Teachers in this state can choose to have their salary paid over the full year or only get paid when school is in session. It is up to them. Their benefits are in effect for the full year under either pay plan.

How much preparation does it really take? If you teach let's say general math, do you really need to think of new ways to teach kids 25x2=50? Even in my college level Anatomy and Physiology class, the students who took it before say it is taught the exact same way as it was last year.

Now you said your wife deals with retarded kids. I can understand having to be prepped on each student and working hard to adjust to each student. I also believe those teachers do get paid more to compensate. But the majority of the students in our school systems are not retarded (lazy but not retarded).

These teachers in RI believed they worked for the teachers union and not the school. Now they are out of a job because of it and that is how it should be. If you are sucking in the private sector you can do two things. You can stay after and work hard (without extra pay) to get what needs to be done done, or you can get fired.

I would love to see anyone who is not a teacher, who thinks teachers have it so easy, come into a classroom and teach for a week, including all the meetings, prep, grading etc that is involved. I worked it out. Even with 6 weeks off in the summer and two weeks of Christmas break and a week of spring break I worked over 50 hours a week/ 50 weeks a year.

And I said 6 weeks off in summer because that is all we got, the rest was going back early, getting out late, and professional development courses in the summer.

If teaching is so bad then why teach? If teachers started leaving for jobs in the private sector then schools would start offering more money as demand for teachers grew (you can ask any Econ teacher). Obviously teaching isn't so bad if there seems to be an overabundance of teachers. Half the girls in my A&P class have teaching degrees or were teachers who are going to school for nursing because they can't find a job in teaching.

I'm also not buying into this "teaching is oh so hard, woe is me" crap. Teaching has always been known to be a cushy job. If it wasn't then they'd take jobs in the private sector for more money but they know they can never have as nice of a job as teaching in the private sector.

People teach for the easy job and the money. Nothing more and nothing less.

Oh yeah, I don't want to hear this "teaching is about the kids" crap either. If it was truly about that then the teachers in RI would be staying after school helping those children and this would have not made the news because they all wouldn't have been fired for demanding MORE MONEY.

That is fine, but at this particular school half the students were failing every class they were taking. Maybe these teachers were doing everything they could to change that and maybe they weren't. To demand $90/hour for some extra work to try and improve is more than a little ridiculous. Maybe they did so because they didn't want to do the extra work or thought it wouldn't make a difference. If either is the case the school was going to be shut down anyway. At $90/hour I am happy with this result.

Josh: NY is definitely a totally different world in education. There's a ridiculous number of rules and crap here.

You have to REALLY love it to do it for any length of time. I got out because I spent more time dealing with political BS than actually teaching... I make much more money now but not a day goes by when I didn't wish I was standing in front of a classroom...

Im damn glad your not teaching the future generations! redflip

Honestly, I didnt know you were a teacher! What do you do now?

I have had other jobs and I was bored with them. Teaching is so much more than just the "teaching" aspect now. There is a lot of political crap, testing etc. I could do a different job and make more money I am sure but I love feeling like I may be making a difference in the world or even to just one child who needs someone. It is not a cushy job by any means and anyone who thinks so has been misinformed.

You're an idiot if you truly believe that. Nothing more and nothing less.

Are you serious, have you even met some of the teachers out there?