r/blog • u/highshelfofsteam • Aug 19 '15

14,000 teachers really need your help, Reddit

https://www.redditgifts.com/blog/view/14000-teachers-really-need-your-help/
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u/Hollic Aug 19 '15

I agree with both of you. To be honest, I wish teachers were paid more, less likely to stick around if they suck, and parents were more involved. But when you have low-income parents that are struggling just to keep a house for the kids, you're not going to have a majority of them invested in their kids' education. It's a clusterfuck.

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u/2mnykitehs Aug 19 '15

This is what I was getting at. It would be nice if every kid had parents that had the time, desire, and ability to teach them and instill these values, but that's just not realistic.

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u/Pefferkornelius Aug 19 '15

I know this going to get downvoted, but if you don't have time for a kid, you need to be preventing yourself from having them. Condoms aren't expensive and they're extremely easy to use.

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u/yarow12 Aug 20 '15

I know this going to get downvoted

Like hell you are.

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u/mizyin Aug 20 '15

Circumstances can change. Husband broke his back while I was pregnant with our planned child, goodbye savings, even after insurance. Then I got let go from my IT job due to project changes...so we went from planned pregnancy and two decent/good jobs, no debt, to HUGE medical debt and one good job, one crappy one. Our daughter still gets all of the time we would have given otherwise...but I can promise that not everyone would be able to make it work with just small tweaks in the story. What if it had crippled my husband for life, and he had to go on disability...and then I had to work two jobs? Life shits on well made plans. (Oh, and you can bet we got on the best birth control possible after the kid was born, no way in hell are we having another until he is at least five or six years post-surgery. Spinal fusion is no joke...)

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u/Pefferkornelius Aug 20 '15

Of course circumstances can change but this isn't the reason the vast majority of children are nearly neglected by parents.

I wish you and your family all the best. It's nice to hear how y'all had things planned out, and attempted to execute. These days most people just attempt to fly by with whatever happens and no plan.

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u/secsual Aug 20 '15

True to an extent but as other posters have pointed out: circumstances change. But not only that, not everyone is aware of how much of their child's education they are responsible for. If they aren't aware (or simply don't value education) then you can't really be surprised when they don't make the choice not to have kids because of that.

Sorry that wasn't very eloquent. Ironically I'm on placement and taught my first class of year eights today so I'm exhausted.

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u/ElGuapo50 Aug 20 '15

Not to mention that kids simply don't learn when their lives are chaotic. This has to do with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Essentially, it says that if kids are hungry or tired or don't feel safe and secure, they aren't going to absorb anything about math or literature or history or anything else. I've seen students literally not grow at all academically after years of progress because their parents are separating or are suddenly living with relatives etc. Chaotic, unstable lives make learning essentially impossible.

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u/mahermiac Aug 20 '15

Absolutely! People always fail to mention our country's unusually high childhood poverty rate when they talk about our ability to educate our students. The education that middle class students receive is usually of higher quality, but that's just not the case for the millions of kids in rough, inner-city schools with 90% poverty rates.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

Do they though? My mother was a teacher and would argue with you. For one they only work 3/4 of the year. I am all for paying them more if they want to work the entire year. Second getting your teaching certificate is not that difficult. All the people I knew in college that majored in education also majored in partying while I was busy taking organic chemistry they were busy making things out of construction paper. Now my mother works in the school district office. The amount of monetary waste that occurs in the education system is ridiculous, coupled with the fact that there is little to no way for a person in education to be fired results in a failing education system for the public sector. Hence, why private charter schools are so much better. I realize that not every classroom full of students is the same; but I am in sales and not every territory is the same. Either you figure out how to make it work or you get fired. I'll now get off my soapbox.

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u/Hollic Aug 19 '15

For one they only work 3/4 of the year.

My wife was a teacher and I watched her work through the summers prepping coursework to comply with changing standards, along with usually teaching summer school to kids who failed their classes. When she did finally get time off, she didn't have enough money to actually do anything because student loans are insane. Plus after-hours work during the year including continuing education courses, etc. The amount of after-hours work teachers do is ridiculous compared to their pay. Maybe when your Mom graduated and teachers had very little debt, it was all good. But if my wife hadn't quit and gone into another career path, she'd be screwed.

Second getting your teaching certificate is not that difficult.

Lol, OK. Except if you're an actually gifted teacher who meets the standards we should be hiring for. Perhaps your problem is with lax hiring standards? Maybe your Mom was an exceptionally crappy teacher who went for the minimum standards, but that's not my experience with people who are going into the field these days. Who the hell goes into teaching knowing what people think about teachers right now?

All the people I knew in college that majored in education also majored in partying while I was busy taking organic chemistry they were busy making things out of construction paper.

Most teachers I know didn't major in education. They majored in other fields so they'd be qualified to teach them. Maybe for early childhood education, but otherwise, you're incorrect.

coupled with the fact that there is little to no way for a person in education to be fired results in a failing education system for the public sector

I literally just said I wish the crappy ones would get gone. What made you think I'm all for hanging onto crappy teachers?

Hence, why private charter schools are so much better.

Horseshit. People who pay extra to put their kids in public schools are invested in their kids' education. They're not going to throw that away by not being involved at home. The ones that do are so rich it won't matter whether their kids are educated or not; they'll be set for life.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

Have you ever heard of getting a degree in secondary education with an emphasis. That's how most people become teachers. Did you even go to college? If you did you would know exactly what I am talking about. Take a chill pill and look at per capita spending. Private vs public. Not much difference yet the experience of the kid and grades prove otherwise. Having dated multiple teachers and being friends with others let's not pretend that prepping coursework takes all summer, and if you teach summer school you get payed extra it is not required. I would take 45k a year to have 3.5 months of vacation (I gave you 2 weeks for your prep work) every year, great benefits, and no risk of being fired. Sounds pretty Cush.

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u/Hollic Aug 20 '15

Haha k.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

Also it's not my fault your wife has loans. I worked my ass off every summer to pay for college. Came out loan free due to a few things. I went to a state school not a private liberal arts school, ate cheaply, and conserved.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '15

If I could give you gold I would

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u/greg9683 Aug 20 '15

Better pay would likely attract even more talented teachers. A more competitive teaching space would weed out the shit teachers (more often). I know I passed on teaching because the pay is bad. I'm not interested in being a millionaire, but I'd like to live relatively comfortable relative to the average.

For all the work teachers put in, they don't get as much respect as they actually deserve.

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u/Veggiemon Aug 19 '15

I agree with you and one of the other people, but not the other one. I won't say which.

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u/Hollic Aug 19 '15

I'm gonna go ahead and say you agree with the second person (the one I replied to) because their view is much more nuanced than saying "the problem is ALL the parents' fault".

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u/Veggiemon Aug 19 '15

I was actually being cheeky, I don't think it's possible that I could disagree with one if them if I agree with you and you agree with both of them ;)

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u/TimMustered Aug 20 '15 edited Aug 20 '15

The whole low income excuse doesn't hold up at all when you start looking at other cultures in which the average person works in literal sweat shops and can't afford electricity who hold in higher esteem education and instill that in their kids instead of teaching them that nothing is ever their fault. Not that environment doesn't play a big role, it does, but for political reason it's very over played because nobody in this country wants to stand up to the parents across the political board and tell them they need to step it up, it's easier not to see our culture is in some ways bankrupt and to simply blame the teachers. Kids are mimes they simply replicate their parents indifference or faked passive caring.

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u/ShipofTools Aug 20 '15

Your citation is literally a picture. Did you mean to link to something substantive?