Public School Closures - Teacher Protest

[Oldercoach]

I thought you said you were a banker for 43 years? How long did you teach and why did you get out?

 

Taught for six years, had a master's degree and coached 2 varsity sports. Left education because I had no desire to go into administration and the salary I was earning ($8,300) meant my wife could not stay home with the kids, which is what we both wanted.

[rjs4470]

I regret everyday not becoming a teacher, how many other jobs do you get 3 months off per year?

 

The retirement should have been adjusted many years ago. While a lot of us were still in high school. Someone has to fix the mess and it’s going to be an emotional, nauseating process.

 

Radiologist. My brother in law gets 12 weeks of time off every year.

 

The “3 months off” argument that people use to take pot shots at teachers, is old, tired, and simply misinformed. Again, my wife taught for nearly a decade. And believe me, she worked during the summer. For free. Or in the case of continuing education and training, sometimes it cost her money.

[TAC]

How about the pressure of knowing a third of your kids might not eat when they go home? How about the pressure of knowing home is using and selling drugs. How about the pressure of knowing a kid is being abused either at home or by other students? How about the pressure of knowing what you’re being told to teach doesn’t work for your kids but it’s either teach it that way or get fired? How about being held accountable for things you have limited control over? How about the pressure of getting someone to perform but yet getting little support to create the environment needed?

 

For that business owner it sucks and that is pressure. The business owner is still the owner and has control/final say. They have power over how things work.

 

Feeling the pressure now ? Feel free to chip in to help with lunches on Monday for those schools that will be closed. Ockerman ans other local schools are accepting food donations to make sure the students eat while the teachers who are in it for the love of the kids, go to Frankfort to protest.

 

Side note for those donate to food pantries. I was on the board of one and one of the greatest needs for food items is actually in the summer since schools are not providing meals for the underprivileged. A lot of folks tend to only donate food items in the winter.

[Soapy Water]

Feeling the pressure now ? Feel free to chip in to help with lunches on Monday for those schools that will be closed. Ockerman ans other local schools are accepting food donations to make sure the students eat while the teachers who are in it for the love of the kids, go to Frankfort to protest.

 

Side note for those donate to food pantries. I was on the board of one and one of the greatest needs for food items is actually in the summer since schools are not providing meals for the underprivileged. A lot of folks tend to only donate food items in the winter.

 

Numerous school districts have summer lunch programs to help feed their underprivileged students breakfast and lunch during the summer. Or at least in my area they do.

[barrel]

Feeling the pressure now ? Feel free to chip in to help with lunches on Monday for those schools that will be closed. Ockerman ans other local schools are accepting food donations to make sure the students eat while the teachers who are in it for the love of the kids, go to Frankfort to protest.

 

Side note for those donate to food pantries. I was on the board of one and one of the greatest needs for food items is actually in the summer since schools are not providing meals for the underprivileged. A lot of folks tend to only donate food items in the winter.

I’m part where of a group that helps provide food for students during the summer and many other times in the year. The state trying to cut money from youth service centers that help provide cloths, hygiene products, and food. Yep I’ve been feeling the pressure from that and I’ve been doing something about it. If I wasn’t 3 hours away in a lower socioeconomic area that will have a similar problem then I wouldn’t be above helping Ocerman. I have friends that teach there.

[The Professor]

Everything you say is all good. Except for the fact that it would have been sustained if the state didn't take money from it. At least in terms of teachers retirement, it was very sustainable until the state took money out of it that was promised to be put back. So yes now it sucks to get out of it, the state's taxpayers would suffer. Which is not fair to them either. So teachers and all people shouldn't suffer from the state's corrupt ways. The system was sustainable if the corrupt state didn't take from it. I can't speak for the other pensions but the Kentucky retirement system was sustainable until the state took money.

 

So the state should find away to fix it without making teachers or any person in the state suffer from it. At least take steps to see if legalizing gambling with casinos, etc.

Good points ^

 

When Paul Patton took office in early 1990’s the teacher retirement system was at 97% funded. It was in good shape and sustainable. But the legislators kept taking more and more out of the fund every year (or not keeping it funded annually, which is the same thing) in order to balance the budget and not have to raise taxes or find other ways to balance the budget. They basically were riding on the backs of teachers and state workers and not finding other ways to balance the budget, and each administration and legislative bodies continued to kick the can down the road for someone else to worry about in the future. They were robbing Peter to pay Paul and procrastinating with the problem in order to not lose votes. So now it’s come to the point where they have not put anything back and have it down to about 55% funded, with the state workers even worse at around 15%.

