Underpaid & Overworked

Recent revelation about blogging: I am HORRIBLE at layouts and all that. I honestly get frustrated and just give up and give in to my blog looking all crazy. And, I still have not found out how to add a "gadget" thing that allows people to click a button to "follow" me. Despite one persons fabulous comment with great instructions, I can not find it! Ugh. Story of my life, I am always unable to find something. Never fails. On to my blog post/rant of the night...

Let me start out by saying this: I was never a model student. I got into trouble. I caused my fair share as well. But, I was FAR from the worse.

I've recently been watching a show on TV called "Blackboard Wars". It's insane what those teachers put up with! Granted, they do teach in bad cities. But by watching this show it made me reflect on my high school experiences and on things that I have observed myself.

I know a handful of great educators. All are great in their own ways. I've also had the chance to come across numerous teachers who really are not suited to be teachers. But, those are few and far between. I'm not going to focus on the "not so great" teachers in this blog, because in my experiences with teachers, I have come to notice that those that are not that great are not that memorable. And do not make up for the huge percentage that are fabulous.

Underpaid...

I am not sure who came up with the payment system for educators, but they suck. And that's putting it lightly. Who in their right mind thought "Well, these people are only teaching our future...let's pay them crap amounts of money." Whoever it was, should be beaten. By high school bullies. Daily. For their checks. I'm just saying.

To do the jobs that most teachers do daily, they surely do not get paid enough. I just don't get it. I recently read that teachers in Switzerland get paid around $100,000 a year. I know not one teacher who gets paid anything close to that. It baffles me to be honest.

How is it sane that pro sport players make more money than teachers? I may be wrong on this, but if the younger version of those pro players were unable to make good enough grades to stay on whatever sport team they were on, would they be playing today? Granted most have their family, and friends and coaches backing them and supporting them all the way. But where I come from, if you can't make the grades, you don't make the team. (for the most part anyways.) So, without the early years of team play, practices, all that good stuff, would they be where they are today? Who helped them get to point that their grades were acceptable enough to be able to do more than warm a bench? Ummm...I have never seen a coach sit down and teach their teams trigonometry. And I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm sure it does, but most teams don't have coaches like that. Is this whole paragraph making sense? Or am I just rambling? A little of both? Ok, great, we're right on track then....

Overworked.

I really just want to walk into one of our local schools (preferably the junior high or high school) and just watch. All day. And then all those kids that acted a fool, or just plain out disrespected an authority figure, take them to a jail and show them what it's like to be treated in such a manner. It's INSANE! These kids have respect for each other, authority, elders or their self.

Maybe I'm weird. Maybe I just grew up in such a dysfunctional household that school was my only outlet and my only reprieve from all of that. Maybe it's both of those, and the fact that I really enjoy learning.

Like I said before, I was in now way a model student. I was pregnant at 15, and had a job. I did turn in late assignments, but I turned the majority of them in as soon as I could. I never threatened a teacher, I never brought weapons to school, I never just blatantly disregarding a rule, a teachers warning; and neither did I just say "to hell with it" and not do my homework.

When I was in high school, I saw so much disrespect and hostility and ignorance, that it's ridiculous. It honestly makes me want to home school my children. But, the memories of the teachers that I encountered that made my high school career worth it change my mind every time.

I had so many great teachers. Many that I speak to today when I see them, and all I still look up to as great role models. And a couple of teachers I know that I never had myself.
I'm not going to call them out by name on here, but they will know who they are.

My freshman year I had an English teacher that I absolutely loved. I also beat up a fellow male student right before and right outside her class room once too. (Told ya, not a model student.) I ended up having her again a year or two later. I think it was my sophomore year that I had her again because I had just recently given birth and was trying to balance being a young mother, and school. It's hard to do! I remember falling asleep in her class more often than not. Instead of reprimanding me every single chance she got, instead of calling me out and singling me out like other teachers did and would have done, I was given numerous extensions on assignments. Time to complete them, and time to figure out what in the world we were doing in class. I don't remember if I passed that class with a high grade or low one, but I do remember her. And always will. She's also one of those teachers that listened, I remember talking to her on a few occasions, and she was always helpful. I also remember when one of my fellow classmates had family problems and she allowed that student to stay with her. That led to her adopting my classmate, and treating her like her own. I don't remember that whole backstory on that, but it doesn't matter. How many other teachers would have done that? Not many that I know of. It is little things like that that stand out to me. Things that others wouldn't do or attempt that make the difference.

Oh, yes, allow me to backtrack to elementary school. I had a teacher then that I honestly cannot tell you why she still is one of my favorite teachers. Honestly, I do not remember. She was my first and second grade teacher. And she was the teacher that helped me get back on track when I switched schools, and then switched back, and then found out that I hadn't learned enough at the other school to be able to go onto the next grade. I was held back, but was straddling two different grades until I could get the grades needed in the subjects that I was behind in. She did help me push through that and get through what needed to be done to go on to the next grade. I used to see her at Berrymans often when I worked there. I will never forget her either.

Middle school never really held a lot of teachers that stand out to me. Mainly because we switched so much that I was never able to get used to one. I do remember a science teacher that was literally just awesome. Real hands on and just an all around great teacher. She really helped solidify my love of science and that pushed me to want to read more about science and to learn more about it as well.

