The CONTRACT is a year-long deal. The number of teacher mandatory on-campus days is usually 182 to 190, depending on the district (36 or more weeks, once weekends are factored in), involving mostly instructional days, and some on-site training days, parent-teacher conference days, etc.
Throughout the year, including when on "vacation," teachers are engaged in professional development (taking graduate courses at the nearby college, attending conferences, reading professional journals at home, doing research on particular issues/skills at home, etc.), and continue to work on classroom plans/activities.... plus spend time with their families, do catch-up housework (it really piles up during the school year), work a second job to help make the bills, do volunteer work in the community, etc.
In the United States, most people NOT in the education field have no real clue about the qualification requirements, effort, committment, and professionalism that teachers really require to be in the field. Many think it is an "easy" job...but have never really looked at the job description or spent any time at a school. As a special education teacher, my job description written out by Human Resources is 5 pages long. Teachers are paid half to 1/3 what other professionals with similar education and job responsibility are paid. If you see a teacher with a nice car/house, look to what his/her spouse does for a living (or the teacher is in serious debt to have those things).|||You are very welcome!!!
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|||Um, actually, many teachers get paid year round. They have the option of only being paid over 10 months versus 12.
There are millions of reasons to be a public school teacher. Great kids, great communities, holidays off, extended holidays, and it's fun.|||Wow....get payed all year round here in UK, regardless of holiday's.|||Actually, I don't.|||Teachers are on a "yearly salary".|||In Ontario, Canada teachers in the public schools are paid an annual salary for the number of days in the school year. Their contract runs from the first day of the school year to the last day of summer vacation. They are, however, only responsible for working during the school year days.
In response to the teacher bashing comment that is often aimed at teachers about being paid for a whole year and getting the summer off... In fact, teachers' salary is not based on their working a "whole year". They get the summer off because they were never expected to work it and their salary does not cover the number of days it would include. If they were required to work during the summer, their union would negotiate a proportionately higher salary.
In some school districts the union and the school board have agreed to a pay schedule which averages out the salary and distributes it to the staff during all 12 months of the year. In this way, teachers do not have to budget for themselves to get over the summer hiatus. They are often paid "during" the summer but not "for" the summer.
A benefit of being a teacher is that the working schedule gives us breaks during the year. A disadvantage of being a teacher is that there is no flexibility in the working schedule. (You can't get creative with your holidays and book them for the middle of the school year.)
Why do you want to be a public school teacher? The answer should be that you want to make a difference for children and you love teaching! If you're in it for any other reason, you're either not going to do a good job or you're going to burn out or you're going to hate your work and turn into a miserable grouch!
And since you asked - but about the U.S. and not Canada - in Ontario, people always seem to be "teacher bashing" and blaming things on the schools. However, when it comes to their own children's schools and teachers they are usually quite supportive.|||in the US teachers are not respected. Education is not respected.
teachers can opt to be paid in a 9 month time frame or over the entire year... of course most take the entire year option... so they have steady income each month to pay the bills... the yearly salary is the same it is just divided by 9 or 12 months depending on what the teacher wants.
before you say anything about teachers have a great cushy job go be a substitute for 1 week. Do you have any idea how many hours are put into teaching? grading papers, calling parents, preparing lesson plans...taking recertification classes|||You get paid all year - your annual salary is divided up into 12 months instead of the 10 months that are actually "worked." We teach so that others may learn. People have little to no respect for teachers or the profession. They think we don't have the intelligence to do anything else (my own mother thought the same). However, they are far from correct, as we have to know something about a lot of subjects in order to teach them to children! We work 8 hours in the classroom, sometimes without a break for personal needs and meals. Then, we either sit on our campus for another 2-4 hours grading papers and planning lessons, or we take it all home to do. We spend our "vacation" attending professional development workshops and classes. There is little to no chance of advancement unless we can afford the time and expense to obtain a PhD and become a superintendent! All this seems to be forgotten when a parent or other member of society decides to put blame somewhere else for children not succeeding on standardized or other mandated testing. Teachers can't do it all, especially if it is not supported at home!|||I'm a public school teacher in the US, and I have the option to get paid year-round. You can get paid for 10 months or 12 months. The salary is the same at the end of the year, it's just as to how much you get and when. Some people PREFER the 10 month plan because they can put the excess in savings and gain interest. I prefer the 12 month because I'd always be tempted to use the money and end up short on cash during the summer.
So to sum it all up, you're just misinformed about teacher salaries. There are plenty of other reasons NOT to become a school teacher. :)|||You do get paid during the summer, your pay is divided into 26 equal checks and your paid year round. I think until teachers stop saying how underpaid and overworked they are, no one will respect them like they should be. Their pay is fine, starting at over $32.000 per year and going up depending on grade level, but they need to stop being so negative.|||I cannot get over the number of people who keep saying that teachers get paid over the summer but then explain that they are salaried and the money is spead out. THAT IS NOT GETTING PAID FOR SUMMER VACATION!!!
Once again: Teachers are paid for a contracted number of days per year. If the school board and teachers agree, the school board will, in effect, save some of the teacher's money every pay period and then give it back to them in the summer (without earning any interest). The smartest thing to do is to collect your pay as you earn it and save some of it yourself in a savings account so that you draw interest.
That is, however, difficult to do unless you are very disciplined. It is very tempting to dip into that set aside money when you want to buy something that you don't have the cash for.
One writer is correct when they say that if the school year were extended or changed to actually working year-round, the teachers would be paid more because they were working more days.
Right now, with the 2 months of summer off that most teachers have, they have the opportunity to work a second job to earn extra money. Teachers whose schools go year-round now, have part of their summer "saved" until different times of the year. Usually Oct., Christmas and Spring. Those teachers and students do not go to school any longer than those in the traditional school year. Those teachers usually can not get extra jobs for 2-3 weeks at a time.
I wanted to be a teacher because I enjoy working with children, I believe I work well with children, I want(ed) to share my love of learning, but especially reading, with children. When I began nearly 30 years ago, teachers were much more respected than they are now. If the people who constantly complain about the underworked, overpaid teachers would spend a week walking in our shoes, most would come away with a completely different attitude. Visitors to my classroom are shocked at how hard I work. Even my husband had nearly a 180 degree change of mind about teachers when he learned from me the reality of teaching.
I also think one of the reasons so many teachers feel they don't earn enough is how difficult the job has become. Years ago students were taught to behave in school. They knew to sit quietly in their seats. They knew they came to school to learn. They knew that if they got in trouble at school, the parents would support the teacher and they would get in trouble at home, too. For those of you about to say, "Well, my child doesn't lie." Yeah, they do. All kids lie. Kids will say whatever gets them what they want. Just think of yourself. I read/hear all the time about people telling stories of how awful they were in school. If you are an older adult, you remember when your parents made sure you knew what was expected of you. And you did it. It doesn't work that way now. Too many parents believe whatever their kids say. They don't send them to school with the expectation of learning, Too many kids come to school without social skills, not knowing how to get along, without the basic skills they need. When the students in the inner city I teach in come to school as perschoolers or kindergarteners, they test 2-3 years below their age. How are we supposed to catch them up when theyare already that far behind?|||In the US teachers can choose to have their salary paid only during the school year OR spread out over the entire year, including the summer. Teaching is a great career for working parents because they can spend the summer with their families. However I have many friends who are teachers and most of them choose to take a different job during the summer months to make extra money.
Yes, teachers are respected here but in my opinion they are not paid enough.
