Congratulations to the teachers of West Virginia. I trust that you recongnized the power of banding together for a common cause that will affect your life and lives of your students on a positive basis. There is no greater vocation than teaching, in my opinion, and you need to force changes that provide a better education for all students.
In addition to teaching, it's critical that more teachers run for political office. And forget about the Republican Party. They have forgotten you and the majority of citizens in the USA. Want change? Fight for it just like you did in your strike.
10
Good for them getting 5%. And in doing so they shone the light of shame on WV's legislature and their 1% raises, while raising teachers' healthcare costs higher than their raises, making it an effective pay cut. Plaudits to the outstanding NYT for its reporting on this important matter. The New York Times is a guardian of our democracy. Protect it, support it. Without it elected officials, civil servants like police and judges and others who are paid with our tax dollars would be unchecked in their abilities to abuse their powers, embezzle funds, and much worse; while corporations would be free to pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we are entitled to,and sell us unsafe food in poison leaching containers (BPA laced containers anyone?) and defraud the public, with much less fear of being exposed.
12
Not only were they trying to raise the healthcare costs, I read they were computing each person’s payments based upon the money they were making each year-including money they made at second and third jobs they had to take in order to make ends meet. I often wonder how legislators like that can look at themselves in the mirror.
12
All state employees (teachers, school service personal, state troopers, correctional officers, DHHR and DOH employees, etc.) receive health insurance through the WV Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA). The premiums are tiered based on income. In the past, tiers were based solely on the employee’s income from the state job. One of the changes to PEIA that was so upsetting was the income tiers would include total family income, which meant income from second jobs and spouse’s income would also be included. There is an independent board that oversees PEIA and has run it very poorly in recent years. This board was responsible for the changes in premium calculations. All changes to PEIA have been put on hold for the next 16 months to allow for a new taskforce to find ways to “fix” PEIA. Besides a raise, “fixing” PEIA is the other main issue WV teachers were fighting for—not just for our benefit but for the benefit of all state employees.
5
What amazes is...that the state employees because of their numbers should have leverage in negotiating rates that are much better then what they are getting. Indeed, PEIA sounds like they are doing a lousy job of it. Thye probably need to try to organize a risk pool organization that can negotiate with carriers for better rates. Please benchmark states in the Northeast that have these organizations in trying to get employees the best deal they can.
1
even catholic schools are hurting the rising cost of medical insurance keeps rising young women do not wish to enter teaching orders only the wealthy can send the kids to catholic school
3
Don't forget to add that after the Chicago Teachers' strike in 2012, 50 schools were closed. The moratorium on school closures is ending this year so expect more closures. I'd like to ask teachers why is your pension fund invested in the stock market, as well as hedge funds, derivatives, and private equity? You guys hate billionaires, yet you continue to keep Wall Street in business.
4
Teachers dont uniformly hate billionaires. what's the difference between you saying that and somebody else saying that all Muslims hate Jews are all Jews hate Muslims? it's convenient for you to make such a generalization to make your point, but really such generalizations are nonsense and at worst are dangerous and used by the worst among us to advance sham agendas. And what are you proposing, that they stuff their pensions in their mattresses? Aren't teachers entitled to a retirement, after the pittance they are paid to teach our children, in a dangerous environment? What is the point you are trying to advance here, other than trying to brand all teachers as hypocrites, based on your false statement that they all hate billionaires?
4
It is a real issue. Every time the market goes down the teachers pension fund loses big. Those billionaires get so greedy. They want it all! Some people don’t even realize that us teachers PAY into those pension funds, so when those pension funds run out of money it is because Wall Street took it. Yes, I do hate them for that.
2
I don’t know about your state, but in my state there is one teacher, one police officer, one firefighter, and one state worker on the board along with a whole gang of other people that are appointed by the legislature. They are the ones who make the decisions about where all of our pensions are invested. Kindly stop blaming teachers for all the horrendous decisions that are made about anything having to do with our jobs. We don’t get much of a voice, if any.
5
I hope that the news side's understanding that we public school teachers are the front line for all kinds of domestic upheaval - from drug addiction to mass incarceration, including increased inequality, structural racism, and anti-immigrant fervor - will encourage reflection on the editorial side. Too often, the Times takes the view that teachers are the cause for all education's ills, and that the only people who can solve the crisis are the wealthy and powerful who have triumphed in exacerbating inequity through their self-enriching, public-sector denying policy preferences.
19
I don't know what New York Times you're reading but that's not the reporting that I read. Have you seen the editorials and opinions about Betsy DeVos? Just to name one. It sounds like you bring a bias against the Times that is not based in reality.
1
Pro tech-start-up monetization, article after article, never digging into the structures that make education so difficult, not looking into the powerful forces behind education privatization, etc. Yes, we know what issues the Times ignores, teachers know.
