Give me a break. We rarely take lunch that doesn't involve student contact,
teacher meetings, parent meetings, or
principal meetings, parent phone calls, etc. . Going to the
bathroom is a huge deal. Bladder
infections run wild in public schools.
I just spent Friday evening with my
student until his mother returned from work at 5:30 because he was scared to death of the tornado watch, crying and new to our country from Mexico. He couldn't fully understand the warnings on tv and had nowhere safe to go during the warning that eventually came. Teachers do their fair share. They step up to meet more than academic needs. They are professionals with a good understanding of what the job entails, not constant clockwatchers. They work many hours outside of contract time to get the job done, especially in low income areas. They spend their own money like NO OTHER profession that I've ever heard of in my experience. The tax break on materials is appreicated but a fraction of what we end up spending on materials out-of-pocket, postage, phone/communication costs, clothing children in need of the VERY BASICS for survival and learning, etc. The job is not just 8-4, folks and curriculum. That's just when my body is physically there. Above and beyond the benefits, I know of VERY few teachers that don't have to work a 2nd or 3rd job or have a small business or deal in real estate to MAKE teaching work financially for the average family.
I've worked in a professional job that 20 years ago was male dominated, and it was a pretty gosh darn good gig compared to what I see as the demands of teaching. IF teaching were a male dominated career, things would be a lot different. No doubt about it. These things being debated and questioned would be non-issues. It's just a fact. They wouldn't put up with it, frankly. I don't know how many times I have said or thought, "this would never happen" in said male dominated field. People were treated MUCH better. Sorry. It was UNHEARD OF for an employee to spend a penny on something needed to do the job. I mean, if you used too many stickies, the officer manager might have a little hissy fit, but that's it. And the benefits were comparable to teaching. AND the number of years needed for the career were the same. The hours and demands less, the respect as a human being, MORE. I put up with some things in teaching that I feel should be reformed because I care about children and that's where I think I belong, but I am not blind to injustice. I work to reduce costs and maximize efficiency. Energy costs, for example. I think the next step should be new buses with better gas mileage. This is Michigan for goodness sake. Get with Detroit and contract a better bus, OR go to Japan if that's what is needed. We're a global economy, WELL, get better buses that are better for the environment, model sustainability for our students and reduce cost long term. Benefits are just one piece in this education puzzle. What can the state do maximize ENERGY COSTS? Geothermal energy, solar, wind cooperatives. Some districts are cooperating with energy purchase costs. All of them should be. We need leaders in Michigan ready to step up to the plate on this one. If the new energy bill passes, then schools will be paying less for energy on top of a whole new game plan in the types of energies being built in new schools and replaced in older ones. Perhaps getting energy smarter is the alternative to slashing benefits, and more WIN-WIN for all stakeholders in terms of family budgets and environmental sustainability. REDUCE ENERGY COSTS, REDUCE TRANSPORTATION COSTS. Those are two heavy-duty budget items, I believe.
Hope about buses with huge solar panels ontop. So what if it doesn't exists. Make is so. We are Michigan. I just saw a scooter on tv TODAY run by solar and wind power. Let's get with it, please.
Please forgive any typos as for some reason it is difficult to see the text below the picture of the Capitol Building? Strange.