Oh yeah! I almost forgot...

My wife is an elementary school teacher (and a damn good one!), and my eldest daughter is teaching middle school in inner city Houston. Wanna ask either of them about "No Child Left Behind"?

WHATTA CROCK!!!

Many people say teachers are overpaid, right?

I got this in an email.


"I think teachers are overpaid! I'm sick and tired of paying them these high salaries!

I think teachers should be paid BABYSITTERS' wages. $3.00 per hour per child, 5 hours per day. I'm NOT paying them for lunches, planning periods, or days off, only for the time they are actually in school.

Lets say a teacher has 20 kids. At $3 per hour, thats $60 per hour, times 5 hours a day, thats $300 times 180 days, thats... $54,000.00 per year. (Wait, there must be something wrong with my calculator...)

Whats that you say, what about teachers who have masters degrees, or over ten years of experience? OK we'll give them $5 per hour, per child, five hours per day, thats... $90,000 per year.... (wait, maybe I'll just pay the taxes...)"


First, neither my wife (this is her 7th year teaching) nor my daughter (first year) make $54,000.00 per year

Second, my wife has 28 first graders, not 20. My daughter has 32!! THIRTY TWO!! eigth graders!

Third, my wife is at school every day from 8am to 6pm. When she comes home she more often than not has another two hours or so of work to do, no to mention the work she has to do at home on weekends or during "school vacations" or "holidays".

Fourth, she is required by law and by her contract to obtain a masters degree within ten years of getting her initial teaching certificate. Their is NO tuition assistance available! And this also requires many more hours of work on her part.


Next time you hear some right winger complaining about public education, and the NEA, and overpaid teachers, consider the fact that at the VERY LEAST! you've got someone taking care of your kids all day, while you go to work, for a FRACTION of what it would cost you to hire a BABY SITTER!!!