Our Educational System

[dirkd101]

What is with our great educational system. It would seem to me that they would like to turn our children into victims rather than self sufficient probelm solvers.
Case in point; I have to go into the school because my kid hit someone. This act alone, as a bully is wrong and something I won't tolerate, my kids know this. But I have taught my kids to defend themselves if threatened with violence, don't become a victim, as is the school boards policy, leaving the bully to do it again.
They don't seem to want to deal with the original infraction, only the self defence. Is this because the little bully who normally gets away with his poor behavior can be rehabilitated with a get out of jail free card and now my kid is the bad guy?
I say deal with the little bastard and step up his punishment with each infraction of the rules. Bring his parents in and make them resposible too. Maybe they need some detention time as well. Seeing the parents though, one can see were the behavior comes from.

While on the topic, why don't all the PA days in the school year, get lumped together in the summer months?
Why do they get prep time? and how can they build this up and still be at the school and we pay a supply teacher to teach their class?

I could go on and I am sure any teachers on here will be inflammed by my comments so I will cut this off.
Thanks, for the space to vent

 

[buckwheat1]

I agree get the person who is the real bullier. Now as for PA days as there are know now but there really PD days which means professional development days, why not summer because teachers aren't paid in the summer. A teacher needs time to prepare for class lessons as well as time to mark papers. While on prep time a teacher is on call on call, can be asked to fill in on any class or say supervision say in gym/library. The elementary teacher gets less prep then secondary teacher. Noty sure what is ment here by "build this up".

 

[Keebler Elf]

Violence should never be tolerated in the school system. Period.

 

[scouser1]

PD days arent vacation days, teachers still have to attend day long conferences, seminars, workshops all sorts of crap that they would rather avoid and be in the classroom teaching the kids, and yes they arent paid in the summer, its a 12 month contract that gets paid in 9 months, as for prep time well elmentary teachers 20 minutes a day, and high school get an hour a day, would you prefer badly planned classes where the kid gets taught nothing and instead just goofs around

 

[landscaper]

PD days arent vacation days, teachers still have to attend day long conferences, seminars, workshops all sorts of crap that they would rather avoid and be in the classroom teaching the kids, and yes they arent paid in the summer, its a 12 month contract that gets paid in 9 months, as for prep time well elmentary teachers 20 minutes a day, and high school get an hour a day, would you prefer badly planned classes where the kid gets taught nothing and instead just goofs around

Violence is rarley the answer to violence , yes steps should be taken. Please don't start me on teachers and time off i just got my blood pressure down

 

[exotica1111]

education sucks , and is expensive too .. i see lots of studens in the future working in the industry

 

[red]

Violence should never be tolerated in the school system. Period.

It would be nice. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes violence to end violence. If a bully is picking on you - the system doesn't do anything.

 

[j_anderson]

PD days arent vacation days, teachers still have to attend day long conferences, seminars, workshops all sorts of crap that they would rather avoid and be in the classroom teaching the kids, and yes they arent paid in the summer, its a 12 month contract that gets paid in 9 months, as for prep time well elmentary teachers 20 minutes a day, and high school get an hour a day, would you prefer badly planned classes where the kid gets taught nothing and instead just goofs around

I have nothing against teachers, but you can't deny that teaching in Ontario is definitely a sweat deal.
After 10 years they make over $70,000, and that's with over 2 months off in the summer, 2 weeks off around Christmas, and 1 week off in March.

High school teachers get a full period of prep time each day, which is over an hour. Plus, their work day ends at 3:15, so they basically have a lot more prep-time if they want to make use of it.

And how much time do teachers actually spend teaching? When I was in high school, over 50% of classes were spent as work periods where the teacher would do nothing and just give us busy work to do, like read from the text book, complete worksheets, do questions from the textbook, work on some b.s. assignment etc.

 

[dj1470]

its a 12 month contract that gets paid in 9 months, as for prep time well elementary teachers 20 minutes a day, and high school get an hour a day

100% wrong

Teachers get paid over 26 weeks bi-weekly, they are salaried, the teacher who works 80 hours a week gets paid the same as the teacher who works 30 hours a week

As for preptime - elementary get 200 minutes a week which is 40 min a day or one out of seven elementary 40 minute periods a day - secondary must teach 6.5 courses over the year depending on what is being taught when a secondary teacher could have 70 minutes a day or only 30 minutes but it comes out to 220 minutes a week

It is this 20 minutes that some elementary teacher unions are arguing over in the current bargaining for 2009

 

[dj1470]

High school teachers get a full period of prep time each day, which is over an hour. Plus, their work day ends at 3:15, so they basically have a lot more prep-time if they want to make use of it.

wrong
see my previous post

 

[dj1470]

And how much time do teachers actually spend teaching?