6
The Times' editorial staff strongly supports charter schools, despite the lack of evidence that they provide a superior education (and despite the strong evidence indicating charter schools negatively impact funding for the neediest public schools). They regularly opine on the need for test-based teacher evaluation systems and strongly support ending teachers' due process rights. In general, they have supported education reform and education reformers, even when those reforms and reformers have had disastrous consequences.
Not supporting Betsy DeVos and her privatization schemes does not excuse the longstanding biases of the editorial board.
3
Love this article. If you haven't read the author's book, "Teacher Wars," I highly recommend it. Ms. Goldstein really understands the U.S. educational system and its history.
5
One of the biggest problems facing teachers are the "english language learners" yet the people who claim to support higher teachers' salaries are the same people who want no limits on immigration.
5
No, one of the biggest challenges facing teachers are hateful old commentators who forget that we are a nation of immigrants.
6
Without question, teachers are the most underpaid and underappreciated workers in the U.S. and it's not even close. Outside of wealthy enclaves like Westchester and Fairfield County, teaching is bottom feeder work with too many hours and not enough respect and pay.
18
It’s a shame that they received only 5%. They deserved so much more.
22
The strike is continuing. The issue of health care costs was not addressed. The teachers were asking for a reasonable cost of living increase AND attendant health care costs.
2
It has been conveyed to me often that “anyone can teach.” So if teaching is that easy, why not add marksmanship and other things and pay less than a living wage for the privilege of doing such a low level job.
And when I would hear complaints that teachers don’t care and have it easy, I regularly respond “You’re right! What we need are dedicated people like you teaching in our school. Will you become a teacher?”
Not one person ever took me up on the offer.
17
No--because I don't want to get into massive student loan debt for an education degree, and then find out that no District is hiring due to budget cuts. I also don't want to work for a pension for 30 years and then discover that the pension fund (like CalSTRS) is completely insolvent.
5
Hey West Va.: stop supporting the Ryan, McConnell, Trump agenda. Your opioid clinics will close, your Medicaid will be gone. You think that group cares about you? Get back on the side of unions. No Republican ever did a darned thing for the state of West Virginia.
40
I lasted 5 years as a HS teacher, and those years were non-consecutive. The environment was punishing. Many days you'd be lucky to get a bathroom break before 2:30 pm, you had to deal with conflict daily, you had at least a couple of nutty parents to deal with each semester, and you were expected to act as a social worker, nurse, prison guard, and entertainer. But all of that was manageable - it's the never-ending piling on of more duties: more administrative duties, learning new technology, more library duties, various school support duties, teaching in multiple subject areas, show up for more training earlier each year, prove you are worth a bonus by collecting data about "school improvement," and, of course, bigger classes. In AZ, there is little chance of change because our (older, whiter) voters don't want to pay for "someone else's kid." Over half of the teachers I trained with three years ago have left teaching already.
40
Notice Governor Justice said he'd be making "additional cuts" to compensate for the increased wages. The people of West Virginia might want to look into that... Republicans foam at the mouth at the very thought of austerity measures.
8
It is worthwhile in this discussion to look at how the world values teachers.
In China teachers are not highly paid but their social status is high. China is the only country where teachers are considered as highly skilled as doctors.
In Singapore, Finland and South Korea teachers have high status, are paid well, and much professional development goes behind them.
The 4 countries that have the highest paid teachers are Luxembourg, Swzerland,Germany, and South Korea.
Status, respect, compensation , and emphasis on continuing education for teachers are the keys to teacher retention and high quality education .
In the richest country in the world there is no justification for not paying teachers well. A country that gives high status and million dollar salaries to movie celebrities, sports players and company CEO's will result in undereducated, less skilled and poorer citizens. We are there already.
27
Please--STOP with the Finland stuff. No union teacher would like it there because in Europe they use "cash balance" pension plans that are less generous than the traditional db pensions that are bankrupting school districts in the USA.
1
You honestly think union teachers care more about their pensions than they care about their students, working conditions, and respect society owes them as professionals? Show some class!
5
I am appalled and saddened that these teachers had to take to the streets to get a small raise to help them earn what is not even a living wage for all they do. Why is this noble profession, with teachers who have literally laid down their lives for students, so demeaned? Every politician has an opinion on what is needed in education and paying teachers a living wage is never a part of the equation. Proposing to base teacher pay on student achievement is insulting when so much of what they do for kids cannot be measured. I am sickened by politicians who send their own kids to elite private schools and care nothing about educating others. Investing in education should be the first priority, not the last, for state and federal governments. Getting rid of the appalling inequality of school funding dependent on local property taxes should be another priority. Educating our children is the only way we can help to ensure that our country and our world will be left in safe and capable hands. Shame on the West Virginia legislators and shame on this country.
