So I saw my neighbor who works an Elementary school in FCPS. Today while I was going to work I saw her leaving. I asked her where she was going she said "WORK" They wanted them to start on a Friday and she went on a rant on how stupid it is that she has to go to work on a Friday and she can't start on a Monday like every other year. I told her that unlike her I work everyday and I earn a lot less money than her. She said Carry on. Why do teachers hate working? Why does this lady think she needs even more vacation time? SHE Only works 7 hours a day. I know trust me on teacher works days she home early. I remember when I took a week vacation last year she would leave her house at 8 am, and come back home at 420. schools starts at 9 and ends at 345. So she didn't stay any extra hour at the school like most people say

HAPPy Taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I saw my neighbor who works an Elementary
> school in FCPS. Today while I was going to work I
> saw her leaving. I asked her where she was going
> she said "WORK" They wanted them to start on a
> Friday and she went on a rant on how stupid it is
> that she has to go to work on a Friday and she
> can't start on a Monday like every other year. I
> told her that unlike her I work everyday and I
> earn a lot less money than her. She said Carry
> on. Why do teachers hate working? Why does this
> lady think she needs even more vacation time? SHE
> Only works 7 hours a day. I know trust me on
> teacher works days she home early. I remember
> when I took a week vacation last year she would
> leave her house at 8 am, and come back home at
> 420. schools starts at 9 and ends at 345. So
> she didn't stay any extra hour at the school like
> most people say

You do realize a teacher will have on average 30 students per class. 4 classes a day, give or take. So how many papers does this 1 teacher have to grade? Not to mention the prep in what to teach daily. Teachers do more than you think.

"I should know." I know 3 Teachers.

It was probably their "in-service" day. 5 or 6 hours of meetings.

They go back to work a week from Tuesday, Sep 6.

BTW, teachers are not "on vacation" during the summer, they are unemployed. To me a vacation means one is being paid, they are not.

We started the day with a catered breakfast. We then caught up on gossip, complained about being there on Friday, clicked around on the Internet, whined about how the custodians messed up our rooms, and then left early.

in-service Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was probably their "in-service" day. 5 or 6
> hours of meetings.
>
> They go back to work a week from Tuesday, Sep 6.
>
> BTW, teachers are not "on vacation" during the
> summer, they are unemployed. To me a vacation
> means one is being paid, they are not.

Teachers are paid throughout the entire year you stupid piece of faggit shit.

HAPPy Taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I saw my neighbor who works an Elementary
> school in FCPS. Today while I was going to work I
> saw her leaving. I asked her where she was going
> she said "WORK" They wanted them to start on a
> Friday and she went on a rant on how stupid it is
> that she has to go to work on a Friday and she
> can't start on a Monday like every other year. I
> told her that unlike her I work everyday and I
> earn a lot less money than her. She said Carry
> on. Why do teachers hate working? Why does this
> lady think she needs even more vacation time? SHE
> Only works 7 hours a day. I know trust me on
> teacher works days she home early. I remember
> when I took a week vacation last year she would
> leave her house at 8 am, and come back home at
> 420. schools starts at 9 and ends at 345. So
> she didn't stay any extra hour at the school like
> most people say

How could you possibly make less than a teacher?

Let's fire all the teachers and hire some poorly educated immigrants to run the classrooms.

Pay them minimum wage, per hour, no benefits.

Then nobody can complain about overpaid teachers.

Their kids will be illiterate and stupid, but that is a small sacrifice to put these elitist snob teachers in their place.

HAPPy Taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I saw my neighbor who works an Elementary
> school in FCPS. Today while I was going to work I
> saw her leaving. I asked her where she was going
> she said "WORK" They wanted them to start on a
> Friday and she went on a rant on how stupid it is
> that she has to go to work on a Friday and she
> can't start on a Monday like every other year. I
> told her that unlike her I work everyday and I
> earn a lot less money than her. She said Carry
> on. Why do teachers hate working? Why does this
> lady think she needs even more vacation time? SHE
> Only works 7 hours a day. I know trust me on
> teacher works days she home early. I remember
> when I took a week vacation last year she would
> leave her house at 8 am, and come back home at
> 420. schools starts at 9 and ends at 345. So
> she didn't stay any extra hour at the school like
> most people say

OP makes less than a teacher. Ha! perhaps you should have taken your classes and your teachers a bit more seriously when in school or further your education to a higher degree. But you have chosen to become and remain a stupid fuck nuts instead. Your choice so why you bitchin? OP is a fag hat.

