Teachers Corner

kimber308 · September 2017

Hey ladies,

I'm a 7th grade ELA teacher in a public school. I also do online teaching through VIPKID for Chinese students. Teaching online is my fun hobby, but a lot of stay at home moms teach with VIPKID.

I've had no symptoms yet (still very early), but I had Hyperemesis with my first. I'm dreading the moment it makes its return. It was nonstop vomiting and 3 hospital trips my first go around. I threw up so many times in the trash can across the hall from my classroom. It was so gross. Ugh.

Well wishes to all!

TeacherMom2015 · September 2017

@kimber308 I teach for VIPKID too!

roomsu · September 2017

@kimber308 do you like working for vipkid? A friend was just telling me about it. Does it pay well? How many hours a week are you really putting in? Sorry! Super curious!

kimber308 · September 2017

@roomsu Here is some information I just posted in the "work from home" thread.

I love VIPKID! I've been doing it since January. I teach Chinese students English, via a web-conference/slideshow format. The kids in their culture are so smart and engaged. Sessions are 25 minutes long, with 5 minutes to fill out feedback for parents. So teaching 2 sessions would equal the average hourly pay of 18-22 an hour. You are an independent contractor, so you are responsible for saving for taxes (they say about 20%).

It is so easy! The lessons and units are already planned. You open your availability and on Sunday nights Chinese families can book you for the week ahead. My schedule ALWAYS fills. I teach about 12-15 classes a week (7ish hours), because I am a full time teacher during the school year. In the summer I teach about 20-25 classes a week. Some teachers use VIPKID as their full time job and make a salary comparable to a veteran teacher teaching in a school. The lessons and units are already developed, I just teach the lesson they give me. It is a web video conference, and there is a slideshow that you show to students as you teach. It tells you exactly what to say. They love when teachers are happy, cheerful, and use lots of arm movements to act things out. They also like the use of props which I don't use often. Oops.

China time is 12 hours difference. So working nights and early mornings is typical. No classes will book during our day since they are sleeping. I teach one class in the morning before school, 2 on Friday nights, and 6-8 on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It's totally up to you how many classes you teach and what times. Some people teach like 20 classes in a row on a single day. You decide exactly what hours you want to work, and the parents will book you. I've been told over 200,000 kids are in the program, so after a few weeks (after you establish yourself) your time slots will completely book. Around 20,000 US teachers are employed by them. The company prides itself on hiring college educated Americans (bachelor degree is a must) -bonus points if you have a teaching certification.

https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refer eeId=3452886 Use this link to sign up. It will give you preferential treatment in the hiring process. The hiring process is difficult. Usually it starts with an interview and then two mock lessons. Lots of material to look over. But if you get through it, it's really the best job.

https://www.youtube.com/result s?search_query=vipkid+ Check out these youtube videos to see what VIPKID is like.

https://t.vipkid.com.cn/faq Check out this link for FAQ from VIPKID.

@TeacherMom2015 HELLO! It's so funny that there are so many teachers and I rarely encounter any.

mrshay072316 · September 2017

How does everyone's mat leave work? I teach third grade abroad at an international school and I think I can take mine before baby comes too. This works because mine is due the last week of school and then it's summer. Anyone else?

justsuzie · September 2017

I am due May 2nd and allowed 6 weeks. I will have 2 weeks left over because school ends in early June. I will be considered "high risk" because of my age so I am hoping I can take the 2 weeks before the baby comes to relax at home. FX. I know I would need a doctor's note though,

bs1025 · September 2017

I teach high school agriculture. High schoolers pay close attention to little things like if I'm eating crackers every day in class or if I'm absent a lot so rumors start up pretty quickly. I've had mild symptoms so far but we will see how long that lasts. I really hope I don't puke in front of my kids lol. I run to the bathroom between my 90 min classes and snack throughout the day.

justsuzie · September 2017

@bs1025 The bathroom struggle for teachers is real.

createmagic14 · September 2017

@futuremrshay We get up to 12 weeks, based on fmla and with a doctor's note. My last doctor just wrote 6-12 weeks on my paperwork. I took 11, but two of those were school vacation weeks. My due date this time gives me approx 6 weeks until the end of school anyway (1st was born feb 8)

arteduc8 · September 2017

I use FMLA and can use my accrued sick days. My daughter was born right after school let out in 2016, so I had summer break and then took 12 weeks at the start of the next school year and went back a week before Thanksgiving. I had about 5 months with her and it was glorious. If this one arrives on our due date, there will be just over 3 weeks of school left. So I'm hoping my district allows for leave time to be split up. I'd love to take 12 weeks again. I've been saving sick days for 10 years for this! And since I decided to go part time this year (60%) I think I only use 60% of a such day for each day taken which won't eat away at my accrued time too badly.