26
As long as it costs $120,000 to educate a kid from K-12, the tests will continue. And education is a first priority--in Calif. Prop. 98 ensures that HALF of the state budget goes to education. If that's not enough, then I don't know what is.
3
Thank you for your insightful comment. Public education used to be the backbone of democracy.
4
People with this argument never seem to question the defense budget. Why would that be? Do wars get standardized tests? I’m not sure they do. Do soldiers get blamed for seeing action? Listen to yourself!
4
I admire Ms Hillard and her commitment to her students and her state. She could earn an additional $19,000 if she just opted to drive 10 miles in Maryland but she chooses to stay in WV and teach in the place she grew up.
It seems that Republicans gave up on values such as honesty, dignity, respect and humility ever since they latched on to the teachings of Milton Friedman and came to believe that nothing is more important than turning a profit and cutting taxes.
Hillard demonstrates that there is value in working to better the lives of others and in providing service to her community even if she is paid less. We need more of that. Give her a raise.
46
Solution : vote Democrat across the board. So many societal ills will be solved
21
This is the sucking sound of having removed mothers from children's lives on a widespread basis.
Yes, a gifted parent can work full time and still communicate their stable love to their offspring. Mostly these parents KNOW that their kids are bearing a burden due to the separation, and they consciously make up for this with a second shift of togetherness in evening and weekend times. But not everyone is this gifted. Quantity time helps the less-gifted become good-enough parents.
Teachers have been blamed for the problems of under-parented kids for a long time... and now they are literally on the front lines of the crisis.
We have to make positive parenting practices widespread if we are to have peaceful schools and a functional society.
19
Nice to see teachers win one. Especially in a state like WV.
20
The West Virginia Teachers' Strike is teaching the most important lesson their students will ever learn: stand up for each other, and for justice -- never accept anything less.
34
As a speech pathologist and teacher mentor in the Boston Public Schools, allow me to dispel the notion that this profile of overburdened teachers reflects red states only. This is the story of those caught up in the cycle of poverty.
In my 31 year career, I met very few parents who didn’t care. Most were trying their best. One mother neglected to treat her ear infection in order to buy medication for her child. Many worked two jobs but remained among the working poor, as politicians discussed whether or not to raise the minimum wage a dollar or two. Some were fighting mental illness. Most were victims of poverty themselves.
We teachers did our very best. One of my students shared a winter coat with her brother who went to another school. She wore a sweater on cold New England winter days when it was not “her turn.” We bought her a coat. I could go on and on.
I supervised a group of well-intentioned middle class adult mentors who devoted one hour per week to our students. Many of these, just as many Times commenters, thought that their intervention could turn things around, that the teachers simply weren’t trying hard enough. After two months in one to one contact with the children’s intractable problems, they exprressed nothing but admiration for us.
What are the solutions? Please, we know very well what they are! Economic equality had better be a highlight of this coming campaign, along with proper funding of our schools.
Let the military hold the bake sales!!
72
a) Exempt Teachers from Taxes - they are raising your children.
b) Give Elementary Teachers more time to prepare for classes during the day.
c) Eliminate getting out of school early to play sports.
d) Junior High and High School Teachers should teach 4 classes per day.
e) Bring back Discipline.
After all your Retirement years are in the hands of your children
and grandchildren.
29
5% of almost nothing isn’t much. Our priorities are in the wrong places. Teachers shouldn’t have to scuffle to make ends meet.
14
Too many parents today insist on teachers to make good citizens out of their kids, as opposed to a responsible parent doing his or her duty to properly rear a child. Teaching has turned into glorified babysitting and parents are making unreasonable demands on the education system to turn a dysfunctional child into a good kid, when the real problem is dysfunctional parents. All too often the real problems start at home. But don't dare suggest to parents "perhaps there's a problem at home." They will respond with much disdain over the suggestion that perhaps, just perhaps their parenting skills are sub-standard.
15
Indeed,
Our society has always been about blaming the other guy. Rarely, in the media or other places do we apologize or take responsibility.
Electing Trump only reinforces that.
Where have all the values gone?
We have met the enemy and he is us.
3
I had two careers, the first in teaching for 20 years, the second in business for 20 years. The one I miss, and returned to after retirement was...teaching. I missed my colleagues, the students, the mission of helping someone achieve their dreams.
I was committed to improving our salaries and benefits as the head of the collective bargaining committee. Fortunately, during those days when community college education was free for California students, education was well funded and supported. When the Repubicans eventually conned the people into reducing real estate taxes, everything slowly tumbled downwards.
The USA is in decline partly because of the focus on big business, making constant war, and a Republican Party led by people like Trump, Tilleson, and McConnell. Without unions to represent the workers of America, this country has evolved into the top 20% owning 80% of the wealth.
