back to school

[tigershazz]

hi eveyone
i was just wondering now that xmas and new yr r done when do the ruggies go back to school 4 u. mine go back on the 31st of january.
hip hip hooray.
not that i don't love having them around but mine is the only puter in the house and sharing gives me less time to play our favorite game.

[the cat]

Here in the USA they are all back in school.

[mette]

In Denmark the kids go back to school on Jan. 2nd (unless it's a Saturday or Sunday ).

Mette

[ann3120]

I guess that makes sense, though.
It must be summer vacation down under. How long do they get?
And what do they get and do during the winter holiday?

[laura n.]

I'm in the U.S. Emily has been back in school since Jan. 2, here she only gets 10 days for Christmas/Winter Break. Of course she just had this past Monday, Jan. 16, off for Martin Luther King Jr. day.
I swear I'm in the wrong business, banks schools & the postal service get EVERY holiday off.
I believe they even make up a few.

[tigershazz]

THEY GET 6 WEEKS AT CHRISTMAS 2 WEEKS 2 TIMES A YR 1 WEEK AT EASTER GIVING THEM A 4 TERM SCOOL YR.TO MANY IF U ASK ME.
AND YES I THINK THEY MAKE SOME UP E.G PUPIL FREE DAY USUALLY FIRST DAY BACK AFT HOLS ?CAN'T FIGURE THAT 1 OUT AND THEN U HAVE EVENLY SPACED OUT TEACHER STRIKE DAYS.YEH RIGHT!! AND DON'T FORGET SEMINARS TEACHER EDUCATIN DAYS ETC ETC THEY HAVE MORE HOLS THAN WORK DAYS AND STILL COMPLAIN ABOUT PAY $$$$$ TRY MY JOB 4 A WHILE.

[Loirae]

all that emotion followed by your tag line "hey hey it's a beautiful day."

I found it wonderfully amusing!

[Andrea]

THEY HAVE MORE HOLS THAN WORK DAYS AND STILL COMPLAIN ABOUT PAY $$$$$ TRY MY JOB 4 A WHILE.

I haven't commented much in the forums lately, but that quote just outright pissed me off. I am a high school Biology teacher. Yes, we get holidays off and summer vacation, but that doesn't mean we're not working. I, myself, work approximately 65 hours per week, if not more. That includes grading, lesson planning, curriculum writing, professional development, etc. etc. Plus, most teachers do work in the summers because we have to and don't get paid extra for it. If we're not working, we many times are taking classes to improve our teaching skills or knowledge of content. And yes, we complain about the pay because in comparison to other professions that require college degrees, the pay is crap. I wouldn't even be able to support myself on my salary. Thank God for my husband's salary, which is triple mine and didn't even require a college education. Plus, teachers are required to continue our education and professional development in order to keep our certification. Who do you think has to pay for those classes?

I obviously didn't get into teaching for the pay and I knew the pay would be crap. So, even after busting my butt in college for 6 years to get 2 degrees I became a teacher because I love working with students and I know I make an impact on their lives while preparing them to be the leaders of the future.

Don't just assume that when the bell rings at the end of the school day that teachers are done working. That just isn't the case!

[Loirae]

Andrea, I feel your pain. Both of my folks are teachers in Michigan. My mom has been teaching without a contract for almost 3 years now because they can't settle the negotiations. Why don't they strike, you ask? Because a few years ago, The Governor of Michigan passed a law that made it illegal for teachers to go on strike. What's a union to do?

So now, benefits are bad, retirement has been messed with, and there is nothing the teachers can do about it. Sure, they could all quit. But that wouldn't teach the administration a lesson when there are so many people in the state already looking for jobs. Plus, it would hurt the kids and any good teacher knows: in the end, it's always about the kids.

[tigershazz]

Andrea
I didnt mean to offend or piss anyone off.I'm a full time mum with 6 kids 1 of which is a 14 yr old at home whom i am schooling myself because the system wont allow him in school due to his mother not disiplining him wich has developed sever behavioural problems , suspensions etc.Now he lives with his father and myself.Among all the other things i have to do .I have to school the child and try and instill some form of right and wrong as well as try to make him understand why violence is not the answer .Not an easy task when he has had no guidance his whole life and i dont get paid at all.
I opologise if i pissed u off but i have reason to be annoyed.Somtimes it just helps to get it off ur chest and have a winge.Again i am sorry.
shazz

[Andrea]

Loirae,

We can't strike either so unions don't have that kind of leverage. I wouldn't want to strike, but I wish the public would appreciate the work we put in for their kids and pay us accordingly. People like your parents and I do it because we love working with kids, but it doesn't mean we like being undervalued!


shazz,

I realize it was not your intention to offend anyone. However, your comments were like others I've heard before and it is so frustrating. Most of the general public doesn't understand what teachers do on a daily basis and the kind of time we put in. They think we are done working at 3:00 everyday and only work 9 months a year, so why should we complain about pay? If that were the case I wouldn't complain about pay! The ignorance of the public to what we do just frustrates the hell out of me. Again, I realize your comments were not meant to offend, but that doesn't mean they don't. I accept your apology. I'm sure you have your own issues with your school system and felt a need to vent. I have different issues and just couldn't sit back and not vent also. All is well.

[Liz Mayhew]

I've seen it from both sides too!

I taught in very tough London schools and colleges for 17 years. Teaching is no picnic and you earn every penny the hard way.

I also home educated my son for 2 years - from 14 to 16 years old. His problem was mainly dyslexia, so whilst he was an intelligent boy, he couldn't complete the targets set by the National Curriculum and was put into the bottom stream with people who didn't want to learn. He became suicidally depressed and I had to take him out of school - he never looked back and is now doing very well at college.

My daughter (now 16) also has dyslexia but she is taking the bad girl route - fighting, bunking off, not wanting to engage with learning at all, and not wanting to do home education. She may be forced into it though. We only have to survive school until June, then it will be a blessed relief to get her out of there.