There are so many other teachers that I absolutely cherish. I just can't put them all down. I think I only ever really disliked one or two teachers in my life. But, I think my favorite teacher ever had to be my art teacher from high school. And I have no legit, concrete reason as to why that is. She's just awesome. One of those totally down to earth people that make their kids clothes, and have cool art stories to tell, and is just open to talk about anything. That was her. And she named her kids the most awesome names EVER! But, I do know that I did spend a lot of time talking to her about a lot of stuff. Baby daddy drama pretty much. (And trust me, THAT was some drama!) Whenever I would go back to the high school for whatever reason, I always made a special trip by her class room to visit her. And now she has left to go onto bigger and better things! Actually, she just left to go to a school closer to her home. (I mean, they could be paying her more money for all I know...I would.) She even came to my wedding! I remember the night after our wedding, Joshua and I were opening cards and stuff from guests and he opened one and since I was looking over his shoulder, I saw it before he opened it to read the inside. Before he could do that, I said "That's from Mrs........" and it was. Because she is the ONLY person I know that would give me a wedding card like that.

It's always the little things that matter most to me. The things that fall into the recesses of most peoples minds and collect dust. For me, that stuff stands out. I remember that stuff.

I know two teachers who I never had, but love to death anyways. One of which has Tourette Syndrome (which, my husband also has.) and is probably the most eloquent orator that I know. She literally opens her mouth and beauty flows out. (That may be extreme....but so is my use of parentheses...so it's whatever) Sometimes I have to just absorb what she says and try to process it later because it's just a bunch of stuff that comes out at once and she uses words that I don't understand and describes stuff in ways that you would have never thought to describe them. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it! And, she reminds me of Andy Warhol. So, yeah, she's pretty rad.
The second, is a lady just a year or two older than I am. She teaches a BUNCH of kids. And is taking more classes (I don't know why...oh yeah, because teachers like to go above and beyond expectations...) and working another job. She has an A/B scheduling, that is a ton of kids. But she does it with grace, and I have never heard her complain about it. She's just great at what she does, and she knows that it is worth it.

It's people like them that truly make school a great experience. Some people say they never had those great teachers, and I call bullshit. They just didn't want to have those great teachers. I have seen teachers bend over backwards to help students, just to have said student kick them and run off.

I just don't get it. I don't get how people can spit in the face of those trying to help them. How people can act as if what a teacher does is not important. Of all the people in our country that should be among the top paid, teachers should be right up there next to soldiers. What kind of future does America have without an education?!


I will agree that some of the problems in schools now a days branch out from home issues. A lot of parents do not feel that it is necessary to teach the concepts of respect and determination at home anymore. But, it's hard to blame a lot of behavioral problems on the parents when the "children" are 16+. They're almost adults. They know what is right, and what is wrong. They know what they are doing. But, I do agree that a lot of it does start at home. Discipline is a must, and is needed now more than ever. At home, and at school.


To all those people sitting in class rooms, thinking of ways to disrupt class: What the hell are you thinking?! That man/woman standing at the front of the room, writing out equations and explaining Shakespeare to you until they are blue in the face, just to have you say "I don't get it...." because you were not paying attention...That person does not HAVE  to be there. They do not HAVE to listen to your excuses, and rants, and disrespectful comments. They do not HAVE to help you understand this stuff. They do not HAVE to give you assignment extensions. They do not HAVE to do anything for you, at all. Except teach you. And that is where most students fail. They fail in being taught. It is impossible to teach someone something that they have chosen not to learn. But teachers do it anyways. Because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to. I have always said that to be a teacher you have to literally be called to do it by the good Lord above, because no other way would a person be able to do it. And being a teacher is such a beautiful thing. Having the ability to help mold the future generations, and to change lives. It's too bad that few people see it as such now a days. So the next time you think you're going to be cute, disrupt class, maybe get into a fight; remember, that person at the front of the class wants nothing more to help you succeed, wants to see you learn, wants to see you happy, wants to help you anyway you can. But in order for you to receive any of the gifts that could be laid out for you; you have to sit down, shut up, and try. Teachers are there to help you when you fail or feel like you're failing, they are there to pick you back up academically, shake you off, and say "so, what should you have done differently?" and then help you correct yourself. And to help you learn from your mistakes. Because you are supposed to LEARN at school. Learning something new everyday should be a goal.

Like I said before, maybe I'm just weird. But I can look back, and the majority of the things that I have EVER learned in my life, was taught to me by teachers. Most of it isn't even "school" stuff. It's life stuff. So many teachers pour their life and soul, and time, and often their own money, into being a great teacher that it's almost become kind of a requirement. I honestly do not know how they do it. But I salute them, their knowledge, their perseverance, their dedication, integrity, discipline, love for their students and their job. I salute our educators. Somebody has to.

As always, with Love & Laughter.
God Bless! :) <3

P.S. I know that I ramble and rant on a normal basis, it's what I do best actually...But, I found out that I am pregnant a few days ago, so please ignore all the hormones floating throughout my blog posts....whoops! ;)