It's time to go back to the basics and make education and retraining a main focus of all state and federal government funding.
37
Around 1918, in the State of Montana where my grandmother was a public school teacher, the state was reeling from the flu epidemic. A higher-up (maybe even the governor?) decreed that, due to the flu emergency, teachers would switch hats and staff overwhelmed hospitals. Obviously, they had neither training nor desire for nursing work. My grandmother got out of it, by fibbing that her mom was sick. I think of this story whenever I hear criticism of teacher's (or really, any public) union.
9
Teachers are among the noblest professions (a calling, really), aside from nursers. And in charge to developed the best a country can hope to have, human talent. So, why aren't they paid accordingly? Why a politician, who hardly works half days, and get's paid several times a teacher's salary, remains so stingy and petty and cruel in ignoring teacher's plea? Hypocrisy seems in abundant supply in politician's hands. Teacher's strike seems of the essence to be heard, and to right the injustice.
16
I have long worked in academe, at institutions with strong, large teacher education programs. What I've noticed is that many teachers quit within their first 1-3 years in the profession. People are attracted to teaching, often because they had a wonderful teacher, and feel strongly that they would love to help young people grow and develop. But after they run smack into just how difficult the job is, with all the new, additional responsibilities, they can't bear it - especially for the very low salaries offered. Rich folks often don't worry about this - they send their kids to private schools, which pay more and offer better teacher support, and often don't have to deal with the problems caused by student poverty. But everyone else? Vast numbers of teachers don't last in the profession, and yet everyone talks about how much they value children. Prove it - pay those who teach them, care for them, etc. Oh, and by the way - I have no children of my own, but I don't object at all to paying taxes for public schools, etc. I don't blame WV teachers for striking - what surprises me is that they have not done so before now.
31
Private schools are no prize as far as salary goes. What they are is much safer and focused because parents expect a lot from their children and will spare no expense or time to see that they succeed. Their involvement is total and they invest and/or raise large sums to see that schools can provide all the teaching and extra-curricular activities they think will make their children successful at life. Think about that for a minute. Only wealthy people have the money and power to school a well rounded child. The rest of us hope our kids will be able to get a job.
6
There's a good case to be made that the entire country needs to make education more of a priority. I have young colleagues who can't write a grammatically correct sentence, analyze information or think through a problem. The kids in Parkland are a strong argument for better education. They've had great facilities, dedicated teachers and involved parents, and they're changing the nation. Imagine what the U.S. could achieve if all children had access to quality education.
28
A former teacher of my son's is now teaching in a school where nearly all students live below the poverty line. I know first-hand she's a gifted teacher - but she is by herself with nearly 30 children in one room, with 20% special needs (with no in-class assistant at all), 20% ESL, 50% testing in the teens in math, and only one student in the class at grade level in math. With the mandated curriculum, she can only teach about 40 minutes of math a day to this population in crisis (an hour less class-to-class move time). Most of their parents are working, but they make poverty level wages, and with employee hours allocation software bouncing them around, they don't see their families often enough.
Today, CEOs make 300 times what an entry level worker makes, compared to 30 times 30 years ago - property taxes fund schools in wealthier towns with more money, so a classroom with special needs children in our town has assistants to help, instead of just a 2 hour pullout. It's not a fair shake, and everyone knows it.
This teacher wants her students for more hours a day - she wants to include parents in after school education programs so that, when they learn, they'll understand better how to support their kids in school - she wants more curriculum time for math and reading. She's knocking herself out every day trying to make things different for her kids.
We've robbed these communities for many years - we need to rebuild them by financially equipping schools to repair the damage.
24
(1) We always hear hiw it is about the kids...that teaching is a vocation...that they love our kid's almost as much as we parents do. Bunk. Without the salary they are not showing up. It is a job that they do because they are paid. The rest is mythology.
(2) Stop whining. If it is too much, get another job. That is what everybody else does. At thus point nobody enters that profession blind to the reality. Shows you how compelling the real benefits of the profession are. It is not all salt & vinegar. There is some augar there as well.
3
Actually, teachers do go into the profession and stay in it “ because of the kids.” Obviously you do not know any teachers or you would realize the “ contractual hours” are the tip of the iceberg. Unlike other professionals, teachers do not have teams that create their lessons or presentations. Unlike theater, teachers are the playwrights, producers, directors, actors, and pit band. They work with troubled children, neglected children, depressed and anxious children, hungry children, frightened children, and, yes, gifted children. They balance teaching with nurturing. They are social workers, disciplinarians, parents in situ, therapists, entertainers, and they are paid a fraction of their worth. Don’t knock teachers until you’ve stood in their shoes.
