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I teach a mix of AP and very basic at-risk classes. Most of the students in my at-risk classes to not have e-mail at home.
I make very few e-mails or calls home. I just don't like putting myself into a potential confrontation, and I'd rather deal with the problem face to face with the student if I can. It's worked most of the time for me.
In our district, teachers are automatically suspected of being at fault when a student fails; therefore, we need to have ample documentation that we brought the issue to the parents' notice well before grade report time. Email provides that documentation better than telephone calls because telephone calls aren't recorded or logged. I wish they were.
Just wondering if you were in Engineering forums discussing the work conditions, salary etc. Assuming you were did people outside of the profession participate in the discussion?
I know you're not addressing this to me, but I'll answer anyway. Many people think they know all about nursing, medicine, etc from watching "ER", Grey's Anatomy", et al, and from fairly frequent contact with health care providers. I had a patient complain once b/c they saw the dr. at an ER palying a video game. They think that means all the dr's in ERs do is play video games (well, besides chase nurses). I think this is the issue with teaching, too. The general public, at least those with kids, sees a lot of teachers, at work. They know their kids' schedules. They don't always think that some of those "days off" are actually inservice days, etc.
I've never had ANY job that came close to being perfect in my eyes. In fact, most jobs were FAR from being perfect in my perception. Like amny other people, my natural tendency has mostly been to focus on the shortcomings and negativities which puts me into complaining mode. Even at age 60, I've still got a way to go to get to a point of focusing on the positives and appreciating what I've got. It's a worthy challenge, but it hasn't been an easy one for me. I highly recommend this shift of focus to all of you who find yourselves mired in complaining mode. It'll make your day a little brighter....even when you fall short. Just keep shifting your focus out of the rut.
In our district, teachers are automatically suspected of being at fault when a student fails; therefore, we need to have ample documentation that we brought the issue to the parents' notice well before grade report time. Email provides that documentation better than telephone calls because telephone calls aren't recorded or logged. I wish they were.
That is good but just make sure you email and call from school. Calling from home is problematic as their caller ID may give your home number and if you block it they might not answer. I would be careful using anything other than your school ID as using a personal one opens you to other issues.
Just wondering if you were in Engineering forums discussing the work conditions, salary etc. Assuming you were did people outside of the profession participate in the discussion?
No. One big difference between engineering and teaching is constant contact with peers. Engineers wouldn't need a forum. We're not isolated from other engineers. In fact, we work closely with them. And yes, we discussed working conditions, pay, opportunties for advancement,...you name it.
People outside the profession only participated in the discussion to the extent I was in contact with them and I, usually, didn't discuss it with them. People don't understand why an engineer with 15 years experience would complain if they were only making $70K. In fact, John Q Public would just roll their eyes and make some comment about wishing they made that much. That's a very low salary for an engineer with that much experience.
And besides, the public doesn't hold the key to correcting things like pay inequity for engineers the way they do for teachers. Ultimately, we work for the public. Tax payers pay us. If we can't convince them we're worth more than we're being paid, the situation never corrects itself. As an engineer, I let supervisors and other engineers know I wasn't happy with my pay if I wasn't happy with my pay (I took a trade off for lifestyle vs. pay so I was happy with what I made) because networking can land you a better job and the fear of losing you can result in a raise. I had a lot more control over what I made as an engineer so I had less reason to talk about it.
No. One big difference between engineering and teaching is constant contact with peers. Engineers wouldn't need a forum. We're not isolated from other engineers. In fact, we work closely with them. And yes, we discussed working conditions, pay, opportunties for advancement,...you name it.
People outside the profession only participated in the discussion to the extent I was in contact with them and I, usually, didn't discuss it with them. People don't understand why an engineer with 15 years experience would complain if they were only making $70K. In fact, John Q Public would just roll their eyes and make some comment about wishing they made that much. That's a very low salary for an engineer with that much experience.
And besides, the public doesn't hold the key to correcting things like pay inequity for engineers the way they do for teachers. Ultimately, we work for the public. Tax payers pay us. If we can't convince them we're worth more than we're being paid, the situation never corrects itself. As an engineer, I let supervisors and other engineers know I wasn't happy with my pay if I wasn't happy with my pay (I took a trade off for lifestyle vs. pay so I was happy with what I made) because networking can land you a better job and the fear of losing you can result in a raise. I had a lot more control over what I made as an engineer so I had less reason to talk about it.
I think you have explained why educators get the comments they do
In our district, teachers are automatically suspected of being at fault when a student fails; therefore, we need to have ample documentation that we brought the issue to the parents' notice well before grade report time. Email provides that documentation better than telephone calls because telephone calls aren't recorded or logged. I wish they were.
I repeat the question....how do you Email parents if well over half of the families of the students you teach don't have Email???
I think you have explained why educators get the comments they do
How so? What about my posts explains why people think we deserve low pay?
One reason educators talk about their situation more is they make less than engineers. As an engineer, I made a good living by just about anyone's standard. Why would I complain about it? As a teacher, I'm going broke between low pay and being expected to buy my own supplies. Yeah, I'll let parents know about that one. They're the ones with the power to change it.
How many people think teachers "deserve" low pay? Teachers being forced to pay for own supplies is obviously a major, and common, issue and certainly needs to be fixed, but it wouldn't go over well with parents in many districts to inform them that the teacher is "going broke" with a middle class salary. Yes, I know it varies greatly by state and by school district, but overall in many places teaching is still pretty middle class. In MN, for example, the average starting teacher salary is $33,018; average teacher's salary in general in the state is $49,719. (MN is in the middle of the pack, both for cost of living and for teacher salaries) Now those salaries may be low when compared to certain non-teaching industries, but it's not exactly poverty-wage, either.
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What about my posts explains why people think we deserve low pay? 
