Students today do not have any respect for anyone let alone themselves. This is apparent from all the news stories you hear about students beating teachers. I have seen much disrespect in many of the classes I sub for. Some of the things I have seen and heard would make most people run out of a classroom within five minutes.
Students are also incredibly stupid today - no common sense whatsoever. In many of the Math classes I sub for, the students cannot convert a simple decimal to a fraction and vice versa. They don't want to think when doing a Math problem. They want you to show them the complete solution, so they can finish their homework and get onto some socialising. Sad, but this is so true. They are more worried about their fucking cell phones and iPods, it's sickening at best.
Parents are even more stupid than their children - they blame a teacher for when their child gets Fs because he/she just doesn't want to be there to learn anything useful. Yeah, let's base a teacher's pay on students performance, especially when you get a class of kids who DON'T want to be there in the first place. Is that fair? I don't think so...
School isn't a place to learn anything useful anymore. It's a place for parents to dump their neurotic children and we the teachers have to babysit them for seven hours a day.
OK smartass...
I work as a Substitute Teacher in my state. I get paid a whole $8.77 an hour to babysit your children. If I was getting paid for babysitting in the real world, I would get $5 an hour per kid (usually 30 per class). With each class I would get $150, and for five classes per day I would get $750 in total. Since most US teachers work 180 days per academic year, I would get a salary of $135,000 per year.
As a full Math teacher in my state the starting salary is just over $31,000. That is a fucking lot less than $135,000.
People at McDonald's make $6.50-$8.00 to start. See the problem now?
Presently, I am employed as a Substitute Teacher while working on my Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (5-12) with a teaching licensure at Western Governors University @ http://www.wgu.edu/. My education at WGU will make me a highly qualified Math teacher upon graduation and I will be able to teach from Grades 5 through 12. WGU's courses are all COMPETENCY based, which means that I have to have a grade of B (3.00) or better to receive a PASS on my transcript. I don't have the luxury of sitting in a classroom to receive Cs and Ds, just for being in class like a lump on a log.
Here are the Math courses I have to take (14 different subject areas in all):
Mathematics Content (5-12) Part I: Precalculus, Calculus I, Calculus II, Discrete Mathematics
Mathematics Content (5-12) Part II: Calculus III, Analysis, Probability, Statistics
Mathematics Content (5-12) Part III: College Algebra, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra
Mathematics Content (5-12) Part IV: Euclidean Geometry, Non-Euclidean Geometry, Abstract Algebra
As you can see there are a lot of Math courses that I have to take to be highly qualified to teach Mathematics in middle/high school. I also have to take many Math specific teaching courses and other courses to round out my education. The end result will be a COMPETENT teacher in the classroom. I will be working as a Substitute Teacher for two years before I graduate, so I will gain some very valuable classroom experience until then.
Tell me... Why shouldn't I get more pay than someone that took Basket Weaving 101 at university? I also have a degree as a Computer Analyst/Programmer. To have a Math teacher that is gifted with computer knowledge is very hard to find (from what I have seen). I do think I deserve more pay, and I am going to demand it when I graduate. In fact, I can because of the persistent Mathematics teacher shortage. I can pretty well go anywhere in the USA or Canada (where I am from) and get the position I want.
After my first year of teaching, I am going to start either the Master of Arts Mathematics Education (K-6, 5-9, or 5-12) OR the Master of Education - Learning and Technology program at WGU. Most likely, I will choose to do the latter since I am an advocate of using more technology in the classroom.
The biggest problems in the classroom, from my work as a Substitute Teacher, are:
1. Students thinking it is OK to disrespect a teacher
2. Parents not giving a damn about their child's education (really sad)
Until you solve these two problems, nothing will ever change in the public school system. Teachers have to be shown respect or else classroom management is quite difficult at best.
I have observed many things students do in class to try a teacher's patience - I am glad I am seeing all of this crap before I graduate. I was subbing in one Math class last month. In one of the Algebra 2 classes, a student pulls out a portable DVD player and proceeds to watch a movie in class. I told him to put it away - he just ignored me. He turned off the sound and put on the close captioning. Now that is a total lack of respect for me as a teacher. If I did that when I was in school, my ass would have been beaten by my parents when I got home, just for disrespecting the teacher.
