Covington schools will be closed Monday.

This whole fiasco has never been about pension reform. It has always been about weakening public education and other public entities. Professionals with the same amount of education as teachers make much more on average. Teachers don't get into teaching for the pay, they get into it because they love working with children. To do so however they give up a lot earnings potential to be have a good and fruitful retirement. With what has recently happened that is no longer attainable. I will be advising my children and any other child who aks for my advise to not go into public service.

I forsee a huge loss in teachers who teach as a permanent career. I actually see it becoming a "fall back" job that one takes while looking for your "real job". That will cause a revolving door of new, teachers, and we never again achieve the excellence in teaching that seasoned teachers bring to the classrooms.

There seems to be so many issues. Its hard to have a good viewpoint for those not close to this.

 

To help here is a good website:

 

Kentucky Education Association :: Wages & Benefits :: Retirement :: Teacher Member Retirement

 

A TRS presentation that is part of above:

 

http://www.kea.org/uploads/files/WagesBenefits/2017TeacherRetirement/KEAPresentation20170406.pdf

While this thread is about the pension and how it has been handled there is more to it. People outside of education more than likely believe that all of the outcry from the teachers is because of the pensions. The pension is on top of all the education funding cuts that the state is passing or attempting to pass. Cutting funding for transportation. Cutting funding for programs like preschool and youth service centers. The list goes on. So to teachers the state is cutting or trying to cut resources making the job even harder. Yet they are finding money to fund charter schools. Taking money for resources and changing the pension and well that has teachers pretty fired up.

So to clarify the social security argument. If a teacher worked another job prior to entering the teaching profession or works a 2nd job while teaching and paid enough into SS and/or has enough credits to qualify for benefits, they take a significantly lower benefit once they file for SS because they get a public pension. How is that right? Now, the state wants teachers/retirees to give away more of what they were promised.

I forsee a huge loss in teachers who teach as a permanent career. I actually see it becoming a "fall back" job that one takes while looking for your "real job". That will cause a revolving door of new, teachers, and we never again achieve the excellence in teaching that seasoned teachers bring to the classrooms.

 

I'm going to say what is unpopular but teachers are not some class we can't replace. Don't teach come to the private sector and compete see the difference. Let's go.

This whole fiasco has never been about pension reform. It has always been about weakening public education and other public entities. Professionals with the same amount of education as teachers make much more on average. Teachers don't get into teaching for the pay, they get into it because they love working with children. To do so however they give up a lot earnings potential to be have a good and fruitful retirement. With what has recently happened that is no longer attainable. I will be advising my children and any other child who aks for my advise to not go into public service.

 

Agreed on all counts.

I'm going to say what is unpopular but teachers are not some class we can't replace. Don't teach come to the private sector and compete see the difference. Let's go.

 

 

I was in education for 29 years and private bsusiness where I earned more than I did as a superintendent for 10 years. No comparison, none, teaching is much more difficult and stressful. Until a person has done both, you really don't know.

 

I haven't done law enforcement or fire, but I would guess (Ireally don't know) theirs is more stressful than teaching and that is saying a lot.

While this thread is about the pension and how it has been handled there is more to it. People outside of education more than likely believe that all of the outcry from the teachers is because of the pensions. The pension is on top of all the education funding cuts that the state is passing or attempting to pass. Cutting funding for transportation. Cutting funding for programs like preschool and youth service centers. The list goes on. So to teachers the state is cutting or trying to cut resources making the job even harder. Yet they are finding money to fund charter schools. Taking money for resources and changing the pension and well that has teachers pretty fired up.

 

Much of the teachers’ ire is education is going the wrong way in the state.

 

Poor rural communities will struggle to attract and retain teachers when you can head to Kentucky’s urban areas and make 10-15k more (point of contention: those salaries drive the average teacher salary up when the reality is much lower)

 

New teachers just lost a carrot to keep them in a small town.

 

New funding responsibilities will strain rural districts. Suddenly districts will find themselves in pre-KERA situations.

 

The outsider has a hard time seeing that public education is be dismantled in Kentucky.

I'm going to say what is unpopular but teachers are not some class we can't replace. Don't teach come to the private sector and compete see the difference. Let's go.

 

Are summers off?

:lol2:

I'm going to say what is unpopular but teachers are not some class we can't replace. Don't teach come to the private sector and compete see the difference. Let's go.

 

I would say the reverse is actually more accurate. Leave the private sector and teach. Most people can't hang.

I would say the reverse is actually more accurate. Leave the private sector and teach. Most people can't hang.

 

I agree. Private sector more difficult than teaching? That’s a hilarious notion.

I'm going to say what is unpopular but teachers are not some class we can't replace. Don't teach come to the private sector and compete see the difference. Let's go.

Compete? Compete in what sense? With other companies? Schools do this when your test scores and performs e is compared with everyone else in the state and country. Schools compete and are compared with others that have vastly different students. Schools compete and are compared with schools with vastly different resources.

 

Compete for jobs? Teachers compete for jobs all the time. Jobs in other districts. Jobs within their own district. Teachers lose jobs due to population drops or states changing what is tested/funded.

 

As a teacher if you want to compete in another state it will often require more classes or money for the opportunity to compete. Even though you will be doing the same job.

 

There are very few jobs in the private sector that compare to being in education or as a teacher. Education is on of those jobs no one wants but everyone wants to tell you how to do it.

 

I’m sorry but if you’ve never taught it’s very hard to fully appreciate what it’s like to be a teacher.

On more than one occasion I’ve had people tell me they would love to be a teacher if it weren’t for the kids. :lol2: