UO

Mommy1stTimer · December 2013

Mamasighs said:

I know, I know. Teacher pay is a tricky beast, to be sure.

THIS!! To be totally honest, I have been teaching in Georgia for 8 years and now have a Master's degree and I am just about to hit 50K. I do teach at a low-income school where it is ridiculous...case in point, one of my students is not in class today because he stabbed someone last night and is now in jail. Another one of my student's fathers just committed suicide. I only "chose" to work here because it was the only job available in the Atlanta area. I do not think that 50k after all this time and this many degrees is anywhere near worth what I deal with here. Ok, rant over. Thanks for letting me vent

sdtchica13 · December 2013

mermomo5 said: Yup, add me to team @mamasighs and @clyde013. Teacher pay in my area is not terrible either. My friends are not teaching in inner city schools where they are in danger on the daily, they get SICK medical benefits, and they get summers off. Before you tell me that "no, they don't get summers off", yes, they do...they opt to tutor or pick up a side job in the summer, they are not forced to, and most of my friends don't. Will you become rich on teacher pay? No. Is their pay fair, given the benefits? Yup.
As an added UO, I think its annoying as fuck when teacher friends start crying about having to go back to work via irritating FB statuses starting in mid-August. the only time I have EVER had a summer off is when I gave BIRTH this past summer, get over it! Have you been a teacher ??? Teachers do not get summers off, maybe your friends not mine! I'm going to re-zip my lip and walk away from this...@lizabethann06 please ...

Sigh...see above. MY friends who teach do NOT work in the summer. Some of them pick up an occasional tutoring gig or camp counselor gig, but many of them don't. Yes, they do some prep work for the upcoming year, but anyone who tells me that they consider that full time work in the summer is full of crap, lol!

Clyde013 · December 2013

mermomo5 said:

sdtchica13 said:
Yup, add me to team @mamasighs and @clyde013. Teacher pay in my area is not terrible either. My friends are not teaching in inner city schools where they are in danger on the daily, they get SICK medical benefits, and they get summers off. Before you tell me that "no, they don't get summers off", yes, they do...they opt to tutor or pick up a side job in the summer, they are not forced to, and most of my friends don't. Will you become rich on teacher pay? No. Is their pay fair, given the benefits? Yup.

As an added UO, I think its annoying as fuck when teacher friends start crying about having to go back to work via irritating FB statuses starting in mid-August. the only time I have EVER had a summer off is when I gave BIRTH this past summer, get over it!
Have you been a teacher ??? Teachers do not get summers off, maybe your friends not mine! I'm going to re-zip my lip and walk away from this...@lizabethann06 please ...

I have not been a teacher. But my BFF is. And she's able to put away a certain % of her salary every month for her summer spending so that she doesn't have to work.

Carrie3102 · December 2013

Clyde013 said:

Yea I understand. I personally think it's parent's/guardian's responsibility to teach their children to be fiscally responsible. But given this "opinion" I understand there are a million different circumstances and everyone is not surrounded by rainbows. This is just the ideal.

Clyde013 said:

I think instead of saying they can't take loans out to be those things, someone should seriously sit down with them and tell them what it would take to pay it back v what their acutal annual income would be. You know... like be honest about it.
I remember signing up for school and being told that I'd only have loan payments of $50 bucks and that they gov't will take what you can afford blah blah blah... at 18-22 that sounds great... now I have a degree in Accounting and Management and an MBA in international business... and my student loan payments are $500/mo add my DH's $282/mo -- and we're talking more than we pay for our mortgage on our house.
A lot of lies are perpetrated to get young naive adults to sign up for those student loans, and it would be nice if someone would tell the truth. -- FYI... yes I know I should've read the fine print, and It's on me. I owe that money not anyone else and I will pay it back. I'm not saying I shouldn't have to pay it back, I'm saying that someone should have clearly outlined what we'd be up against. Too many puppies and rainbows in the college recruiting IMO>
I get what you're saying and you acknowledge this to an extent but really at 18 you're not too young or too naive to understand how a loan works. And if you don't know you should ask before signing. Parents, guidance counselors , bank officers can all explain it but you have to seek it out.

