For the things that never make any sense! XD

[Kirahfaye]

Oh, Misty! I'm not badmouthing teachers (though I'm no great fan of unions of any kind, but that's just me). I think teachers are a blessing. It takes a deep commitment and love of children to take on the job they do. I believe teachers should get paid significantly more than they do. I ascribe to the belief that today's parents (and society in general) try to blame their children's problems on their teachers because it's easier than accepting that little Johnny has a problem that the parents need to address.

[victoriavictrix]

Kira I used to be NO kind of fan of unions.

Then I went to work for American Airlines, in the computer programming section, where since we were officially "management" we had no union protection.

Result: Managers would routinely slash project completion estimates by 1/3, then make us work unpaid overtime to get the project in on time. Managers were perfectly allowed to discriminate against employees that didn't attend their church. Managers could assign as much unpaid overtime as they chose, and could order you, on project implementation, to remain on site for as much as 48 hours. Sleep? Sleep is for the weak, and if you wanted to keep your job you had better figure out how to remain awake for two days straight.

And that was in the 1980s to early 90s when I quit. Things have gotten much worse since, and not just at AA, but everywhere. People get fired for taking sick days. People get fired for not doing the job of 3 after layoffs. People get fired because the company can hire someone new in. People are fired for getting hurt on the job. And it's only getting worse. We are rapidly returning to the days of Dickens, workhouses, and people getting fired because there is someone who'll work for 25 cents an hour less. That was why unions were formed in the first place. Look at history.

[Qrinta]

I'm damn near 47 and to this day my mom gives me a hard time if she finds out I've purchased something that does not fit her definition of "necessary".

needless to say we do not talk about my dolls very much LOL

Well, considering I just watched my mom and aunt blow close to 1,000 dollars on slot machines... My aunt says I can't sit next to her anymore because I'm miss "Doom and Gloom" Couldn't help it when I saw her blow what for me would have been a whole semester's tuition in the course of a couple hours. My mom can't say too much about what I spend my money on. My aunt and I were talking about the Hujoos and the cost and whatnot and my mom is like, why would someone ever pay that much money on a doll? And here I am thinking, why would any sane person blow 1,000+ dollars on a slot machine? They call it "Fun money" But it makes no sense to me. XD Of course they both have regular paying jobs whereas my job is pretty seasonal/part time. We tend to give each other a hard time but I'm not yet sure what the reaction will be when my big dolly gets here. XD

[Qrinta]

The downside to living in Utah is it's a right to work state, unions are pretty much non-existent other than the teachers union. My dad's company is starting to learn that it's not always a good idea to just lay people off indiscriminately. My dad is now one of the only engineers who knows how to do a specific job because they laid off everyone else who could do it and the young people who are supposed to know keep coming to my dad to ask questions. For the moment it gives him a little job security but it's pretty tenuous with another layoff coming up in the Spring. >< blegh. Also, I love that comic. As sad as it is I'm pretty sure that is how a lot of teachers feel. Crazy parents. >< My mom has to deal with a lot of crazy/inconsiderate/downright terrible parents.

I taught PE at an elementary school for two-three years and I was always freaking out when I had to take the Kindergarten out to send them home. For whatever reason their regular teacher had another job and when she dropped the kids off with me for my 45ish minutes with them she left school, not a word of warning, just left. It was then my job to get these 20 or so kids who I barely knew to line up, get their backpacks, go out to the flagpole, and get safely off to their siblings/parents. O.O Needless to say I was terrified. I miss the kids but I'm glad the school finally got a real PE teacher.

[Yanagi-sen]

Thank you, Misty!

I really didn't care one way or the other about the teacher unions, aside from being thankful that THEY did the contract negotiations for me... until I ended up teaching in a private school. Yeah, what they call a 'low living wage', I call barely able to pay my bills. I'm just trying to survive for another year until hopefully one of the other art teachers at my old school retires, then they have to offer me the position (laid off, not fired).

I am also not opposed to teacher evaluations... however evaluate me on MY curriculum, not the English or Math scores. I mean really? How fair is it to evaluate the ART TEACHER by the test they get in English or Math? And tenure... let me just say that when May/June comes around and you don't know if you even have a job for the fall, it's is very tense, and of course the kids feel it too. I had tenure at my old school, no such thing at the private. At any time they can decide to get rid of me, and there is no union or tenure to back me up.

[Evelien]

Muh. The last week before Summer holiday, I had no idea yet if I'd still be there after Summer. It was horrible. I felt like an impostor talking to parents how I would help their kid further after Summer, knowing I might not be there at all anymore. I couldn't help it but it still felt horrible. I had to tell them two days before the vacation started that I'd say goodbye on the last day -_-

[Kirahfaye]

Yeah, there isn't much money to be had at private schools. However, one of those reasons is that the schools have a lot of kids on half tuition. They have fund raisers throughout the year to make up the difference - and we all know how that can work.

For a couple of years I worked as a pre-k para-professional and then the assistant director for a church run day care center that catered to low income families, so yeah .... I know how it feels to work for next to nothing. Then again, I worked in retail for a long time, too, so you'd think I'd be used to it! LOL!

As for unions, I do believe they can do a lot of good to protect employees from unscrupulous business owners. I just don't believe people should be required to join a union in order to work in their chosen profession.

[knittnkitten]

my highschool kept alot of teachers on that had little interest in teaching anymore, and there were a few that prolly shouldn't have had their jobs because they were lousy at them. the spanish teacher threw stuff at us.

[PerlaNemesis]

My math teacher from my basic school hit boys with a book. Once in 6th class and then in 9th or 10th grade (first time because two boys were fighting each other near her desk and second time because two boys (one of them was the smartest in the class) were talking). My 7th grade Russian teacher once tore apart exercise book because it wasn't green. Lithuanian teacher (from grade 6 to 9) and Math teacher loved yelling at us and telling how incredibly stupid we are. >.>

[Trethowan]

My 4th grade teacher inspired me to excel but my 2nd grade teacher stuffed me in a box for staring out the window. There are the good, the bad, and the just plain evil (like that first grade monstrosity that wouldn't let kids go to the bathroom.) The teacher who put me in a box got fired and rightly so.

If parents don't push their kids to learn and try, there's nothing the teacher can do. It's unfair to expect them to do all the work while the parents do none. Some kids just come from families that don't prize education. Like the parents that tell their kids its ok to cheat on tests.

I certainly respect that unions protect employees but they can also become bullies. I was referencing the problems when unions resist any change at all, even good change. They need their limits and they need to be able to fire truly loathsome teachers. Referencing the situation in the DC schools with Ms. Rhee, (I think that was her name) she was trying to fix problems but the unions made that impossible. The pendulum of power has to stay in the middle. Kids shouldn't have to hope in a lottery that might get them in a decent school. They should all be decent schools.

Given that I have no faith in the government-run curriculum, and given that products of public education seem to be severely lacking when they try to get into college, I'd rather have more control over my kid's education. If I ever have a kid, that is. No disrespect to teachers, it's really a reflection on the system. -