I'm super concerned about baby's arrival and the timing of end of the school year things. My AP art class has portfolio submissions due just days before my due date (which is a crazy stressful insane amount of work for me too) and their annual art show after my due date. My daughter was 10 days early, so if this one does the same, I won't be there to help my students in the crazed final days off the submission process.

rowboat4 · September 2017

We can take up to 12 weeks. My due date is 4 weeks before school is out. I'm not sure about whether or not they let us split leave time or not. I would love to take another 8 weeks after school starts in August, but I would probably wait until closer to our winter break. So end of October ish. But we'll see. I have some sick time, but I'm not too concerned about using it all up before my due date because I have disability insurance through the school district.

justsuzie · September 2017

@rowboat4 My district does not let us split time AND you need a doctors note if you take any time before your due date! They are so strict. And men only get 3 days?!

rowboat4 · September 2017

@justsuzie I think my District also only does 3 days paternity leave, but I believe they can take as much FMLA time that they want. (My husband is a teacher in the same school district as well). Even if they don't let me split the leave time, I'll still get around 12+ weeks with the baby.

justsuzie · September 2017

@rowboat4 Too bad they don't let you give time to your DH!

roomsu · September 2017

Maternity leave in the US gets worse and worse. My international friends get months or even a year (paid!). I would love to spend all that time at home with lo. I'll take 3-4 weeks off this time and then have the 9-10 summer weeks. It'll be nice that lo will be 3 months old before he/she ever has to go to daycare. I would love to wait till he/she was 1!!

cups4 · September 2017

We are allowed 12 weeks of FMLA. If you work for the same company as your spouse you have to share the 12 weeks. I have friends with this issue. If he takes time it takes away from hers. We can take whatever we don't use this school year for the next, but pretty sure that's standard for any FMLA. You get a calendar year to use it. It's all docked time for me so I doubt I will take any time after summer break. I do have STD but it's 60% of my paycheck. I will be induced at 39 weeks (I'll schedule a RCS) so I will use only 4 weeks of fmla at that point. One great thing is that STD will pay even through the summer when I'm back at full pay!!!

rowboat4 · September 2017

cups4 said:

We are allowed 12 weeks of FMLA. If you work for the same company as your spouse you have to share the 12 weeks. I have friends with this issue. If he takes time it takes away from hers. We can take whatever we don't use this school year for the next, but pretty sure that's standard for any FMLA. You get a calendar year to use it. It's all docked time for me so I doubt I will take any time after summer break. I do have STD but it's 60% of my paycheck. I will be induced at 39 weeks (I'll schedule a RCS) so I will use only 4 weeks of fmla at that point. One great thing is that STD will pay even through the summer when I'm back at full pay!!!

My STD is up to 75% of my paycheck. I need to look into everything more though. I'll probably go talk to HR after my first appointment. I work for a fairly large district so I want to make sure it gets in the system ASAP.

cups4 · September 2017

@rowboat4 I know my district will start early spreading out dock time through your paychecks so I may do that after the AS. This way I have money every paycheck to cover insurance for the 2 year old and NEA fees, etc. It's nice to only worry about 4 weeks docked pay through the district as opposed to 10 weeks last time.

rowboat4 · September 2017

Our docked pay starts after we use up our sick leave, and it's basically the sub's pay just taken out of your paycheck, which the disability insurance basically makes up for.

alli392 · September 2017

Hey all! Another middle school English teacher joining the group

this is my first year at a new school (3rd year of teaching) so I'm not sure how the rules apply as, with less than a year at the school at the EDD, they legally don't have to give me the full 12 weeks if I ask for it? Not sure how I'll make that work but so excited to peace out for the end of the year crazies!

JNCPro3130 · September 2017

Hey, ladies! I teach 3rd graders. I get 12 weeks FMLA. I get (if I remember correctly from DS), 6 weeks paid and then I'm expected to go back or get docked. I wanted to use sick leave time for DS but in my county that's not allowed. My EDD is 5/29, so I should be out of school. When I had DS, he was born 3/24 and I didn't go back until August since school ended in May. He was 4 months old! It was great!

createmagic14 · September 2017

JNCPro3130 said:

Hey, ladies! I teach 3rd graders. I get 12 weeks FMLA. I get (if I remember correctly from DS), 6 weeks paid and then I'm expected to go back or get docked. I wanted to use sick leave time for DS but in my county that's not allowed. My EDD is 5/29, so I should be out of school. When I had DS, he was born 3/24 and I didn't go back until August since school ended in May. He was 4 months old! It was great!