It's so funny that you say that because I argued this point months ago and I agree with it. I just wish I had been more educated. I'm not saying it's anyones fault but mine, I just think at 18 (for me) I was not up to snuff ont his shit and was listening to my HS GC tell me how it wouldn't be bad his kids had them, you will be able to afford it, do you see what accountants make, I wouldn't worry about it.
Mine are gov't loans and when I signed for them (the day I showed up at school) I asked questions but the people answering them were... students. so they didn't really know. My parents didn't go to college, so they had no idea, my grandparents went but grandpa had a full ride and grandma's family was well off, So... no experiance on my side.
I did ask the questions see, that's just it... I was fed some BS. Should I have done more research on my own? Sure, but I trusted these people.
Again, this is on me, and my kids will know the questions to ask, the answers to expect, and how to make decisons based on real numbers not made up numbers of "oh the government will take $50 bucks, they won't refuse your payment, you can make it whatever." - I should have known better.

As do I... and my parents did teach me to be fiscally responsible. I would never default on a loan or payment... (barring losing both jobs and no other jobs being available on planet earth) They just didn't know how the student loan crap would work and by they I mean my mom my dad didn't have much to do with the "research". Blind trust... never a good thing... lesson learned.

lancomechica · December 2013

Meimsx said:
My unpopular opinion comes with a backstory. Here's the backstory;
My office very generously gives all employees a Christmas bonus. However, it's taxed at a crazy rate. Like 45% or something. So every year everyone always complains about their Christmas bonus. I always get a bit disappointed that so much is taken out but I don't go around complaining about it because here's the thing; IT'S A BONUS!!!! You are not entitled to this money. The company doesn't HAVE to give you anything at all. So how dare you look at the gift and complain about it. It's the same thing every year. You would think they would just assume half is gone so don't even think you're getting the other half. Budget those gifts for what you KNOW you'll actually get. It's a gift. Appreciate it for what it is. Furthermore, it's not the company that is taking this money away from you. It's the IRS. Be mad at them if you're going to be mad at anyone.

Ugh, the entitlement mentality.

I get mad at the IRS every other week.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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sdtchica13 · December 2013

OMG guys, FFS, no one is saying teachers are getting paid what they deserve, we are simply saying the pay isn't as bad as teachers would like to have you believe, especially when you figure in medical benefits, vacation time, etc.

Carrie3102 · December 2013

Mommy1stTimer said:

Mamasighs said:

I know, I know. Teacher pay is a tricky beast, to be sure.

THIS!! To be totally honest, I have been teaching in Georgia for 8 years and now have a Master's degree and I am just about to hit 50K. I do teach at a low-income school where it is ridiculous...case in point, one of my students is not in class today because he stabbed someone last night and is now in jail. Another one of my student's fathers just committed suicide. I only "chose" to work here because it was the only job available in the Atlanta area. I do not think that 50k after all this time and this many degrees is anywhere near worth what I deal with here. Ok, rant over. Thanks for letting me vent

For a minute I thought you worked where my sister does in SC.... she sees crap like that all the time. For middle schoolers.

She has girls in her class who say they don't care to pay attention because they'll be pregnant by 9th grade and getting their "check" so they don't need school. their moms' didn't need school so neither do they. It's truly sad. I feel for these kids.

michnfrankstake2 · December 2013

I am a teacher and I'm happy with my job and what I make. Teaching jobs do vary though...some suck and some don't. I love the schedule. I worked last summer teaching up until my due date and made pretty good money. And that was my choice. Next summer, I won't teach. I will spend all summer with my boys and love every paid minute of it.

Eta: I have really great students, can you tell?

sdtchica13 · December 2013

mermomo5 said:

Yeah @sdtchica13 I really strongly disagree with you! Remember someday those teachers you don't have a very high opinion of will be teaching your children.. You can sigh me all you want at least we now have something in common!

Seriously? CIO notwithstanding, I am probably one of the LEAST controversial people on here, not sure I have said anything sigh-worthy. And again, I never said I have a low opinion of teachers; in fact I have a very high opinion of them because they are doing something that I would NEVER have the patience to do. That does not mean that they are paid terribly, which is all @mamasighs and I were trying to point out, lol!