10
Teachers have to eat and feed their families. Those who find that the economic hardship isn’t tenable leave and take other, better paying jobs. Some of my former teachers are now pharmaceutical reps, retail managers, or accountants because the pay is so much better. The rest rely on their spouse’s income or second jobs to help support their families.
People leaving the job because it requires such a financial sacrifice is a large part of why the state has 700 vacant teaching positions, and is part of why this strike was so effective. The basic capitalist principles of supply and demand say that if teaching was in fact as cushy as you believe it is, there would be a surplus of teachers available and the low wages would be justified because they would be easily replaceable.
As it is, there is an inadequate supply of teachers to meet demand. This means teachers can charge more for the service they provide by demanding a higher, more competitive salary. If they’d all just crossed the nearest border for work instead, they’d be making more money, which would be the logical selfish choice for a salary-driven professional. However, those who feel they have a responsibility to their hometowns and to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds that many of the teachers are personally familiar with will stay in spite of the $8000 salary deficit. If it wasn’t about the kids, they certainly wouldn’t be sticking around, because it doesn’t make economic sense.
14
I never said it was cushy. Bit most people ALSO don't have cushy existences. Teaching is not the only difficult and underpaid profession. I am not in a salary-driven profession. I am self-employed. No guaranteed paycheck. No health insurance. No paid vacation and sick leave. In fact, no vacation. No complaints...because I chose the pursuit.
1
Why would a state government that only answers to the rich care about teachers? Their donors don’t send their kids to their schools.
We should abolish private schools and mandate even distribution of education funding from wealthier areas to poorer areas. If a billionaire knew the only option for their child was the same quality school as available to the poorest kid, they’d find the money for schools real quick.
14
Warren Buffet has always maintained that if the US abolished private schools we’d have the best public schools in the world!
2
Gee it's funny that they always seem to go on strike during the school year but never ever on spring or summer break. Same with bus drivers too. Funny how that always happens.
Word to the idiots in charge: Pay these teachers what they're worth.
3
How are you supposed to go on strike and not show up for work on days when the business is closed?? Funny how you didn’t think that one through...
6
Three cheers for teachers! No matter what they’re paid they’re not paid enough.
12
Meanwhile China is signing MOUs with WV officials for natural gas reserves. While everyone is distracted by the current crisis, foreign powers make claims for US natural resources. Is anyone paying attention??????
3
I’m pretty sure China pays its teachers too, but good point.
As horrific as the problems in West Virginia are, they are no worse than those in upstate New York's small city school districts, yet Cuomo has consistently shorted the small cities in his budgets. My daughter is a teacher in a small city where 95 percent of her students qualify for free lunch. Fifty percent of the children in her class do not live with a parent - they are either with grandparents or in foster homes. Six of the 28 children in her third grade class live in homeless shelters. She is paid more than teachers in West Virginia, but has nowhere near the resources available in her school compared to all of the wealthier suburban school districts around her. Her students share textbooks, have little or no access to specialized services or remedial reading or math help, and no public/school transportation is provided for most of the kids to get to school. Every obstacle to success is in place. These children are being treated like third-class citizens - it's morally and ethically wrong.
51
The republican party is against education at every level, from cutting spending for public schools, supporting private school vouchers to create a separate but (not) equal educational system, minimizing teachers and their union to disparaging universities as "left wing." They've realized that their support is strongest among less educated people who can be swayed with nonsense such as trickle-down economics, those immigrants stole your job, reverse discrimination is hurting White Americans, if the police shoot and kill and unarmed Black man then he must've been up to something, and no "special" rights for gays.
84
Michael James please see LibertyNy comment above Cuomo is a Democrat.
Gee where to start with this set of liberal talking points:
1) School vouchers actually level the playing field regarding educational opportunity and income inequality. By providing all parents, regardless of income level the opportunity to choose which school is right for their child, everyone wins but the unions. As for the argument it weakens public schools, vouchers provide incentives for reform in the public sector since these schools must now compete for students. Only good can come from this.
2) The intolerance demonstrated at universities, primarily against speech and political views that do not toe the liberal agenda is mind-boggling. The left wing "free speech" advocates at universities yell FASCIST and threaten violence when someone has the audacity to actually provide an opinion the left disagrees with. Diversity is great so long as it's not diversity of thought...
3) Then there is the identity politics and the "Hand's Up, Don't Shoot" BLM mantra. Hmm. How about focusing on the fact that 97% of black men are killed by other black men? How about judging people by the quality of their character rather than the color of their skin? How about coming together to solve real problems in this country rather than dividing everyone up and focusing on nit non-issues like gender-neutral bathrooms.
Seriously, this is the problem with the left. Rather than focusing on real problems and workable solutions, they focus on fake "feel good" issues.