You can't use sick time???? What kind of nonsense is that?

rowboat4 · September 2017

createmagic14 said:

JNCPro3130 said:

Hey, ladies! I teach 3rd graders. I get 12 weeks FMLA. I get (if I remember correctly from DS), 6 weeks paid and then I'm expected to go back or get docked. I wanted to use sick leave time for DS but in my county that's not allowed. My EDD is 5/29, so I should be out of school. When I had DS, he was born 3/24 and I didn't go back until August since school ended in May. He was 4 months old! It was great!

You can't use sick time???? What kind of nonsense is that?

Thinking this same thing. We're required to use up our sick time first.

JNCPro3130 · September 2017

@createmagic14, you're telling me! I had been banking sick leave and going to school when I felt miserable. When I went to the maternity class the county offered, I was heartbroken. I remember crying on the phone to my mom that I didn't want to put my 6 week old in daycare. It ended up working out. The 6 week mark was 2 weeks until the end of school so we just sucked it up and took a loss. The other jacked up thing was that spring break was during my leave and the county didn't pay me for that week either because "we don't pay you when the children aren't there". In the end I only got paid for 5 weeks.

rowboat4 · September 2017

JNCPro3130 said:

@createmagic14, you're telling me! I had been banking sick leave and going to school when I felt miserable. When I went to the maternity class the county offered, I was heartbroken. I remember crying on the phone to my mom that I didn't want to put my 6 week old in daycare. It ended up working out. The 6 week mark was 2 weeks until the end of school so we just sucked it up and took a loss. The other jacked up thing was that spring break was during my leave and the county didn't pay me for that week either because "we don't pay you when the children aren't there". In the end I only got paid for 5 weeks.

Do you have an option for disability insurance? I bought it when I got hired knowing that we were planning on a second. It basically makes up for anything you get docked for. ETA: are you on a time sheet as opposed to salaried? We get the same amount every month no matter how many instructional days/whether there are any holiday breaks.

JNCPro3130 · September 2017

@rowboat4, yes, I had/have STD. We had budgeted that in as well as sick leave. I, however, didn't realize I only got paid for 4 out of the 6 weeks of STD. Between only being paid 4 weeks STD, 5 weeks of maternity leave and not being able to use sick leave, I was an emotional mess after leaving the maternity class. My husband worked it out and we were completely fine. Part of my breakdown was hormonal. lol

Oh, I'm a salary employee who gets paid the same amount every month even through the summer. I honestly can't remember their justification for spring break.

rowboat4 · September 2017

JNCPro3130 said:

@rowboat4, yes, I had/have STD. We had budgeted that in as well as sick leave. I, however, didn't realize I only got paid for 4 out of the 6 weeks of STD. Between only being paid 4 weeks STD, 5 weeks of maternity leave and not being able to use sick leave, I was an emotional mess after leaving the maternity class. My husband worked it out and we were completely fine. Part of my breakdown was hormonal. lol

Oh, I'm a salary employee who gets paid the same amount every month even through the summer. I honestly can't remember their justification for spring break.

So bizarre how different places do things differently.

createmagic14 · September 2017

rowboat4 said:

JNCPro3130 said:

@rowboat4, yes, I had/have STD. We had budgeted that in as well as sick leave. I, however, didn't realize I only got paid for 4 out of the 6 weeks of STD. Between only being paid 4 weeks STD, 5 weeks of maternity leave and not being able to use sick leave, I was an emotional mess after leaving the maternity class. My husband worked it out and we were completely fine. Part of my breakdown was hormonal. lol

Oh, I'm a salary employee who gets paid the same amount every month even through the summer. I honestly can't remember their justification for spring break.

So bizarre how different places do things differently.

So bizarre! I use my sick time, and then if I were to run out--I have 68.5 days so I won't but if I did-- I could apply to our sick bank for more days (which would be paid back over the next few years). I also have 4 weeks STD to be paid on top of that.

This country needs a massive maternity leave overhaul.

rowboat4 · September 2017

createmagic14 said:

rowboat4 said:

JNCPro3130 said:

@rowboat4, yes, I had/have STD. We had budgeted that in as well as sick leave. I, however, didn't realize I only got paid for 4 out of the 6 weeks of STD. Between only being paid 4 weeks STD, 5 weeks of maternity leave and not being able to use sick leave, I was an emotional mess after leaving the maternity class. My husband worked it out and we were completely fine. Part of my breakdown was hormonal. lol

Oh, I'm a salary employee who gets paid the same amount every month even through the summer. I honestly can't remember their justification for spring break.

So bizarre how different places do things differently.