[Deleted User] · December 2013

sdtchica13 said:

OMG guys, FFS, no one is saying teachers are getting paid what they deserve, we are simply saying the pay isn't as bad as teachers would like to have you believe, especially when you figure in medical benefits, vacation time, etc.

This. I agree with this and I went to college to be a teacher...not that that means anything.

Iand LoveandYou said:

Asbromle said:

I think it's sad that not everyone has the choice to eat healthier. I mean I know you "choose" what to eat but it definitely is going to be more expensive for @citrusfamily and @mermomo5 and @valstulas to feed their family very healthy lean and green food than it would to say make 3 boxes of hamburger helper (not saying that's all you all eat, or that you don't eat heathy...I'm just using your larger families as an example, know what I mean?).

I do think it's annoying when people say it's more expensive because obviously it is but just because it more expensive doesn't mean it's not feasible. Cut something else out on a monthly basis to make eating healthy a more realistic goal within your household.

we don't eat Hamburger Helper allll the time
$:\$ ">

I have nothing against it, it's tasty

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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Clyde013 · December 2013

FTR: I have taught at the university level and it was much easier than my current job. I also think most people think they are underpaid in every field.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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Stina2012 · December 2013

I sometimes wish I would have been a teacher. I would be a great teacher. But I also would not have gone to an expensive out of state school to be a teacher. If I wanted to teach I would've stayed at home and gone to SDSU.

MagickalNarwhal · December 2013

Also, re: student loans. It's really tragic. It's very very easy to say, hey, you should have known better, you should have read the fine print. That's the truth, but I think it's way more complex than that. When I went to college, I got the financial aid package that the government said I qualified for. I was thrilled and excited and scared. I grew up in poverty. Neither of my parents finished college. Neither of my parents had loans or had ever navigated getting anything other than a credit card. Neither of my parents knew how to read "the fine print", so even if I had thought to ask them, they could not have helped.

My ex was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth and told me how her dad used to say that even if you distributed all the money in the world equally, it would be very very unequal again within a few years. Well, of course, that's because some of the world was raised with how to think about and plan with money as a background to their lives. They have great cultural capital, connections, and access to physical capital like the means of production, knowledge of financial systems etc. Even something basic like the idea that you save for the future, and the actual logistical instructions and help on how to do it, are NOT common knowledge, they are a specific set of skills that have to be taught and then practiced. YEAH all kids should have access to this info. YEAH all kids should know not just "that you should save" but HOW, and should have continuous, well-informed support to do that. But it's just not the reality.

I know that the disclosures that kids have to sign for loans have changed, and there are laws about pre-loan counseling, but there is a huge foundational gap in knowledge and skills around financial concepts between those who grew up in generational poverty, or even just not in a financially savvy house, or without people to talk to about these kinds of things.

sdtchica13 · December 2013

mermomo5 said:

I have way to high a respect for teachers to say anything negative! I disagree with you, that's it! Not all thoughts are the same on topics and I'm not going to try to make anyone see things in my thought process. Your opinion is yours, mine is mine! I'm not a teacher for the record ...I took offense to your comment, that's about it! It's like this, it's the internet we aren't always going to agree. I also tend to stay mute on a lot here but it gets old not saying things when I highly disagree.

You are totally entitled to your opinion, and you should voice it instead of staying mute. However, nowhere in there did I say anything remotely offensive, nor did I try and diminish what teachers do. However, I stand by my opinion that the whiny FB statuses in mid-August are annoying as hell, lol!

littlelegslo · December 2013

littlelegslo · December 2013

Just practicing mobile gifing don't mind me

littlelegslo · December 2013

Bump burp

sdtchica13 · December 2013

Ok, I need to know...WTF is this snail everyone is talking about? Corri had a seahorse, and Gavin is content to chew his hands or the paci at night, so I missed the snail boat!

