Getting Teacher Pay Right | Eastern NC Now

Getting Teacher Pay Right (response to a good teacher trying to express her disgust over teacher pay being low and frozen for now)

    I have NO PROBLEM with anything you say. I used to type up my mother's tests on that smelly alcohol duplicator stencil. Now you can get the same already formed from a packet included in the teacher's materials. It could be worse! The time spent grading and writing comments is a definite "time to be counted." As the owner/operator of my small business, I often worked 12-16 hours a day and when the cost of business vs profit was tallied, I had a taxable income of $15,000. How would you like to make that in the cold of winter/humidity of summer dealing with dangerous trees --- and any wood that gets lose above doubles in weight for every foot it falls!

    It is certainly not as good as it should be, but it's not paid by customers who could refuse to do business with you. County checks from taxpayers don't bounce as did some of mine!

    I have my youngest sister just retired early before she reached 60. He husband still teaches. They both drive old cars--which seems to be every teacher's plight, but they live in a solid upper middle class subdivision in at $300K+ house! It is a "little messy" as was ours when momma taught. You can't afford a housekeeper and the after-hours grading comes first!

    This economy went bust in the late 80's. As a businessman I suddenly had 20% of the work I had previously = people viewed trees as something they could put off. I lost my equally nice house to foreclosure since my checks did not come AT ALL! Meanwhile, she became judgmental and had no understanding that citizens MUST PAY THEIR TAXES to support them. Neither of them even knows how to crank a Chainsaw / feed a $21K chipper / drive a $42K Bobcat / run a $50K stump cutter / keep a diesel truck running to pull the stuff. Bus drivers know more about driving big equipment than most teachers. They are responsible for the safety of their (often misbehaving) children on that bus and not having an accident as they ply the highways. They are probably the most underpaid part of the Getting Teacher Pay Right!

    Again---I see your plight. I am disgusted if you were made promises of pay not fulfilled. I am plain sick over how poor classroom performance is "rewarded" with a supervisory role. The Legislators who make the rules --- OBVIOUSLY have no clue what they are doing. If educators were wise enough to form a union and demand more respect and pay, that would be most smart! Stand up for yourselves. Demand pay appropriate to your training and status. Do the work to educate our children. Compared to pay in my boys' former County. Beaufort County teachers should be paid double because they are educating them and caring about results --- over pretense.