Nip

The average teacher in Fairfax makes over $66,000 per year. Plus of course retirement and health care benefits. Many jobs in this area, in fact most, pay less. $15 an hour is less than $32,000 a year with little or no benefits. And there are half days, planning days, and two months off in the summer. 180 work days, 7 hours a day, at $66,000 is over $52 per hour. Now I know that I'm going to hear about all the homework, extra time put in for other things ect ect ect. But this is the bare bones of it. Teaching is and should be more than a job. As parents we want you happy , paid well, and motivated. But I think you are so busy jonesing, look what Arlington and Montgomery is paying, that teachers fail to see that millions of workers would love to have your pay and schedule. Persue better compensation by all means. It's the American way. But dont resent taxpayers for resistance to new taxes. Your administrators need to find better ways to manage the massive amounts of money they are already entrusted with each year. A large portion of the budget is spent on administrative cost. Too much in my opinion. Also, the politicians need to stop making schools carry the burden for every social program that they force onto the education system . In the end, teachers do quite well compared to most citizens, and not as well as others. That being said, I will not support any new taxes until I feel that the government is managing what they have with care and respect. It's been a long time since I've felt that way.

Okay, let's dispel a few of what's been stated here:

1) Teachers ARE NOT paid through the summer. They are 10 month employees, not 12. They are indeed unemployed during the summer months of July and August. Many get second jobs throughout the year, as well as in the summer months to keep up with expenses. The cost of their health care has risen through the years, while their pay has not.

2) Bringing up pay, teachers in Fairfax do NOT make an average of $66k a year. It is much less. There are planning days indeed, but that is used to calculate grades for a quarter and plan for the next. Hence "planning" days. There are requirements to meet just to get retirement from a county. It is not a central system, it is done by county.

You all might want to do some research before spouting off nonsense.

They don't make that much, they are hardly poor but they aren't rolling dough either and it IS a PITA to have to start back to work on a Friday. Who would pick a Friday to start back to work? No one.

As a FCPS teacher for 15 years, I will tell you a few of my observations from my experience at two different schools.

1. Teachers don't make a lot of money, but they get paid a decent salary.If you're married, and your spouse is a teacher, it's a pretty decent living, for sure. If you're not married, again, you're not going to be rich, but you are not poor or lower class either.

2. The benefits far outweigh the negatives, in my opinion. Here's some, but not all: *great work hours (this is also predicated on experience- once you've been working for a few years, it becomes much easier in terms of preparation, extra work, etc, because you have so much more command of your subject and how to deal with kids. The first couple of years you will spend more time after school or at home in preparation. * ridiculous amount of holidays and break time. Seriously, there are few times during the school year where you will actually have three consecutive weeks without some sort of day off. Christmas Break, Spring Break, are one to two weeks off. * Summer vacation- No, you're not getting paid, but your salary is based on 10 months. So, you have the choice to relax and travel, relax around the house, or pick up a part time or full time job. * if you have kids, it's the greatest job ever, because your schedule is their schedule. You can spend so much time with your kids as they're growing up. In my opinion, that's worth much more than a higher salary job where you don't spend much time with your kids. * A rewarding job. Especially if you love your job, its great to go to work everyday realizing what you say or do can positively (or negatively) affect kid's lives forever. You have a chance to show a lot of young people the right way to act and behave and handle situations.
Without rambling on too much, I will say my experience has been that teachers, in general, do complain a lot about working. I never understood the complaining by some when the job has so many more benefits than so many others. I consider myself fortunate.

To all the angry taxpayers and other fools:

FCPS is always hiring! Dust off your resume and GED certificate and apply!

Hop on the gravy train!!!

1. Everyone complains about their job to some extent.
2. Teaching gives you a fairly comfortable middle-class living. If you wanted more than that you should not have become a teacher.
3. Everyone wants more money for their job. Even the burger-flippers are now asking for $15 an hour.
$. Old adage - The bosses pay their people just enough money so that they won't quit, and the workers do just enough work so that their bosses won't fire them.