Altima80 · December 2013

My UO: I kinda dislike Elf on the Shelf stuff. Yeah, I guess it can be cute at times but what I find annoying are the moms on facebook that post pictures of what their elf did and talk like that elf really is alive, etc. etc. Just kinda annoys me. Looking forward to the STFU Parents blog on this one this year. :-)

sdtchica13 · December 2013

lizabethann06 said:

sdtchica13 said:

Ok, I need to know...WTF is this snail everyone is talking about? Corri had a seahorse, and Gavin is content to chew his hands or the paci at night, so I missed the snail boat!

https://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/babytoys/products/52455

I love it so much. I know it's an UO but I love how excited by kids have gotten playing with it and how much it helped DS with tummy time (he had a severe case of torticollis so anything that got him to lift his head up was awesome with me). Plus I just love that it annoys DH, I'm mature like that hehehe

LOL, I love things that annoy H too. Gavin's bouncy seat had a pull thingie that sings a song and he figured out how to pull on it a few days ago and now pulls it repeatedly...DH wants to take the battery out, lol!

NKF312 · December 2013

Meimsx said:

My unpopular opinion comes with a backstory. Here's the backstory;
My office very generously gives all employees a Christmas bonus. However, it's taxed at a crazy rate. Like 45% or something. So every year everyone always complains about their Christmas bonus. I always get a bit disappointed that so much is taken out but I don't go around complaining about it because here's the thing; IT'S A BONUS!!!! You are not entitled to this money. The company doesn't HAVE to give you anything at all. So how dare you look at the gift and complain about it. It's the same thing every year. You would think they would just assume half is gone so don't even think you're getting the other half. Budget those gifts for what you KNOW you'll actually get. It's a gift. Appreciate it for what it is. Furthermore, it's not the company that is taking this money away from you. It's the IRS. Be mad at them if you're going to be mad at anyone.

Ugh, the entitlement mentality.

And better the company takes it out, otherwise these people would be n for a shock when thy o taxes and have to pay it back. (Past company I worked for did this, and warmed employees no taxes were taken out, yet everyone was mad when they had to pay taxes later..ugh)

sdtchica13 · December 2013

MeganNN12 said:

lizabethann06 said:

1) God, @lizabethann06! What do you do with all your teacher riches?? 2) yes there needs to be more pre-loan counseling, especially for first gen students. 3) In school districts where you're getting paid decently to be a public school teacher you have to put up with twatty entitled parents and their twatty entitled kids. Where I went to high school my teacher had three kids and was getting paid a wage that put his family below the federal poverty line.
I'm still over here trying to figure out where I can teach that will get me 90,000 a year, amazing benefits, and summers off. Sounds like my dream job, sign me up.

@lizabethann Quakertown, PA pays teachers the magical $90k/ year. You have to move.

You could always move to NJ...the pay isn't that high, but the benefits and vacation time are great. The downside, of course, is living in NJ, lol!

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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chiboo9 · December 2013

This is @mermomo5 today.

Clyde013 · December 2013

LadyBlue07 said:
Putting my flame suit on....

I'm an engineer and can make a lot because not a lot of people can make it through the schooling, therefore the supply is relatively low. It is easier for people to get education degrees and pass the tests to teach, so even though there is a relatively high demand, there is also a huge supply. The market is over saturated. Fix that, by making it more difficult, and teachers could demand more money. As long as they can fill teacher spots, they aren't going to raise salaries.

People are paid what the market will bear--if they need you specifically, a company will pay a lot to get you.

Not flame worthy. Just Econ 101. It's the way things work.

dontgiveupnomatterwhat · December 2013

Just wanted to comment on the whole teacher UO going on...

My husband has his Masters in education, and is a teacher in NC...which is on the list as the 48th worst state for teacher salaries. He goes to work at 6:30/7am and gets home around 6:30/7pm. He teaches AP history and spends his weekends planning assignments. He also coaches football, and during the season, he doesn't get home until 9pm on nongame nights and after 1am on game nights. While he gets a supplement when the season ends, he brings in less than $50k a year. On top of that, he has to set part of his pay each month aside to save for summer. So once taxes are deducted, his bring home pay is so so sad.

While he doesn't complain, I do. I do not think this is remotely fair at all, and Gov. McRory continues to make budget cuts on teacher pay. I dont know anyone else who works 12hr jobs, sometimes 18 hour days, and brings in so little.

Stina2012 · December 2013

If you don't like the terms of a job, don't take it. If you need the job then don't be so picky.