3
You rightwingers have had Reaganomics now since before I was born. Still not tricking down! Why would anyone believe these lies, from Trump, or anyone else?
2
I am a 13 year veteran teacher. I've worked in both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. If I could go back in time there is no way I would choose this career. Although it has been very rewarding at times, I know it has taken years off my life expectancy. The stress is enormous and the challenges too great. It's not the kids, it's the adults and the narrow-minded focus solely on standardized testing. I have decided to resign this June. I'll probably go back to the service industry, making less money, in order to stay sane and healthy. I feel sorry for the kids stuck in it. Furthermore, I know the system is a key contributor to the mass shootings.
96
JY...
I feel your pain....
Public Education has been so disrespected by the politicians because it is a convenient whipping boy for the society's ills.
Many bought into the defunding of public education and believe that they squeeze blood from a stone. No one wants to take responsibility for the degradation of our schools
We have met the enemy and he/she is us.
5
Amen. It’s not the kids, it’s the adults! I still work in the service industry as well as teach btw. Student loans kill you financially. Any haters out there? I worked full time the entire time I was in college too. Something has to change!
6
Please let us know who and where we can ship clothing and gifts to for needy students in West Virginia schools. You mentioned one school in the article but I imagine there are many schools in the state that would appreciate care boxes for their students.
53
Hugh Dingess Elementary
RR 1 Box 607
Harts, WV. 25524
120 PreK-4th students, all under poverty level.
3
AM Lehman. For an update, please check the gofundme site. Money is being used for medical expenses, food, daycare, utility bills. NO money is being used for administrative costs to distribute the maximum grant of $500.
Thanks.
2
I volunteer to teach art in the after school program in a very low income school in Charleston, where social workers have identified 88 children who do not get enough food on the weekends. The school administration has enough money to make up bags of food and send home each Friday with only 20 children, so each week they rotate who gets the food. The school is Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School,
9
The only for sure loser the tax payers. If you don't like a job that gives you full benefits a pension and 3 months vacation quit. There are plenty of applicants that is called reality. Public unions that rely on taxes have no right to strike.
5
The typical teacher:
1) contributes to their own benefits
2) Pays into their own retirement 403(b) with varying state matching
3) Is contracted for a 9-month educational year and unemployed for the other 3 months.
Some vacation, wouldn't you say?
3
Evidence that there are lots of applicants? Read here:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/09/18/where-hav...
5
“Full pension” is silly. Pensions are based on percentage of salary times years of service. Most people in low pay states like WV end up with about half of the salary as a pension, if they work 30 years or more.
Teachers are only paid for time they work. So they are basically unemployed during the summer, which is more like two months than three.
9
I was educated by women who took a vow of poverty-the Sisters of St Joseph. Some of them were better teachers than others, but several were truly life-changers, and continue to shine in retrospect. All things considered, it was a very good education (not in the hands of the priests, you might say). As the lead-in to this article--about Chicago and the first teachers' union--suggested, and as the situation in WV today reminds us, this is work that American politicians still deem worthy of as little funding as possible. And too many citizens, many of us affluent, agree with them--we'd rather have $500 more to pay private school tuition with than quality education in our local schools. When a family needs two parents working more than two jobs to make ends meet, there's not much time or energy left to do homework with the children, or to nurture their curiosity or learning in other ways. When the culture around us so disparages learning and academic achievement, teachers, who end up being the only ones regularly working to get our children educated, end up with little respect *and* lower salaries and benefits. Eventually, those teachers who can earn a better living elsewhere will have to consider doing so. After all, that's how the all-wise "market" works, right?
53
Women's work, which includes most teachers, nurses/caregivers, administrative assistants (formally known as secretaries) and librarians are under appreciated and unfairly compensated. Women must demand fair and equal wages. As well as safer workplaces. Think of what the world would be like without them?
50
Nurses generally are paid better than teachers in the last several years.
1
Read the story of Richard Ojeda. A West Virginian who is running for the 3rd Congressional district this November. If Mr. Ojeda can win his district I am sure that these teachers will have a friend and ally in the House of Representatives. And they sure are in need of as many as they can get.
20
When you read this article, it doesn't sound like you are reading about United States of America, but some third-world impoverished place with godforsaken population. This is sooo pathetic. Not much what teachers can do when you have rot in societal fiber. This rot not only pertains to a huge percentage of population being drug addicts, but also to football players getting paid orders of magnitude more than teachers. The values and common sense are not this nation's forte.
65
Amen
2
this is the opportunity to show America and possibly the world, it takes a village.! this is the opportunity that an individual reaches out and picks up the slack of another and hopefully it moves forward that many individuals become teams and delegate responsibilities with one another. Volunteering to help out the whole community and then the whole state.
