At least someone respects the work that teachers do

I agree that teachers are just workers like anyone else.

OTOH they are vilified more than about anyone else except for police.

As a teacher I'm not expecting any kind of recognition, just please don't vilify me. OK?

 

Baloney. Teachers are more vilified than lawyers? Politicians? Postal employees? Used car salesmen? My experience as a police officer for thirty years is individuals receive the respect they earn. The profession as a whole receives the respect earned by a minority of misfits.

My children had some good teachers. Unfortunately, the teacher who told my daughter in the second grade that she didn't like my daughter and nothing my daughter could do would change that and the teacher who told my son the holocaust never happened--backed by a principal with a smarmy lecture on academic freedom--set the reputation.

The bad cops, politicians, postal employees, used car salesmen, and teachers set the reputation for the profession. That's the way it works and when the bad police officers or teachers are protected it just makes it worse.

 

That's because people who lived on Long Island insisted on have every service available to them; Their own school districts, fire districts, sewer/water department, sanitation, parks department, fancy buildings, libraries, etc.

Instead of consolidating various public services including school districts, fire districts and Police agencies, both sides fought on against the obvious and now have high taxes.

 

I had electricians come to the house to do wiring in the basemant this past winter.

When it came time for the AC to be turned on, guess what? It didn't work.

Clalled the AC techs. they said there was no power to the AC. the electricians somehow disconnected it.

I called the electricians back out to hook up the AC. Guess what, they disconnected the dining room light in the process.

That cost me $106 and 2 days pay ( I had to take off two days).

Electricians should be vilified.

and don't get me started on parents and students who all deserve to be vilified.

 

Perhaps because it is tiny and a union in Norway is not the same thing as a union here...

 

You have the power to shop for quality electricians and demand contracts and guarantees. There are many electricians out there hungry for work. As a consumer, when you get a bad deal, you have to consider whether you took the steps to hire the right person for the job. When it comes to education and policing, one can only get service from government monopolies. The receive of the police or education services is not the consumer because he is not paying for it and has no choice as to the provider. A private citizen given bad education or bad policing can't fire the education or police provider, his only recourse is to try to make his miniscule voice heard.

 

What does tiny have to do with it? And can you state, explicitly, how a union functions fundamentally different in Norway than America?

Also, the teaching profession is universally respected in Norway. Do you think the fact that individuals who go through the grueling process of become a licensed educator receive acknowledgment for those efforts has any influence on their educational system?

 

Amen to that. Colleges need to stop teaching liberal arts. College is for turning out useful people - doctors, engineers, architects and the like. People that can do something.

 

This post is just plain stupid. I was the President of the 1 Class at a Time program for two years and worked with a lot of educators. The work they do is harder than people realize, they have to get an upper grad education, student loans, bs from parents who blame them for their kids poor grades while using tv or video games or the internet as baby-sitters, teachers who had to pay out of their own pockets for photocopies (they inevitebly exceed their quotas), many have to deal with gangs and real threats of violence, and worst of all, trying to be creative and inspiring is impossible under that POS No Child Left Behind.
I never realized what they went through until then. So although I am generally "anti-union", direct experience has given me an appreciation for teachers that makes me hope they earn much more than they do now.

And um no. The description by the other poster is not common to every education administration position in the public sector and zero in the private sector (except for teachers at private schools).

 

Norway comprises less sq miles and has a population of less than 5 million. We have 4 times as many illegal aliens as they do people. There is no comparison of the two.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Eliminate teachers from public schools. Each classroom gets a proctor to maintain order and they do their schooling on line. Children who excel and get the grades earn the opportunity to go to a charter school with live teachers. The kids and parents who actually care get a better education, those who don't care, do not.

 

Jeez, that's kinda brutal. Any idea how many hugely successful people came out of dysfunctional homes? Succeeded with the help of teachers in spite of their parents?

I was inspired by one of my teachers. Bruce Smith. 9th grade English. Talked me into joining the Speech & Debate Club. I went tri-state my first year and the impact that had on my confidence and self-esteem was permanent. Thank you Bruce Smith.

 

Does anyone else get a "Liberace with a size 14 neck" vibe from NoParty's avatar?

 

Oh and I forgot the other reason why Long Islands taxes are so high, we get treated like upstate NY's own personal ATM machine.

 

LOL! Well, if nothing else, it's flattering to know you're checking me out - sorry I'm married - I left my flannel shirt with the cut off sleeves at home that night. The lovely wife is kinda picky about wearing Gomer clothes when we go to La Reve or Phantom of whatever the hell it was that night...

So this has got to be the single most intelligent and on topic post I've seen you come up with in a while! Good job!

 

I'm with you on this one, but it is the union supporting the teachers that sell education like its a magic wand that leads to prosperity. All it does is leads to more money spent to perfect interviewing processes to weed through all of the blank minds with degrees.

 

I love teachers so much that I am willing to spend money to send my kid to a private school, after I pay taxes so your leaches can go to school. Its amazing the difference in schools when one walks through a typical public school, and a private school.

 

When we moved here from Texas, I found out that several of the high schools are "trade schools". This is not the old version. They have focuses in all kinds of non-blue-collar occupations, as well. They can be applicable immediately after graduation and in most of the schools, the kids can start earning college credits their sophomore year and end up with an associates degree in computer or electrical engineering, or a trade certificate in plumbing etc.. at or near graduation. I think this is a good idea! Our daughter doesn't go to one because she has a few things going for her (like an eighty mph forehand in tennis at age 14!) that will make college a lot more viable. But even at her school, a couple of her AP classes will begin counting toward nationally accredited college units.
I have been greatly influenced by the more rational Tea Partiers and Libertarians here, (obviously not the "You must agree with us on EVERYTHING and adore all of our cnadidates!" types) when it comes to getting rid or greatly reducing the role of the Fed in education and NCLB certainly shows it can lead to more harm than good.
I'd like to see more states with programs like they have here. Actually, I think this might be a good post...

 

Size has everything to do with it and comparing Norway's school system to the USA's is like comparing Mayberry's schools with NYC....

There is no 'grueling process' to become an educator in the USA...

 

Really? I spent over 2,500 hours in the classroom before I ever got my own, in addition to 4 years of pedagogical instruction. In order to progress to the most highly regarded classification of teacher, I have to complete my Master's of ED, amongst other things.

 

I got my degree in Education...mostly because it did not require a language. The field hardly has a reputation for rigorous academic standards.