Hot4Teacher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HAPPy Taxpayer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

> So how many papers does this 1 teacher have to
> grade?

Wow, that's a great question.

Aks your 3 teacher friends how many papers (more than two pages) they aks their students to submit each year. And how many actually submit them.

do the math Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The average teacher in Fairfax makes over $66,000
> per year. Plus of course retirement and health
> care benefits. Many jobs in this area, in fact
> most, pay less. $15 an hour is less than $32,000 a
> year with little or no benefits. And there are
> half days, planning days, and two months off in
> the summer. 180 work days, 7 hours a day, at
> $66,000 is over $52 per hour. Now I know that I'm
> going to hear about all the homework, extra time
> put in for other things ect ect ect. But this is
> the bare bones of it. Teaching is and should be
> more than a job. As parents we want you happy ,
> paid well, and motivated. But I think you are so
> busy jonesing, look what Arlington and Montgomery
> is paying, that teachers fail to see that millions
> of workers would love to have your pay and
> schedule. Persue better compensation by all means.
> It's the American way. But dont resent taxpayers
> for resistance to new taxes. Your administrators
> need to find better ways to manage the massive
> amounts of money they are already entrusted with
> each year. A large portion of the budget is spent
> on administrative cost. Too much in my opinion.
> Also, the politicians need to stop making schools
> carry the burden for every social program that
> they force onto the education system . In the end,
> teachers do quite well compared to most citizens,
> and not as well as others. That being said, I will
> not support any new taxes until I feel that the
> government is managing what they have with care
> and respect. It's been a long time since I've felt
> that way.

One correction is the contract is 194 days, not 180, so adjust that by about 3 weeks. It is also 7.5 hours a day, not 7. If you're going to give the "bare bones of it", make sure you have the facts right.

I don't doubt that the avg. salary is $66,000/year but a link to your statement would help your case.

I don't disagree with the rest of your post.

do the math Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The average teacher in Fairfax makes over $66,000
> per year. Plus of course retirement and health
> care benefits. Many jobs in this area, in fact
> most, pay less.

If teaching were such a cushy job, more of you dull-brained assholes would be out there trying to land a teaching position. Y aren;t because you can't, and you know it. You are just too fucking dumb. There is exactly no teaching position out there anywhere that your worthless uneducated ass would ever be qualified for. All you can do is loll around in your ignorance and complain that teachers make so much more than you do. And that's YOUR OWN sorry-ass fault, douchebags.


$15 an hour is less than $32,000 a
> year with little or no benefits. And there are
> half days, planning days, and two months off in
> the summer. 180 work days, 7 hours a day, at
> $66,000 is over $52 per hour. Now I know that I'm
> going to hear about all the homework, extra time
> put in for other things ect ect ect. But this is
> the bare bones of it. Teaching is and should be
> more than a job. As parents we want you happy ,
> paid well, and motivated. But I think you are so
> busy jonesing, look what Arlington and Montgomery
> is paying, that teachers fail to see that millions
> of workers would love to have your pay and
> schedule. Persue better compensation by all means.
> It's the American way. But dont resent taxpayers
> for resistance to new taxes. Your administrators
> need to find better ways to manage the massive
> amounts of money they are already entrusted with
> each year. A large portion of the budget is spent
> on administrative cost. Too much in my opinion.
> Also, the politicians need to stop making schools
> carry the burden for every social program that
> they force onto the education system . In the end,
> teachers do quite well compared to most citizens,
> and not as well as others. That being said, I will
> not support any new taxes until I feel that the
> government is managing what they have with care
> and respect. It's been a long time since I've felt
> that way.

xtchr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Old adage - The bosses pay their people just enough money so
> that they won't quit, and the workers do just enough work so
> that their bosses won't fire them.

