Good article - what teachers want to really tell parents

[LOLMum]

some teachers and schools understand that not all parents (regardless of wealth) would buy fun fair coupons or give a donation.


ds’s classmate has 2 other sibllings in the same school and no way the parents could afford to buy $600 worth of fun fair coupons or even fill up the charity walk cards etc. all these are returned without $ to school and none of the kids’ teachers made sarcastic remarks or asked them why returned without any $.

[pinky_j]

limlim:

Every job has it's tough part. teachers are paid what they are worth.. Just like any job, plus extra holidays like children's Day?

If you say that teachers are paid what we are worth, I feel sorry that you actually think that way.. As private tutors, I am sure their income can easily be more than those full time teachers minus CPF and some other minor benefits.. On top of that, we have loads of admin work and committee work that we do unlike tutors..

Also, by saying that, it just seems as though you are putting down those having jobs with low wages but yet very important in our daily lives.. No offense to anyone reading this..

If you are comparing the extra holidays that we get, it is not a lot more.. At more 5 to 6 extra days out of 365 days in a year?

No point trying to convince you that we deserve more recognition in our job.. Yes I do grumble at times, it's part of human nature, but I see the importance in carrying out my duties well and educate the future generation properly such that they develop good character and values which is also just as important as their academic achievement..

I sincerely hope that in time to come, you will understand where I am coming from..

[pinky_j]

LOLMum:

i know of 2 teachers who have to work when they were on maternity leave. schools were constantly calling them for assessment/test/school programmes discussions. both went back to school pretty often during leave to sort out details which couldnt be done over phone. also papers were sent to them for marking..

LOLMum, I was a victim myself earlier this year.. It just depends how understanding the head is.. ML suppose to rest but ended up doing work and preparing for presentation.. Oh well..

[LOLMum]

pinky_j:

LOLMum:

i know of 2 teachers who have to work when they were on maternity leave. schools were constantly calling them for assessment/test/school programmes discussions. both went back to school pretty often during leave to sort out details which couldnt be done over phone. also papers were sent to them for marking..

LOLMum, I was a victim myself earlier this year.. It just depends how understanding the head is.. ML suppose to rest but ended up doing work and preparing for presentation.. Oh well..

pinky_j, :rahrah:

my kid's school teacher tutor just left my house and she is planning to switch to part time teaching or be a full time private tutor (either on her own or join a language centre) next year. she is too tired and she is not even from a top branded or top neighbourhood school.

as i said in one of my posts on another thread, sometimes the cause of stress comes from the principal.

[limlim]

pinky_j:

limlim:

Every job has it's tough part. teachers are paid what they are worth.. Just like any job, plus extra holidays like children's Day?

If you say that teachers are paid what we are worth, I feel sorry that you actually think that way.. As private tutors, I am sure their income can easily be more than those full time teachers minus CPF and some other minor benefits.. On top of that, we have loads of admin work and committee work that we do unlike tutors..

ok, some clarifications..

When I say \"teachers are paid what they're worth\", please refer to the following context..

In earlier part of this thread, I hv pointed out that starting salary of teachers is ~$3200 for those degree holders with NS. Compare this with engineers at ~$2,500k or $2,800, the starting pay is not low by any measure.

hence, that is the basis of mine comment \"teachers are paid what they are worth\", meaning they are not lowly paid compared to other degree holders, like engineers holding profession degree and with honours.

Another point is, I'm not a full time tutor. My income from tuition is negligible. And nowhere compared to teachers. What I want to say is purely the teaching part and dealing with students, communication aspect etc.. it is not that difficult to be in a teaching position, or to be an effective teacher with regards to teaching alone.

The many complains of teachers is admin duty.. but in any jobs, there is bound to be out-of-job scope tasks.. like clerks need to make coffee etc..?

However, I do feel that school should not make use of teachers for profit oriented duties.. that is too much and is unreasonable. the principle should do that with other admin non teaching staff, or maybe just the HODs.

[limlim]

pinky_j:

If you are comparing the extra holidays that we get, it is not a lot more.. At more 5 to 6 extra days out of 365 days in a year?

If you're a dedicated/committed teacher, as with other passionate teachers, I am totally in support of good benefits.. And absolutely no issues with teacher having more.