If anyone ran their individual budgets like they have handled these retirement funds we wouldn’t have any money in our checking accounts very long, legislators and governors included.

[formerkywrestler]

My point is one can respect what teachers do as I do most proffessions , without the hyberbole of making it sound like brain surgery.

It seems like you would have benefited from some better teachers...:walk:

[ColonelPops]

Covington schools will be providing lunch to those in need on Monday despite being closed.

[PurplePride92]

This example is a false equivalancy again with a 401k and defined benefit plan. A 401k is owned by individual and a DB plan is group plan. It is another reason why state employees should want a DC plan there is more control. An employer has no discretionary control over assets in a 401k plan. The employer can't touch assets once in the account, they can only stop their contributions. A 401k can't be touched by creditors.

 

Also the "promise" you speak of happens in the private sector happens in the in Deferred Compensation plans in 457b and other non-qualifed plans. Employees defer salary to a later date but if the company is not solvent they never see those funds.

 

:lol2: :lol2:

 

Just say you are being obtuse and playing devil’s advocate. You clearly understand the point made in that post without getting all 401K technical about it.

[plantmanky]

Numerous school districts have summer lunch programs to help feed their underprivileged students breakfast and lunch during the summer. Or at least in my area they do.

 

Honest question here, why are the schools doing the job of the parent?

[Hellcats]

Summers off is also not a reward for teachers’ hard work all year. Hundreds of studies have shown more school days equal better education.

 

Why don’t we go to school more? We don’t want to pay for it.

 

Personally, I’d work in the summers, but I’m not working for free.

[mcpapa]

Honest question here, why are the schools doing the job of the parent?

 

If I had to guess, I'd say that they are concerned about the children they serve. Many times the meal served by the school is far and away the best - and sometimes the only - meal the child will get all day.

[Soapy Water]

Honest question here, why are the schools doing the job of the parent?

 

It would take a series the size of the old Encyclopedia Britannica to cover the multitude of reasons behind the need of such services. I will say that I personally find it extremely unfortunate that this is even an issue in the richest country in the world.

[John Anthony]

Radiologist. My brother in law gets 12 weeks of time off every year.

 

The “3 months off” argument that people use to take pot shots at teachers, is old, tired, and simply misinformed. Again, my wife taught for nearly a decade. And believe me, she worked during the summer. For free. Or in the case of continuing education and training, sometimes it cost her money.

 

Your wife to chose to work in the summer. Teachers get cut a check for the entire summer. A friend of mine once used it to get divorced. Teaching can be very difficult, but it’s always rewarding and the time off is second to none. I wish I would have considered it, especially from a coaching perspective.

[John Anthony]

The bolded is not necessarily true. I will use my wife as an example.

 

Here teaching year ends in late May and she will be required to work until June.

 

Because they are combining her school with another in a new facility, she will spend about a week transferring her class room and setting it up during the summer. It's not required work by the contract but if she doesn't do it, when will it be done?

 

She goes back in July 30th to work. Classes begin a week and a half or so later. Much of that early time is often spent in meaningless pep/education for the teachers. The real work is when they are free to be in the classroom and plan together and set up the beginning of the school year.

 

So based on this calculation she doesn't get 3 months off. June and 1/2 of July (taking into account the new school move). This doesn't include continuing education that she will begin next year for continuing certification.

 

As to the rest of the school year, about half of those "off days" for the kids is "in-service or professional development days." So the "holidays" she gets in the school year are the following:

 

Labor Day, 2 Days Thanksgiving, 2 weeks Xmas, 1 Day MLK- Lee - Jackson Day (Remember I'm in VA :thumb:), Spring Break is one week. Total of 19 days. So I guess is closer to 3 months than I thought. :lol2:

 

Just for the record, her day starts at 7:30 am and she leaves around 4:30 or 5:00 each day. 9 or more hours each day. :thumb:

 

June, July, most of August, winter break which is 2 weeks for our district, spring break 1 week, 5-10 snow days (in Ohio which aren’t made up anymore) plus all of the Presidents Day style holidays.

 

I can’t be convinced that teachers have it bad. Sure, the retirement needs fixed but nobody was complaining about teaching before this week.