The old adage was made up when work was mindless rote being performed by disinterested dullards. Of course, many at FFXU are still in that situation.

okay dummy teachers DO NOT GET PAID IN THE SUMMER. She may work all night at home and is also required to take classes. If teachers only worked their contract the whole system would collapse. So get over your self

ntoateacehr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> okay dummy teachers DO NOT GET PAID IN THE SUMMER. She may work
> all night at home and is also required to take classes. If teachers
> only worked their contract the whole system would collapse. So
> get over your self

These people are so insecure that they see threats to their own well-being coming from everyone. Teachers, feds, immigrants, liberals -- it's all just a big conspiracy against them out there.

Paranoia runs deep... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ntoateacehr Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > okay dummy teachers DO NOT GET PAID IN THE
> SUMMER. She may work
> > all night at home and is also required to take
> classes. If teachers
> > only worked their contract the whole system
> would collapse. So
> > get over your self
>
> These people are so insecure that they see threats
> to their own well-being coming from everyone.
> Teachers, feds, immigrants, liberals -- it's all
> just a big conspiracy against them out there.


It the Jews
The are in control of everything

The classroom is full of assholes now. No thanks. Teaching sucks.

If you dweebs spent as much time every week with your brats as we do, you'd double our salary.

Waaaaa

Vote YES for the meals tax. Then go eat.

Many lies about teachers. Here are three:
1. Teachers get paid too much. This is not true. Even with benefits, teachers get a mediocre salary when required education, amount of work done beyond the job hours, and required on-going training/licensure renewal is factored into the equation. If a teacher makes it to retirement, it has a decent pay off. But paid too much? If you warehouse your child at a nice place that just provide care, at 193 days x 7.5 hours per day x $25 an hour, that would be over $36,000 per child. That person would require nothing... no security checks, no level of education or training. If your child had any special need, say food allergy, the facility may or may not be able to take you. You would not get a ride to the facility if needed. If your child were disruptive they could tell you to take a hike. If you wanted all this, you might pay more. If you don't, ask yourself how much your time is worth. Not sure, check out this tool: http://programs.clearerthinking.org/what_is_your_time_really_worth_to_you.html#.Uzl2FK1dVAE
I did and found my school's teachers to be a bargain.

2. Teachers whine about everything. After working in the corporate world and in education, this is totally false. Corporate people whine and bitch about everything (colleagues, bonuses, bosses, commute, extra meetings, cubes, etc.). If they were told that they couldn't use the bathroom at certain times, and the in order to meet the person repairing your garbage disposal you would not only need to take time off (paid to a certain extent) but you'd also need to create in-depth plans for your one -day replacement, they'd revolt.

3. Teachers get paid twelve months. This is a lie. Teachers are paid the length of contract, ten months and by the way, all benefits are taken out across this time period, as well. This is an actual disadvantage for those needing to make a certain amount to survive the cost of living. There is no option to pay for a flex plan over twelve months, only ten.

fcps teacher speaks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a FCPS teacher for 15 years, I will tell you a
> few of my observations from my experience at two
> different schools.
>
> 1. Teachers don't make a lot of money, but they
> get paid a decent salary.If you're married, and
> your spouse is a teacher, it's a pretty decent
> living, for sure. If you're not married, again,
> you're not going to be rich, but you are not poor
> or lower class either.
>
> 2. The benefits far outweigh the negatives, in my
> opinion. Here's some, but not all: *great work
> hours (this is also predicated on experience- once
> you've been working for a few years, it becomes
> much easier in terms of preparation, extra work,
> etc, because you have so much more command of your
> subject and how to deal with kids. The first
> couple of years you will spend more time after
> school or at home in preparation. * ridiculous
> amount of holidays and break time. Seriously,
> there are few times during the school year where
> you will actually have three consecutive weeks
> without some sort of day off. Christmas Break,
> Spring Break, are one to two weeks off. * Summer
> vacation- No, you're not getting paid, but your
> salary is based on 10 months. So, you have the
> choice to relax and travel, relax around the
> house, or pick up a part time or full time job.
> * if you have kids, it's the greatest job ever,
> because your schedule is their schedule. You can
> spend so much time with your kids as they're
> growing up. In my opinion, that's worth much more
> than a higher salary job where you don't spend
> much time with your kids. * A rewarding job.
> Especially if you love your job, its great to go
> to work everyday realizing what you say or do can
> positively (or negatively) affect kid's lives
> forever. You have a chance to show a lot of young
> people the right way to act and behave and handle
> situations.
> Without rambling on too much, I will say my
> experience has been that teachers, in general, do
> complain a lot about working. I never understood
> the complaining by some when the job has so many
> more benefits than so many others. I consider
> myself fortunate.