However, What I'm saying is, I came across many bo-chap teachers all too often and that is when I feel.. some teachers really do not deserve so many holidays.. Teacher is a noble profession but there is just too many black sheeps..

following this, I just talk a bit on the holidays.. there is no intention to argue or anything to that effect.. so.. no offences..

Other then the 5 or 6 days per year, let's look at the school holidays.

It's ~10 weeks a year, I guess, so work out to be ~ 50 working days? Of these 50 days, how many days do teacher actually go back for extra duties? 20days? 30days? So, that work out to be approx 20 rest days for teachers or average? or the average is more then that?

Compare to standard industry practices of 14days AL per year, isn't teachers already getting a bargain? The downside is lack of flexibility only.. but is that flexibly really worth more then the extra rest days? that maybe subjective thou. On top of that, for really urgent matter, teachers do have 14 days AL subjective to approval, isn't it?

[pinky_j]

limlim:

pinky_j:

If you are comparing the extra holidays that we get, it is not a lot more.. At more 5 to 6 extra days out of 365 days in a year?

following this, I just talk a bit on the holidays.. there is no intention to argue or anything to that effect.. so.. no offences..

Other then the 5 or 6 days per year, let's look at the school holidays.

It's ~10 weeks a year, I guess, so work out to be ~ 50 working days? Of these 50 days, how many days do teacher actually go back for extra duties? 20days? 30days? So, that work out to be approx 20 rest days for teachers or average? or the average is more then that?

Compare to standard industry practices of 14days AL per year, isn't teachers already getting a bargain? The downside is lack of flexibility only.. but is that flexibly really worth more then the extra rest days? that maybe subjective thou. On top of that, for really urgent matter, teachers do have 14 days AL subjective to approval, isn't it?

Not too sure for pri school, but likely pri sch teachers can only go for hols, unless otherwise approved earlier, about 2 weeks after students start hols due to planning and other duties..

As for sec school and jc, teachers are officially allowed to go on hols once national exams end to be fair to those doing invigilation. However, it is dependent on the school management what are the other meetings and etc that needs to be held before teachers can go for hols.. Normal it's only about 14days of totally no work although some lucky ones manages more..

For urgent leave, different reasons have different number of days.. So I can't give u a number.. But it would be about 6 days..

[Mdm Koh]

There are teachers who are more involved in school activities and teachers who are less involved. Those who are not so involved in school activities would be able to get more rest days. Those who have been asked to perform extra duties would have fewer rest days.


Everyone complains about their work now and then. Teachers are no exception. But I think that we can distinguish a genuinely caring teacher from a bad teacher by the content of their complaints. A caring teacher may complain about admin work or extra tasks that are redundant or take up too much time. He may complain about the unreasonable people that he encounters at work. However, he hardly ever complains about his students because he enjoys teaching them. In fact, as my DF says, teaching is the easiest part of being a teacher.

A bad teacher, on the other hand, complains about anything and everything, especially his students. He mocks them and gossips about them in the staff room. He is most likely in teaching for the decent salary it provides and not because he loves to teach.

[schweppes]

Mdm Koh:

There are teachers who are more involved in school activities and teachers who are less involved. Those who are not so involved in school activities would be able to get more rest days. Those who have been asked to perform extra duties would have fewer rest days.


Everyone complains about their work now and then. Teachers are no exception. But I think that we can distinguish a genuinely caring teacher from a bad teacher by the content of their complaints. A caring teacher may complain about admin work or extra tasks that are redundant or take up too much time. He may complain about the unreasonable people that he encounters at work. However, he hardly ever complains about his students because he enjoys teaching them. In fact, as my DF says, teaching is the easiest part of being a teacher.

A bad teacher, on the other hand, complains about anything and everything, especially his students. He mocks them and gossips about them in the staff room. He is most likely in teaching for the decent salary it provides and not because he loves to teach.

:hi5:

:goodpost:

[limlim]

Mdm Koh:

A bad teacher, on the other hand, complains about anything and everything, especially his students. He mocks them and gossips about them in the staff room. He is most likely in teaching for the decent salary it provides and not because he loves to teach.

Exactly.. plus extra off days too..