Things Everyone Should Know About Teachers, Unions and Collective Bargaining

URRRRRRG! I think Government should stay out of collective bargaining. I think teachers are due fair compensation for the many hours over 40 a week that they put in and I don't think they have the power on their own to get decent wages. People want their children to have a good education but they don't want to pay for it. The teacher I have worked with for the last 10 years has spent $2,000 a year or more on teaching aides for her classroom and regularly puts in 10-12 hour days. Many teachers are doing this because the schools simple don't have enough money to take care of classroom needs. So far this year I have given 90+ hours as a volunteer and there are others doing this.
If you want your children or grandchildren to get the education they deserve you will have to put both time and money into our schools. I haven't had any children in school for years, but that hasn't stopped me from doing what I can for the children. Come on people step up to the plate!

Perhaps if some of the money we spent was not going to the Dept of Education and to absurd programs instead of the tools that teachers really need, there wouldn't be this problem.

Private schools can spend far less and get more done.

Personally, I think if teachers really cared about the kids they teach, they would have dumped unions long ago.

We'll have to disagree about compensation as well. I've looked at just about every state. Teachers make more than they would in the same job in private schools. And they get far more benefits.

In Milwaukee, for instance, they average $56,000 plus benefits, which puts them at over $100,000. Meanwhile, the people in the private sector make $19,000 average or $46,000 as couples. And they don't have such wonderful benefits.

Teachers also only work 9-10 months per year, get a break in winter and summer. Most get 10-15 days sick time paid and they get 10-15 days vacation as well.

What has come to light in all of this is that in many parts of the country, they pay zero toward their own insurance benefits and pension plans.

It's no wonder cities, counties and states have no money!!!

And....

Teachers have always worked long hours - grading papers, for instance. And most have spent their own money for things the school districts don't provide.

When I was a teen (and I graduated high school in 1970), I knew a couple who were both teachers in their late 20s. One evening, they were both grading papers around their dining room table and I asked if it didn't bug them that they spent so much time doing that. They both agreed that anyone who wants to teach has to understand that they will spend long hours grading papers and will probably spend some of their own money on supplies. Nothing has changed. Today, though, teachers think they're entitled to more because the unions tell them they are.

And yet, our scores compared to other countries keep declining.

Your salary figures are not indicitive of many states in the country. For instance a 1st year teacher with a bachelor's degree is making &22,000 to 30,000 a year and some have to pay at least half of their health insurance.
If you figure their hourly wage, based on the hours they put in, they aren't even making minimum wage.
Private school teachers start at $16,000 to 18,000 and the cost of the sup-plies for their rooms is still paid by the parents with the MANY fundraisers held. I think public school funds could be used more efficiently, but I don't question the amount of dedication it takes on the teachers part to be in a classroom. Sure they know going in that they put in longer hours, and you say they only work 9-10 months a year. Most teachers in our local system have to spend part of their summer vacation setting up their rooms for the coming year, taking CEU courses, etc. I say KUDOS to our school teachers. As a volunteer I get to see the teaching experience without having to be financially effected by it.

I just took a peek at salaries in Iowa, Sadie. Teachers with bachelor's degrees are the ones making $20-30,000. With master's degrees, they're earning $40-65,000 depending on how many years they have in. And the numbers I found were for 2008/09, so I'm sure they've had raises.

I've known many teachers, including family members. None spent an entire summer setting up classrooms. They arrive a few days before the kids (and they left school for the summer a few days after the kids).

I've volunteered in schools as well. Yes, there are some dedicated teachers. But as the years go by, there are fewer and fewer of them and more and more of the "gimme" union members.

Sadie, I maintain that if teachers did care about students, #1 they wouldn't be in unions. #2 they would have fought for the kids, not for themselves. And in doing that, parents would have gladly seen that they got raises.

We've had numerous discussions here about budget problems, and discussions about closing one high school and making a super-high school, among other changes. No teachers ever showed up to discuss what might be best for our children. None even bothered to write letters to the editor when there were weekly discussions in the paper pro and con about the various topics. But we did hear about their displeasure with maybe losing their jobs if one of the schools closed. Not one ever talked about what might or might not be good for the kids. Some dedication.

Some things never change. Still at it... LOL

How have you been?

Hi Jared.