Holy **** this is just disgusting.
1- pay is not linear with difficulty in obtaining a degree. It isnt that way in many fields. There are people with masters degrees who arent paid well and people with associates degrees who are paid well.
2- claiming teachers(your friends specifically and all teachers in general when applying your example) took the easiest path forward is utter nonsense. Many chose the path because it is what they want. Some chose the path because after trying something else first, they found they arent as good a fit as hoped. That on its own isnt taking the easiest path.
3- the 14-16 weeks off a year is not totally accurate. It isnt totally inaccurate, but a lot of teachers have in service hours during some of that time off. They also have an incredibly rigid work schedule and cant just take random days off thru the year like I can. I want October the 13th off...done! I want April the 6th off...done! I couldnt do that as a teacher here.
4- while the barrier of entry to become a teacher may be low in some states, its higher in others. And many teachers obtain advanced degrees- you have elementary teachers with masters degrees and multiple professional certifications. None of that is an easy path, even if you view it as the easiest path forward.
5- teachers help kids learn, are social workers, are defacto parents, are mentors, are proverbial punching bags for misdirected anger and hate, and are mediators. It is an exhausting profession and the engineers I know that sit behind a desk and have meetings comparatively have the easier path.
6- In addition to all the hats a teacher wears, many work in the evenings at home and have professional development or continuing education requirements to fulfill, which is often done in the weeks you mention teachers have off.
7- everyone knows that a marketing degree is actually the easiest path forward if you switch out of a major that isnt for you. Come on- get it right.
Admittedly, my post is based on what I directly know about my teachers in my area and my state as a whole. I do acknowledge that the bar to become a teacher is significantly higher here than in many other states, so my comments may be skewed a bit or not totally applicable to other parts of the country.
You make a lot of really good points, several of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I'll also admit that my post came off more inflammatory than I really meant for it to. So, I do truly apologize if I have offended anyone. Much like your own self admitted bias, I am probably biased myself. I am biased by having several well known acquaintances who literally switched to education (or something in that general path) after finding other degree paths too difficult. They then proceeded to mock their class workload and talk about how laughable some of their classes were. And I am not talking about 1 or 2 people. It was several.. but, and I tried to acknowledge this in my post, but didn't give it the credence it deserves.. you are exactly right. There are many, many teachers who are incredibly intelligent, could have done almost anything, and chose to teach as their calling. And they are to be commended. But, they also did it knowing the pay, etc. and are the ones who rarely complain. All of us want to make more money, that's human nature. But, in my experience, it seems like the ones who complain the loudest about pay, are the ones that I know take it the least serious. It's like every profession, the bad ones make things way worse for the good ones. But, the low bar (at least in MS) to become a teacher has allowed that "bad" number to get disproportionately high.
On the time off - you're right, what I said is mostly accurate. Yes, they have a little more trouble getting random days off, but they get 5 days per year (at least in MS) on top of the 14-16 weeks per year off. So, it's not like it's impossible. I wasn't really trying to diminish their time off, but just point out that when you factor in all the time off, it makes their pay drastically better. There are a TON of people that would take a 20-30% pay cut, if they got 15 weeks a year off, concentrated around holidays and the summer time, plus 5 additional sick/vacation days. That's all I was trying (poorly) to illustrate.
As far as dealing with kids and their parents.. hell yeah that's hard. I wouldn't want to do it. And I feel like it likely gets worse each year, as my spoiled generation is now having children and spoiling them even further. But, I also knew I didn't want to deal with the general public, so I chose a career path to where I wouldn't have to. So, it's not like teachers should be surprised when they have to deal with those things.
And as far as those teachers that obtained advanced degrees, and work very hard to better themselves - I commend them, and they should be paid more than they are, in most cases. That's why I have agreed with everyone on this thread that has talked about how good teachers and good cops should be rewarded. I know that's somewhat subjective, but good leadership can recognize and reward the cream of the crop.
I have had some WONDERFUL teachers that helped me growing up in ways I could never put into words. But, I also had a bunch that it was painfully obvious were there to draw a paycheck and be in their car heading home at 3:01. And, I believe those teachers, combined with the people I knew who got into the profession because of laziness/lack of ambition, have slanted my feelings towards teachers. And that's not fair to the good teachers... and I'll acknowledge that. So, again, my apologies if I have offended anyone who is a good teacher, or is close to a good teacher. But, if you're offended and you're one of the bad ones.. good.