I just found out I have the authority to confiscate such items and send them immediately to the office if the student causes me furthter problems. One of the biggest problems in the classroom is the presence of the Apple iPod or cell phones. Students think they have the right to listen to music or play with their cell phone while I am teaching important Mathematics concepts - they want to be bloody entertained. Unbelievable! Now, I warn all of my classes at the beginning... If I see a cell phone or iPod, I take it away from the student. Simple! The most important thing I have learned so far from being a Substitute Teacher - you have to take control of the class at the very beginning or the students will proceed to walk all over you. I had one class do that to me - NEVER AGAIN. Let's just say I felt
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Students today do not have any respect for anyone let alone themselves. This is apparent from all the news stories you hear about students beating teachers. I have seen much disrespect in many of the classes I sub for. Some of the things I have seen and heard would make most people run out of a classroom within five minutes. Students are also incredibly stupid today - no common sense whatsoever. In many of the Math classes I sub for, the students cannot convert a simple decimal to a fraction and vice versa. They don't want to think when doing a Math problem. They want you to show them the complete solution, so they can finish their homework and get onto some socialising. Sad, but this is so true. They are more worried about their fucking cell phones and iPods, it's sickening at best. Parents are even more stupid than their children - they blame a teacher for when their child gets Fs because he/she just doesn't want to be there to learn anything useful. Yeah, let's base a teacher's pay on students performance, especially when you get a class of kids who DON'T want to be there in the first place. Is that fair? I don't think so... School isn't a place to learn anything useful anymore. It's a place for parents to dump their neurotic children and we the teachers have to babysit them for seven hours a day.
OK smartass...
I work as a Substitute Teacher in my state. I get paid a whole $8.77 an hour to babysit your children. If I was getting paid for babysitting in the real world, I would get $5 an hour per kid (usually 30 per class). With each class I would get $150, and for five classes per day I would get $750 in total. Since most US teachers work 180 days per academic year, I would get a salary of $135,000 per year.
As a full Math teacher in my state the starting salary is just over $31,000. That is a fucking lot less than $135,000.
People at McDonald's make $6.50-$8.00 to start. See the problem now?
Presently, I am employed as a Substitute Teacher while working on my Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (5-12) with a teaching licensure at Western Governors University @ http://www.wgu.edu/. My education at WGU will make me a highly qualified Math teacher upon graduation and I will be able to teach from Grades 5 through 12. WGU's courses are all COMPETENCY based, which means that I have to have a grade of B (3.00) or better to receive a PASS on my transcript. I don't have the luxury of sitting in a classroom to receive Cs and Ds, just for being in class like a lump on a log. Here are the Math courses I have to take (14 different subject areas in all): Mathematics Content (5-12) Part I: Precalculus, Calculus I, Calculus II, Discrete Mathematics Mathematics Content (5-12) Part II: Calculus III, Analysis, Probability, Statistics Mathematics Content (5-12) Part III: College Algebra, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra Mathematics Content (5-12) Part IV: Euclidean Geometry, Non-Euclidean Geometry, Abstract Algebra As you can see there are a lot of Math courses that I have to take to be highly qualified to teach Mathematics in middle/high school. I also have to take many Math specific teaching courses and other courses to round out my education. The end result will be a COMPETENT teacher in the classroom. I will be working as a Substitute Teacher for two years before I graduate, so I will gain some very valuable classroom experience until then. Tell me... Why shouldn't I get more pay than someone that took Basket Weaving 101 at university? I also have a degree as a Computer Analyst/Programmer. To have a Math teacher that is gifted with computer knowledge is very hard to find (from what I have seen). I do think I deserve more pay, and I am going to demand it when I graduate. In fact, I can because of the persistent Mathematics teacher shortage. I can pretty well go anywhere in the USA or Canada (where I am from) and get the position I want. After my first year of teaching, I am going to start either the Master of Arts Mathematics Education (K-6, 5-9, or 5-12) OR the Master of Education - Learning and Technology program at WGU. Most likely, I will choose to do the latter since I am an advocate of using more technology in the classroom. The biggest problems in the classroom, from my work as a Substitute Teacher, are: 1. Students thinking it is OK to disrespect a teacher 2. Parents not giving a damn about their child's education (really sad) Until you solve these two problems, nothing will ever change in the public school system. Teachers have to be shown respect or else classroom management is quite difficult at best. I have observed many things students do in class to try a teacher's patience - I am glad I am seeing all of this crap before I graduate. I was subbing in one Math class last month. In one of the Algebra 2 classes, a student pulls out a portable DVD player and proceeds to watch a movie in class. I told him to put it away - he just ignored me. He turned off the sound and put on the close captioning. Now that is a total lack of respect for me as a teacher. If I did that when I was in school, my ass would have been beaten by my parents when I got home, just for disrespecting the teacher. I just found out I have the authority to confiscate such items and send them immediately to the office if the student causes me furthter problems. One of the biggest problems in the classroom is the presence of the Apple iPod or cell phones. Students think they have the right to listen to music or play with their cell phone while I am teaching important Mathematics concepts - they want to be bloody entertained. Unbelievable! Now, I warn all of my classes at the beginning... If I see a cell phone or iPod, I take it away from the student. Simple! The most important thing I have learned so far from being a Substitute Teacher - you have to take control of the class at the very beginning or the students will proceed to walk all over you. I had one class do that to me - NEVER AGAIN. Let's just say I felt