in a school setting, you can not possibly understand enough to make insulting comments on the profession.

The "summers off" thing cracks me up. I think some parents honestly think that the job is done when their kids aren't actually in school. That is only a part of the job! Yes, the kids have the whole summer off, the teachers do not. But again, it is hard to make someone understand that if they do not work in this profession.

We also have people in our family who have had corporate jobs that required a lot of hours and traveling. They were paid for it. That was the profession they chose. (If you are doing that kind of work for free and hating it, then I don't know what to tell you!) So when they make comments about teachers, it just makes me scratch my head. Anyone who had the ability to go to college had that option!

People who choose to comment about teachers "having it made" are really insulting themselves, and making themselves look fairly silly. At least that is the way I have learned to look at it. If this is the ideal job, aren't you a fool not to take it?? (SImilar to what Olychick was saying...)

There have been a lot of supportive comments from wonderful people here! We just have to understand that there are some people in this world that will never be convinced. Maybe we can even feel sorry for them that they missed out on the opportunity to be the most overpaid, underworked professional in the world ;-)

I think some people are making a lot of assumptions about other people's jobs, as well, in defense of this one. I'm not sure there is a job or profession that does not get flack, suffer stereotypes or have its fair share of hardships.

I think if you have a job you love and enjoy, whatever it is, you are far ahead of the pack.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Tue, Feb 19, 13 at 12:28

I did a lot of volunteer work at the school when my kids were in elementary school. I could not have been a teacher. The kids were a joy but I could not have tolerated dealing with parents. I saw how parents treated and talked about the teachers on almost a daily basis. My hat is off to you all. My sons grade 3 teacher came in early twice a week to help him with his writing skills- she didn't have to but she did and we were thankful.

Even as a volunteer I would get flack from parents because I didn't read long enough with their child in the reading program or their child didn't like the options at pizza day so could I order a special one for them or they didn't like the fundraiser that was being planned but were of course much to busy doing whatever to take any part in the school. And I don't have a problem with that but don't complain either. What I figured out is that it was the same parents always complaining about things, our teachers knew that and so did the volunteers. The vast majority appreciate the effort that teachers make on behalf of our children.

A teacher changed my life.

When I was a senior in high school, I went through a bad time. One of my teachers took me aside one day, expressed confidence in my abilities, and encouraged me to go to college. This was not my plan, but I always remembered his words and a few years later I went and got my bachelor's degree. Sometime after that, I went back and got a master's. I'm retired now, but had a long and fulfilling career thanks to a teacher who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

There are teachers who guide and encourage students like me every day. The inspiration I received was priceless. I always wished I had gone back and thanked my teacher. That's impossible now, but I can thank daisychain and all the other educators out there for making a difference.

This really struck me:

"Not because they both aren't hard work but because the salary for a corporate job will typically commensurate with the responsibilities that comes with it and surely its much larger than the salary of a teacher. It also in many cases comes with additional perks such as bonuses and larger benefit packages."

So true!

And Beachykeen really says what to me is the most important thought of all. Teachers truly and directly change lives.

To be needed is such a basic human drive--for all those teachers fighting the daily battles, including the battle of people who disparage your work, at least you know that what you do every day makes peoples' lives better. What is a more important job than that?! I can't think of one.

Ann

Sorry to jump back so quickly but I just found my favorite quote about teachers, ever. For those who might enjoy more from this source, it is taken from the book Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder:

“Good teachers put snags in the river of children passing by, and over the years, they redirect hundreds of lives. Many people find it easy to imagine unseen webs of malevolent conspiracy in the world, and they are not always wrong. But there is also an innocence that conspires to hold humanity together, and it is made of people who can never fully know the good that they have done.”

My SIL is a retired music teacher. Thinking back I'm trying to remember all of the weekends that she spent with her band traveling to parades. Her marching band was in a parade constantly.

She wears hearing aids in both ears...

My daughter is a teacher, and I work as an assistant to a superintendent so I feel compelled to jump in here also. I won't repeat what others have stated about how dedicated teachers are, but just a few other points:

** Education - In Kentucky (haven't researched other states), you can get a teaching certificate with a bachelors degree, BUT in order to keep that certificate you MUST get a Masters. You MUST submit transcripts for 15 hours after your fifth year or you will lose your certification and you MUST have completed your Masters by the end of the tenth year or you lose your certification. In our district, you get a $4,000 raise when you have finished your Masters :).

Advanced degrees help in all areas of employment, but you can definitely climb the corporate ladder without the advanced degree. Your dedication, skills, and experience can mean someting there. You don't have a CHOICE in education (in Kentucky).

Think about it. Even nurses don't HAVE to get a Masters degree to continue to practice nursing and they are dealing with people's health and life.

i agree that the most important thing is that you are doing a job that you love...

as a mom who has had 3 kids go thru school, i definitely knew that some teachers loved their job, and some didn't... some went the extra mile and some didn't.... some teachers smiled alot, and some didn't. just like in all other careers- some teachers work harder than others and some like their jobs more than others.

i know what some parents in our school district complain about is the unionization of the teaching profession and a lack of a real incentive program for teachers...

focus on the positive feedback that parents give you and realize essentially no one in any job gets only positive feedback!

If you haven't seen the movie "American Teacher" - hunt down a copy.
Thank-you to all teachers!
Nan