<p>Midwesterner states: "requirements for a good HS teacher - intelligence, education, energy, superior people skills, attention to detail, perserverance, ability to work within a highly regulated system"</p>
<p>Yes, that should be the standard for teachers, however, unfortunately with tenure, it is not.</p>
<p>There are certainly some wonderful, dynamic creative teachers out there... HOWEVER, to place all teachers on such a high pedestal is ridiculous! My son has had some wonderful teachers. He has also had quite a few teachers that are obviously teaching out of necessity. With tenure, which the majority in his school have, these teachers no longer have a reason to strive or have the enthusiasm necessary to be placed on a pedestel. Many are lackluster apathetic teachers who are not happy doing what they do, but do it because why leave a well paying job for something else they are most likely not trained in.</p>
<p>Hourly rate and # of school days miss one other point. I know several teachers and their week week is about 60 hour long.
, and I also know many people in private sector who actually 'work' about 6 hours a day. (I think there was a survey done like that).</p>
<p>Teachers do burn out - if they have high expectations, the parents complain that the home work interfers with other stuff the kid likes to do.</p>
<p>Letters give very lttle useful information, and I still maintain that they are useless.</p>
<p>After several phone calls today the teachers are going to begin to work to the rule as of Monday. It looks that several teachers jumped the gun on Friday and read the letter before the date that it is dated. No letters went home it was all done verbally. The letters will be sent on Monday.<br>
From what I have heard the counselors and principal will all be willing to write letters to the colleges to explain the lack of teacher recs.<br>
As for the girl who will not have her letter for the scholarship I am assuming that she had asked for it ahead of time. The school has a procedure that most be followed for recs. If she had already turned it in I would hope that the individual teacher will follow through.
The issue is one of pay. The teachers have not had an increase in quite a number of years. Many teachers can not afford to live in the community and commute an hours drive each way. The teachers do deserve more money but where that money will come from I don't know. The classes are already large and cuts to programs have already happened over the last several years.
The teachers are hoping that the parents push the school district to grant them a pay hike to resolve this issue quickly.<br>
For everyone's sake I hope it is resolved quickly. It is a stressful enough time for the seniors without another added concern.
Though I hesitate to point out to my D without getting my head cut off that those who planned ahead and got all their requests in early are not in a panic.</p>
<p>"he issue is one of pay. The teachers have not had an increase in quite a number of years. Many teachers can not afford to live in the community and commute an hours drive each way. The teachers do deserve more money but where that money will come from I don't know. The classes are already large and cuts to programs have already happened over the last several years."</p>
<p>Seems the parents should have pushed a pay raise through a few years ago. If that meant a property tax or other tax increase, that should have been done. </p>
<p>Too bad that it took this kind of threat for parents to wake up to the problem. I am amazed that the community apparently has been able to keep good teachers because there seem to be lots of options for people who are good teachers. These include moving to private schools, to better paying public schools or to entering other fields.</p>
<p>Our teachers union negotiates regular cost of living increases, additionally levies can be used to boost teacher pay as well as their stated objective of lowering class sizes.</p>
<p>But I am glad it is going to work out, it is kind of humourous though to hear that what the teachers thought the letter said, and what it actually said.
Reminds me of the tests I have seen in high schools when the teachers say to read the test over carefully BEFORE you begin, kids do #s 1-10, then they get to the last question and it says do # 3 ONLY!</p>
<p>We are not in a major metro. area and their are not many options for teachers who want another teaching job. I would say that most public schools in Ca are struggling with the same issues. Facilities that are getting old, not enough textbooks, large class size, teachers who should be paid more. There is no quick fix solution to the problems with Ca schools. I think we are an unusual area that we have no shortage of teachers. We have a University with a teaching program so those that are lucky enough to get hired can stay in the community. Once they marry and want to buy a home or raise a family they find they have to move to about 45 minutes away.</p>
<p>There are a lot of issues one answer des not fit all.</p>
<p>I know in my daughters H.S. students filled out information for the GC and began writing recs at the end of Junior year. 2 Teachers; the Junior year English teacher (who taught both AP and Reg English so she had all of the juniors) and the Physics/AP Calc teacher were literally asked by almost every student in the class of 04 to write their recs. There was no way that they could do them all so they did impose a deadline for those who were seeking recs from them and each student had to write them a letter requesting the rec, outlining what they had done in the class. The teachers got back to everyone before the end of June to let them know whether or not they would be writing the recs so that the student had time to move on.</p>
<p>Hey, We live in NYC and our teachers have been with out a contract for 3 years and it does not see to be moving in the direction of getting one any time soon all though there have been changes over the past 2 years-the board of ED will no longer hire people with Temporary/Provisional Licenses (unless they come through the fellows program. One of the sad things is that for a number of years the city a large number of teacher who were not able to pass the exams nor had they gone on to get their masters. It is very easy to say "oh, they only work 185 days a year form 8:00 to 3:00, but what about the work that happens after 3 (grading home work, exams, lesson plans and dealing with their own staff development?)</p>
<p>I agree with all the posters who suggest dropping recommendations. One school we looked at requires neither recs nor essays. The adcom at the info session said we have never gotten a bad rec, and the essays are usually worked and reworked to death by parents and others. He said they do a pretty good job based just on the application: course difficulty, grades, SAT's, and ec's. Also, they can get decisions done sooner without the extra paperwork that arrives in dribs and drabs. The only time you they want a personal statement is if something needs to be explained. Refreshing!</p>