So bizarre! I use my sick time, and then if I were to run out--I have 68.5 days so I won't but if I did-- I could apply to our sick bank for more days (which would be paid back over the next few years). I also have 4 weeks STD to be paid on top of that.

This country needs a massive maternity leave overhaul.

I use my sick time, and then once I run out, I get disability insurance paid for as long as I'm out.

JNCPro3130 · September 2017

Looking back, I'm glad I didn't use sick leave! DS was sick A LOT before getting tubes in his ears and I had to use a ton of time. He got the flu this passed school year and I had to be out 5 days for that alone! It worked out fine!

cups4 · September 2017

We have to use our sick leave too. No option not to. But I don't think I'll have any left in between having a baby who used it all up 2 years ago, a toddler who inevitably gets sick, and having 3x as many appointments during pregnancy with my OB and MFMs. I am super grateful for STD for 8 weeks even though I'll only be out for 4-5 during the school year.

mmb4532 · October 2017

Hi ladies! Just found this board, 5th grade teacher here. No one at school knows yet and I don't plan on telling them until I'm out of the first trimester, probably after Thanksgiving break or so. I'm planning on telling my students even later, maybe closer to Christmas. Luckily, I haven't really had much nausea at school as it usually hits me at night, right after my hour long commute home. I'm sure I'm going to dread this commute by the end.

fragile_capricorn · October 2017

Hi! I hope my kind of teaching counts, lol. I'm a proud teacher of 14 toddlers aged 2 at an education based daycare center! The best part is that my 2 year old DD gets to come with. My room holds 28 total, so between me and 3 other teachers (7:1 ratio) I thankfully can take multiple bathroom breaks as needed. The hardest part has been the nausea at work, though, especially if I'm serving lunch that day and it's something that my stomach doesn't quite agree with! I've already told all my coworkers and boss about the pregnancy, we're like a big family so it felt natural to spill the beans right away.

justsuzie · October 2017

Hiding it is getting harder. ladies....I saw a colleague staring at my stomach this week. I am almost 11 weeks and look a little "thick". I am probably just paranoid. I know they are side-eyeing my lunches of snacks accompanied by a jar of pickles.

kat11223344 · October 2017

One of my kids- 5th grade- asked if I was pregnant yesterday! I'm only 9 weeks and don't want to tell for at least another month but this is #3 and it's getting hard to disguise. Especially after lunch- it's ridiculous.

createmagic14 · October 2017

I started "showing" so early this time... I'm at least 7 weeks ahead size - wise than I was with my first. Another teacher guessed it (but didn't say anything until i told her), but she's known me since I was 17, and I am typically in really good shape, so between that and the sea - bands... some of my 7th graders have been whispering, but none have said anything aloud to me. I've also known them since 5th grade (all students take my class every year 5-7th grade for one term per year) so I'm just biding my time at this point.

ivyvines6 · October 2017

fragile_capricorn said:

Hi! I hope my kind of teaching counts, lol. I'm a proud teacher of 14 toddlers aged 2 at an education based daycare center! The best part is that my 2 year old DD gets to come with. My room holds 28 total, so between me and 3 other teachers (7:1 ratio) I thankfully can take multiple bathroom breaks as needed. The hardest part has been the nausea at work, though, especially if I'm serving lunch that day and it's something that my stomach doesn't quite agree with! I've already told all my coworkers and boss about the pregnancy, we're like a big family so it felt natural to spill the beans right away.

I've worked in a daycare before. The best thing anyone ever said to me about validating preschool teachers is "I don't remember half the shit I learned in middle and high school but I never forgot how to wash my hands and use the toilet." Food for thought

crazyliblady · October 2017

Can I play? Or do the librarians need to get their own thread? As a public children's librarian, my busiest time BY FAR is summer, so the timing will be tricky. Right now the worst part is that I am teaching a cooking series, and it is so hard just do my job. I try to be cheerful, but not during the classes. I've told my co-workers because the building is small and the sound of retching is impossible to hide.

kkarik · October 2017

Middle school music teacher here. We get 75 paid school days after using 5 short term days. My due date is only 3-4 weeks before the end of school, so I'll definetly be within that time, even if I go out early.

The hormones are real. It's getting so hard to sensor my thoughts from the kids and stay upbeat and positive. Add the nausea to that and it's no fun. Such a hard secret to keep.

beckles112 · October 2017

I teach high school Spanish and English. My kids already know. I have HG again so they've been through this with me before and guessed it immediately. My due date is at the perfect time - five days after the last day of school! Of course, doesn't mean baby will wait till then. I carried my first 12 days past my due date so I'm not holding my breath on going early. Haha!

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