I am listening to the Daily podcast where they have a new program called the change where one individual changes another individuals life for the better.
For those of us who read the New York Times and listen to their podcast we need to go out and be proactive from their inspirations.
For the last 4 months a neighbor neglects their dog I offered to walk their dog for free. On a daily basis. I profit by getting me out and talking and meeting other neighbors and of course I get exercise and fresh air! and I'm learning the troubles and travails and positive things going on with people that live right in my own backyard area... I can discern which things I can volunteer to help with to even be in a century when I walk at night with my own dog and observe if anyone's breaking into the park cars because it's becoming epidemic in our area is known as speed row... meaning they're taking speed as a drug, and driving their cars while intoxicated and speeding... And breaking into cars to find anything they can sell for more drugs
7
The teachers and their students should vote!
13
I really feel for teachers--they're asked to shoulder responsibilities that really should be on the parents of the children they're teaching. It seems over the past 15 years, increasing numbers of parents are asking (and expecting) teachers to raise their children for them. It seems completely overwhelming and frankly, not in their job description. Parents should address issues such as racial inequality, gun violence, suicides, diseases, etc. with their children. These issues, of course, will inevitably be brought up in the classroom but it shouldn't be the teachers' and schools' main responsibility. Schools and teachers are there to teach children fundamental aspects of math, science, reading, etc. Teachers can't be and shouldn't be relied to provide all of the emotional support and disciplinary action that kids needs from their parents.
There really is no easy solution. I hope the teachers get their 5% raise but it really doesn't seem enough. Money won't solve the problems that teachers have to put up with but at least it can raise their quality of life slightly so they can continue to put up with their jobs.
66
In the same respect police are tasked with being the social workers on the spot. An impossible task. But that's what ineffective and incompetent government have done with their constant decline of support for our front line professionals.
22
Not ineffective govt. but how many jobs give you a tax free pension and the entire summer off including all mid term breaks winter / summer? Anyone serving the public should be forbidden from striking. Funny they never strike during their summer breaks.
It is not a decline in "Government", it is deliberate defunding of governmental activity by Republican Legislators, put in place through various means by the Rich Folks who don't want to pay taxes.
3
West Virginia supported Mr. Trump to the hilt.
Now more coal mine related black lung diseases are showing up in younger miners.
West Virginian teachers are striking for cost of living wages.
And health care insurance is a distant fable.
Poverty reigns and heroin is king.
Good thing we have the republican tax plan and tariffs to help the people of west Virginia, rather than a woman president concerned with healthcare.
121
Indeed. The policies President Trump supports hurts the very students described in this article. Not enough money for schools. Not enough money for healthcare for miners. But enough money for tax cuts for the wealthy.
41
Blaming black lung on Trump is off base. What next? The Chicago Fire, the Floods? Toads from the sky?
1
Well, when you support elimination of safety rules regarding mining coal, yes you can be blamed.
2
How can this piece not go further into the social benefits that the teachers are being stripped of? The salary component and increases is paltry compared to the health insurance they are being stripped of, and the indignity they are being put through.
The article also fails to go further into why the state is “poor”, while being handsomely rich in natural resources. The health insurance and wage increases for the teachers, public workers and public services could be expanded if they didn’t slash taxes to large energy companies.
95
This. Exactly this. They are striking against increases in health insurance premiums and deductibles matched with reductions in coverage that can bankrupt an *insured* family. Meanwhile West Virginia, like other states and the Congress, give more and more tax cuts for wealthy and corporations. Stealing from public workers to pay for it. *This* is the fight.
12
Jubilee, are you a teacher? If not, then I'll make this case - one of the biggest problems in today's classrooms is a generation of learners, who are so obsessed with their cell phones and social media, that it has become another dangerous epidemic. Add onto that issue, ADHD, mental illness, which if my students do not take their medication become violent, students who have never made a decision, or know how to prioritize their classes, etc. and so forth...
22
Perhaps it's time to admit that we don't really care about our children.
Let's just be upfront that they are only status symbols, or something we create because our parents or society told us to do so. Only with simple honesty we can open a window into effective approaches to a broad-based educational system for all Americans. If we can't be honest with ourselves, we will endure unending hypocrisy played out weekly in our national papers as children go uneducated and unprotected.
And tsk-tsk-tsk is all we will offer.
48
Great article, society (the tax payers) do not value what teachers do everyday. Its a shame and needs to change.
18
As a teacher, I have worked in well-funded and poorly funded districts. It is amazing the difference that money makes. People say it is not about the money, but there is so much that can be done when there are more resources and staff are paid better.
82
Look at the states with poorly paid teachers and you see a pattern, poor and republican.