Try every minute they spend with a child.

 

[dj1470]

Back to the initial reason for this thread.

Case in point; I have to go into the school because my kid hit someone. This act alone, as a bully is wrong and something I won't tolerate, my kids know this. But I have taught my kids to defend themselves if threatened with violence, don't become a victim, as is the school boards policy, leaving the bully to do it again.
They don't seem to want to deal with the original infraction, only the self defence. Is this because the little bully who normally gets away with his poor behavior can be rehabilitated with a get out of jail free card and now my kid is the bad guy?

The school administrator should be told the whole story. Fight for the rights of your child. Speak to their teacher and principal. DO NOT let your concerns drop! Remember, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets grease". If necessary contact your school board superintendant or even trustee!

 

[scouser1]

anyone who thinks its a sweet deal should come down and switch jobs for one period of 75 minutes trying to control a group of 30, 15 year olds hmmm!!! didnt think so

dont get me wrong, I love my job its the best one in the world, I tried the corporate desk job and was bored out of my skull, but spare me the in by 9 out by 3:15 stories that the Mike Harris loving crowd still seems to tell you.

 

[RTRD]

Total...

anyone who thinks its a sweet deal should come down and switch jobs for one period of 75 minutes trying to control a group of 30, 15 year olds hmmm!!! didnt think so

dont get me wrong, I love my job its the best one in the world, I tried the corporate desk job and was bored out of my skull, but spare me the in by 9 out by 3:15 stories that the Mike Harris loving crowd still seems to tell you.

...co sign.

No one who has actual taught at the elementary or high school level thinks it is an easy job.

I was STUNNED at how much time my ex-GF spent on admin work....grading papers, creating quizs and exams entering grades into the obviously antiquated TDSB computer system, and doing "IAPs". And no teacher who cares about his / her students leaves at 3:15 - my gf NEVER left before 4:15, having to get the classroom in order and making herself available for students who needed extra help / attention. 4:30 - 5:00pm was more typical.

The summers off is a nice perk, and yes, teachers do get more days "away for the office" than most of us, but 70K for ten years of experience at your job if you have Master's Degree isn't exactly breaking the bank.

Anyone who thinks teaching is easy and teachers are over paid has never been a teacher, never known one well, and probably had some lousy ones.

 

[Plan B]

Let's face it, teachers are a profession that need to be well compensated. Teaching youth is no easy task, and teaching is sometimes the easiest part. Try dealing with the countless disciplinary problems, insane parents, and new guidelines imposed by administrators. Not to mention the lack of respect for teachers in Canada.The burnout rate is high, and then you get crappy teachers, who don't care about their lessons. In other countries, like Asian countries, teachers are much better respected.

 

[shakenbake]

btw, if you want to talk salary, why not annualize the 9 months of pay and see how teachers compare to other professions? IT AIN'T BAD.

If the Elementary School Teachers' federation got their way with McShit, the top level earners would get about $94,000 per year. With summer months off. Nice job, if you can get it. When I went to Teachers' College, it was the year of Bob Death Rae's Social Contract, that made it almost impossible to get a job on graduation, especially for a non-visible minority such as myself.

 

[shakenbake]

anyone who thinks its a sweet deal should come down and switch jobs for one period of 75 minutes trying to control a group of 30, 15 year olds hmmm!!! didnt think so

dont get me wrong, I love my job its the best one in the world, I tried the corporate desk job and was bored out of my skull, but spare me the in by 9 out by 3:15 stories that the Mike Harris loving crowd still seems to tell you.

It's called classroom management, and it is not difficult, once you set the rules.

 

[basketcase]

... Please don't start me on teachers and time off i just got my blood pressure down

At least they work more than parliament

 

[Maddog]

I have nothing against teachers, but you can't deny that teaching in Ontario is definitely a sweat deal.
After 10 years they make over $70,000, and that's with over 2 months off in the summer, 2 weeks off around Christmas, and 1 week off in March.