23 year teacher here, 22 in FCPS. I agree with much of what you've said. I worked in a bunch of other jobs before becoming a teacher, and I agree with you that at times the complaining does get a bit much. Then again, when I worked as a butcher, a construction worker, as a salesman, etc., I heard a whole lot of complaining there too. I don't think there's a job in this world, even taking pictures of naked women for Playboy, where there isn't grumbling and complaining going on. It's simply the natural human condition.

I do think much of the "FCPS teachers complain too much" comes from Gatehouse's "Save FCPS" and tales of gloom and doom and then having end of the year budget surpluses. That's not teachers talking, that's the FCPS higher-ups who are playing very transparent budgetary games. 30 years ago, even 20 years ago, FCPS was a very well respected institution that had the full faith of the Fairfax County taxpayer and of its employees. Sadly, to wring a few more dollars out of the Board of Supervisors FCPS has squandered that trust.

ntoateacehr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> okay dummy teachers DO NOT GET PAID IN THE SUMMER.
> She may work all night at home and is also
> required to take classes. If teachers only worked
> their contract the whole system would collapse. So
> get over your self

Teachers get paid all year. Urine idiot.

You're a god damn mental midget Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ntoateacehr Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > okay dummy teachers DO NOT GET PAID IN THE
> SUMMER.
> > She may work all night at home and is also
> > required to take classes. If teachers only
> worked
> > their contract the whole system would collapse.
> So
> > get over your self
>
> Teachers get paid all year. Urine idiot.

Yes, paid monthly all 12 months. Why is this an issue?

Teachers are not the problem in Fairfax. Yes, there may be a few who are incompetent or worse, and the school system may not be as quick or as nimble in managing them out as they should be (to some extent a problem I have experienced in the private sector, especially with individuals in protected classes).

But let's be realistic. Most parents know intuitively that bad teachers aren’t a huge problem. What they care about, from top to bottom of the income scale, is environment. Suburban white parents don’t want poor black and Hispanic kids around. Poor black and Hispanic parents don’t want bad kids around. (Yes, this means suburban parents see poor kids as mostly bad kids.) Asian parents don’t want white kids around to corrupt their little tigers, much less black or Hispanic. (White parents don’t really want too many Asians around, either, but that’s the opposite of the “bad kids” problem.)

In other words, parents don’t care much about teacher quality. They care a lot about peer group quality. I can imagine someone saying in response, but I care about teacher quality. Great, nice to hear. But that doesn't make teacher quality the cause of the achievement gap or even what makes certain schools such negative places to attend.

The biggest problem facing FCPS right now is the huge achievement gaps between whites and Asians, on one hand, and Blacks and Hispanics, on the other. The problem has become increasingly dire because of the influx of uncontrolled (or if you will, illegal) immigration. And it is a problem everywhere you look, whether in terms of finances, SOL scores, actual literacy, computational abilities, classroom behavior, and so on. And FCPS leadership, like every other leadership cadre in public schools across the country, quite simply, are more than just concerned about the racial achievement gap, no, the achievement gap is the overwhelming and primary concern of the administration, day after day, meeting after meeting. They are progressives, indoctrinated by education schools, the holding bin of the peasants of the intelligentsia One might notice, however, that the gap never closes, and in fact, has become worse in the last decade.

Of course, a lot of energy and focus spent on closing the gap is futile. There is no amount of fantasy and hoping that is going to cause an 80 IQ kid from typically at best a disordered home to compete with the kids at the 84th percentile of cognitive ability that it takes to succeed in a rigorous pre-college program. Again, if a kid is near or at that 84th percentile ability level, believe me, no one is putting the quality of teachers in Fairfax near the top of any list of problems requiring immediate resolution.