No one has to pay anyone anything. That's why they're called terms or employment, not requirements of employment.

And, I think you all know, I'm really liberal. I just think it is also an entitled attitude to expect the employer to change the terms to meet your needs. Don't like the terms? Change the employer.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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Melissa0926432 · December 2013

Every time someone mentions Hamburger Helper I gag a little

[Deleted User] · December 2013

1.Teachers are paid well by me too. It's a lot of work now though & TBH now that I have kids, I'd rather work with grown ups all day. I don't see myself going back to teaching.

2.I have no idea what Hamburger Helper tastes like and I'm A-okay not finding out.

And my UO: I don't mind the poops once my little guy started solids. I know everyone says they're so gross, but I think they were worse when he was only consuming breast milk. Now they're not so runny & messy.

ljs4117 · December 2013

casey78 said:

The teacher issue is so highly variable. Most are under appreciated and undervalued. Almost all work way more than 7-3 or whatever school hours. Many spend a good bit of free time and personal money on school-related things. Some are paid horribly and with little stability/mobility. Others have opportunity for tenure and competitive pay and benefits. My first year with doc degree and as tenure-line faculty at top research university, I made less than several of my students who were first year elementary school teachers with bachelors degree working in mediocre districts. Starting pay was mid40s for 10 months of work, full benefits, full retirement. Re the loans: too bad rational, impulsive control, and decision making parts of the brain don't mature until mid -20s.

Thank you. I consider my 18 y/o self to have been pretty responsible and decent with money. When the rainbows and unicorn are flying and these images of 80K+ (LCOL where I live so 80K is a lot) dollars a year, business suits and shiny BMWs are made out to be an accurate description of post-collegiate life... a measly 40K in student loan debt hardly seems like a big deal. Most 18 y/o (that I know) didn't have to worry about bills and groceries and all of the other expenses of life. We didn't necessarily know that the $400+ a month in loan payments might simply be more than we could afford. I agree, a more realistic picture of college and what happens after would be a great part of student loan counseling. I don't remember a single mention of this when I was younger, not that I would have really understood it anyway.. It sort of feels like the gov't and banks took advantage of young adults to try and make a buck.. Unfortunately now we just have a generation of people who should be living easier but have the burden of debt over their heads.

Lame.

MRads · December 2013

I would cry tears of joy if I ever thought I could make $50,000. But my background and passion are in the nonprofit sector, so I worked for six years, making $30,000 and paying $6000 for my hsa, which didnt cover anything until I paid $4000 oop. I worked at least six evenings a month and an average of two weekends a month. There is no upward mobility. But I chose the profession and I knew what I was getting myself into.

I think many teachers deserve more. But sometimes I feel like teachers are martyrs and feel they are the only underpaid profession.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

The snail is great. It is going to help DD learn to crawl. I think the songs aren't long enough though.

MRads · December 2013

Don't even get me started on the housing crisis. They put all these plans in place to address the most fundamental issue. The formula used to determine mortgage eligibility only takes gross pay and revolving debt. It doesn't account for taxes, insurance, utilities, food, etc. how is this even possible!

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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Clyde013 · December 2013

etoille said:
I just want to add that 5 years after the financial crisis our banks are still too big to fail, Dodd-Frank, which was incredibly weak to begin with, is still not fully implemented and being hailed as the reason why communism is teh awful....

We're not getting rid of student loan problems and the disclosure issues that are the root of these things.

Because 5 fucking morons decided corporations are people.

Because you know, original intent and stuff. Oh wait no...not what the founding fathers intended at all....

Shits going to be fucked up forever. Because rich people in this country declared a war on education as liberal and elitist and it was the smartest thing they could have ever done to stay in power. People vote against their own self interest because these same people who run the too big to fail banks spend billions to keep it that way.

The death of the middle class will come soon, heralded by the rallying cries of 'death to communism' sung by people too broke to feed their own children while the rich keep getting richer.

Did anyone really expect DF to be effective in 5 years? Realistically? Just one tiny portion of the act transforms a global market. Look at OTC derivatives for example. The only "positive" thing about DF is that is gave a lot of lawyers and economists jobs. Other than that it's just moving us toward a one world economy.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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