135
Why do states continually shaft teachers? Because they can. I know, I was one. No nicer, more giving group of individuals exists. Anything for kids even if we have do it for free and pay for it out of our own pockets. We stay in an abusive relationship for the children, Rarely, but occasionally, a line is crossed and the accumulation of neglect and abuse produce a West Virginia style uprising. The public is shocked to learn that Mother Teresa has feelings and that she needs to eat and pay bills. The real shock is the realization that my own kids will be underfoot because teacher is on the picket line. So, good on ya'll, WV teachers...5% ain't enough but it's a good start!
138
Who among us does not credit at least one teacher with having a lasting, positive effect on our lives? There are three teachers who had a profound influence on my life and I thank them every day.
Students and gun control organizations are planning a nationwide "March for Our Lives" on March 24th. We must all take to the streets and DEMAND that guns are taken off the streets - and in schools, places of worship, parks and every other public place - right now. Readers can check the link below to find the march nearest you. Let's Do This!
https://marchforourlives.com/
75
Done! Signed up. Closest one is Savannah, GA. I'll be there and I'll be bringing my middle school son. Thanks for the call to action.
3
"On a teacher's salary" ought to automatically translate to "financially comfortable and secure" -- but, alas, with our misplaced priorities in this nation, it does not.
116
As the article relates - the average teacher in W. Va. earns significantly more that the average worker in W. Va. - all while getting the equivalent of three months off a year and a rare gold-plated pension.
6
Your pretty good with the arithmetic. See you soon in front of 30 plus hungry kids with junkie parents teaching your math skills and leaving your politics at the door? No, than maybe quit being jealous of a well earned pension. And yes medical and dental are expected as well.
33
Steve, if by “significantly more” you mean $2,615.
22
Tell ya what, from now on police officers will also empty street trash baskets and deliver mail. Plus their pay will be capped and health plan cut back. Also, they should pay for the gas for their patrol cars.
How would that feel? Ask a teacher.
208
The police in my Podunk, virtually no crime small town are the highest paid town workers. Well over 100k annually. As are the fire dept. employees.
Teachers, not so much.
40
Teachers' salaries are about 5-10 times more than what seniors receive from SS, even though they worked and paid for their benefits.
2
As someone receiving SS retirement I can tell you that is a lie.
19
Seniors get Medicaid and medicare; teachers pay 1/5th of their salary for healthcare. Teachers pay out of their own pockets to take care of other people's children, as well as for your SSI benefits. Those benefits will not be available for many of us when we need them.
If your old enough to collect SSI then your of a generation that didn't have to finance an education to do your job. I'm told there was once upon a time that college was affordable. There were plenty of good union jobs, apprenticeships and trade schools.
All that is gone for many of us. Even state colleges will now put you in a hole for 30K for a bachelor's degree, which is the equivalent of a high school diploma now.
I'm sure your housing situation is a whole lot more secure than mine; I can't afford to buy one and the rents are so high I will most likely have to move even farther from my job to be able to have a roof over my head.
I don't dismiss the plight of seniors but I don't think they understand (they take for granted) how much they got in the youth that no longer exists for their children and grandchildren.
42
If the teacher's salary is 46k, you're claiming SS is between $383 and $767 per month? That can't be right.
6
I really enjoyed the sign stating "if you can read this, thank a teacher."
Then is the corollary true:
"If you can't read this sign, blame a teacher."
Cause we got a bunch of kids who can't read in many the major cities across the USA.
Or is it "thank a teacher if you can read this sign, " but "blame the parents, Trump or the GOP, "if you can't read this sign?"
3
If you can't read it thank your city, county or state legislature.
It is blame everybody including some teachers if the students can't read. But the system does fail teachers too. Look at Flint, MIchigan as an example, all the teachers in the world can't reverse lead poisoning.
8
Unless the parents are handicapped in some way, if a child grows up not learning to read, a lot of the blame indeed goes to them, Jubilee. If that's because they have to work 3-4 jobs to make ends meet, i.e. have no time to spend with their kids, then all of us who don't do something about it share in the blame. Especially blameworthy are those in positions of influence who keep insisting that our magical "free market" will fix it all, if only we let those slide to the bottom who deserve to go, Yes, Paul Ryan & co. come to mind. So, in America today, you really need to try hard to be born on third base.
15
This started with the devaluation of public education starting with the Reagan administration's block granting of Federal money...teachers have been the whipping boys of society...instead of valuing public education it has been the whipping boy for all of society's ills. Thank you Republican Party...they think that a capitalist approach to public education with vouchers is the answer....no...the Chinese, the Indians are all building schools for the future. What are we doing?
100
The Democratic Party has been in control of West Virginia from the 19th century to the 2010. Republicans aren’t to blame...
2
The GOP has been in control for eight years and made no improvement.
15
And now they have made it better right? Stop being delusional.