High school teachers get a full period of prep time each day, which is over an hour. Plus, their work day ends at 3:15, so they basically have a lot more prep-time if they want to make use of it.

And how much time do teachers actually spend teaching? When I was in high school, over 50% of classes were spent as work periods where the teacher would do nothing and just give us busy work to do, like read from the text book, complete worksheets, do questions from the textbook, work on some b.s. assignment etc.

Wow - I'm still amazed by the ignorance of some people of my profession. Yes I am a teacher, and proud of it.

1st - I'll agree - we're getting too soft on the kids - I agree - deal with the bully first.

2 months off in the summer - it would be nice to actually get that. In July, I'm teaching summer school - by choice, but still. In August, I attend courses to upgrade - at my own expense. During August, I am also planning for the upcoming year. The last week of August - part of my 2 months off don't forget, I'm back into the school preparing for the new year and running a preseason football camp. When do I work on my playbook - during the summer.

Come September - I'm in there at 7:30 in the morning. For the next 2 months, I'm running Football practice everyday afterschool - by the time I get out, after cleaning up after 40 teenagers, its 5:00. During my 40 mins of uninteruppted lunch, I'm usually doing departmental duties, photocopying or supervising the cafeteria...if I'm not doing something for football or Remembrance Day activities. During my 1 hour of prep time, I'm calling parents, photocopying, planning lessons, or maybe, if I'm lucky, actually having a chance to mark during the school day when I make my 70 grand. Usually though, that is done at about 9:00 at night when my kids go to bed, or at 6:00 in the morning, as was the case today. Not to mention the Friday night games, or Saturday games, meetings after school, parent teacher interviews at night (so we can be convienent to their schedule).

Now that football is done, I get a little break - I can actually leave the school by 3:30. That is until next semester when I'm driving the hockey team around in a bussette because we can't afford to charter a school bus, and then it will be on to baseball season.

But we're just doing b.s. assignments everyday - god forbid should we give them time to work on something in class so we might actually help them. Maybe we should be like university professors and just lecture for 60 mins straight and then assign everything for homework. Even though only about 40% of high school students actually go to university. Let's treat them all with the same approach. We'll ignore the special needs, ESL, ADD, ADHD and all the other types of kids who need our help. We don't need to be trained how to deal with those kids...we get enough vacation - we don't need PD days.

Am I being sarcastic and defensive....Hell yeah! I've worked in sales, I've worked in Pro Sports. If I wanted an easy job, I'd go back to those in a heartbeat. I won't lie - the vacations are a nice perk of the job. Even if there was year round schooling, we would still get the same amount of time off. But what's wrong with society - bitching about someone who gets time off - is it jealousy? Personally I think Cdn society does not get enough holidays. I think everyone should have 4 - 5 weeks minimum of paid holidays. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

 

[RTRD]

I forgot...

During August, I am also planning for the upcoming year.

During my 40 mins of uninteruppted lunch, I'm usually doing departmental duties, photocopying or supervising the cafeteria..

During my 1 hour of prep time, I'm calling parents, photocopying, planning lessons, or maybe, if I'm lucky, actually having a chance to mark during the school day when I make my 70 grand. Usually though, that is done at about 9:00 at night when my kids go to bed, or at 6:00 in the morning, as was the case today.

....meetings after school, parent teacher interviews at night (so we can be convienent to their schedule).

That is until next semester when I'm driving the hockey team around in a bussette because we can't afford to charter a school bus, and then it will be on to baseball season.

But we're just doing b.s. assignments everyday - god forbid should we give them time to work on something in class so we might actually help them. Maybe we should be like university professors and just lecture for 60 mins straight and then assign everything for homework. Even though only about 40% of high school students actually go to university. Let's treat them all with the same approach. We'll ignore the special needs, ESL, ADD, ADHD and all the other types of kids who need our help. We don't need to be trained how to deal with those kids...we get enough vacation - we don't need PD days.

...about that stuff. I heard of just about all of it (substitute driving bus for hockey with driving her personal vehicle to take the kids who actually cared to thing like special educational events and high school selection night, or whatever it is called. The school certainly doesn't do anything extra to support the kids who want to do something extra...)

Leave at 3:15??? I wish she had so she could have gotten her but over here quicker and be ass up / face down sooner...