I get the assertion that if the children of illegal immigrants are here, we must do something with them. But really, kill and drill them on SOL tests where the goal is to make everyone average (remember, the number of 100 IQ's average among whites, is not nearly as common as one might think, and that is before taking dysfunctional and disordered family life into account)? The tests designed to make sure (a progressive's fallacy, to be sure) that everyone can go to college? Well, this turns the schools for these kids into wasteful social service providers, meal providers, adolescent baby sitters (by the way, until age 22), all because no one can deal with the fact that low cognitive kids should be taught differently, with a focus on practical skills, and learning good behaviors (like showing up on time and finishing tasks well within their capabilities).

I hear the plaintive plea for more money for the schools. Again, I get it. But I would be much more inclined to support higher taxes if the schools were to open and say, look, we are having increasing populations that are challenging, and a great deal of it is due to political decisions over which we have no control. And it costs more - but since it is tax money and we want real practical results, no matter how different racial groups achieve, we are going to spend it wisely getting the low cognitive kids practical skills - even if it means we have to be politically incorrect by recognizing that they will receive a different kind of education that a lot of others in Fairfax receive.


I hold open the promise or inter-generational gains in cognitive ability. But it is a long, slow progress, and not something that is susceptible to any easy fix with a "Young Scholars" program (although these may have value for the rare kids - the poor and disadvantaged with relatively high cognitive ability). Let cease to fool ourselves.

I must be lost in the mail somewhere. I sure as heck did not make it to any bank account connected to an FCPS teacher. I noticed the teacher did not get an email with the paycheck information for July and August either.
Must be an oversight.

I appreciate the correction. I found it difficult to get correct information as there was conflicting data on the different government web sites, so I respectfully stand corrected. Keep in mind that the standard worker with 6 holidays and 2 weeks vacation works 244 days. And whether or not pay is taken over 10 or 12 months, it doesn't change the average pay. I don't hold that against anyone, and to be honest, after 10 months with all those kids, it's probably a welcome respite. Those numbers by the way came off the school's web site. To clarify, I am in support of the teachers. I wanted to stress that while the pay could be better, it's not that bad as a whole. I firmly believe our problem is with MANAGEMENT. The retirement given to your top boss is close to the average yearly salary of the average teacher. The amount spent on administrative cost and Disney management courses and other whimsical things would strangle a regular business not funded by the taxpayers. You should get more of the very large pie that's in place. But the school board just wants a bigger pie instead of managing what they have with reasonable constraint. So don't take it personal, we're just tired of being over taxed when more could be done to find solutions internally first. When that is done, I would be happy to entertain addition funding. But only through higher property taxes, as it's what they are intended for. The meals tax doesn't pass the smell test for transparency in government taxation to me.

My girlfriend is a kindergarten teacher. She works hard, does a good job, is paid a fair salary, and from what I've seen, I think she's a little under-appreciated for all the effort that she puts in and how much she really cares about her littlin's. You should really take into account that if your kid's teacher is single and unattached, she may be struggling a little bit financially.

I'm going to miss coming home every day to wildly enthusiastic sex as soon as I walk thru the door while dinner is already going in the oven now that school is about to start back. The schoolyear gets her a little frazzled and I can sympathize, but all the summertime fun makes up for it. If you're a decent late-20s/30-something male, dating FCPS schoolteachers is where it's at. I've dated others in the past and I usually don't give away secrets, but it's practically an unlimited dating pool given the size/pop. of the county. Also, we're all getting older and the new hires keep staying the same age. Many are wife-material and are loyal to their man. But watch out for the ones that have come down with a bad case of baby fever (early-mid 30s) along with the heavy drinkers since happy hour is right up their alley when getting off around 4. Been there and done that on both counts...never again.

Chauvinistic pig. With the readily available sex and dinner in the oven, why not knock her up too? Then go back to your 50s mentality and live in delusion.

Ever thought of making dinner for her?

Hell, with your attitude, save her the chore of having sex with you after a long day at work and jack off.

Dating World has the post of the year. Some of my young colleagues are really hot and look as young as the students. I like the ones who show boobs and wear flip flops. Freshly pedi'ed feet with tan lines make me tremble. I still have great hair and my belly is slim enough so as to be able to see my feet. That and my animalistic pheromones draw new teachers like flies to feces.

In fact, Dating World's girl friend has already made a run at me. Simmer down girl. I have a waiting list.