Why is it that teachers constantly complain about thier job and how little they make?

Question

i have 3 kids in school....most teachers are unorganized...sloppy...sometimes cannot find assignments that the students have done....the list goes on....if they cannot stand the job why do it?

Answer 1

they complain about the job because of a irritating boss... like the one above them stressing them out everyday... sometimes a teacher's job is so overloading that she doesn't even have time to g to the toilet.. i know of a chinese teacher who has about 12 classes, and imagine 12 classes of about 40 students and the amount ot books to mark.. imagine their work load. imagine the time that they have on their own for leisure. and no teachers do not earn little... a teacher can actually earn up to 4000 a month with some extra tutions.. but their basic is peanuts.. like 1400 only... imagine 7am work till 7pm and only 1400 to take at the end of the month.

Answer 2

Times have changed. These young people study in this field because they truly love working with kids and they really have no idea until they get in there and start working how hard of a job it really is. I think some may get over their heads. There are plenty of teachers out there that do not complain. They go and do as they are told and truly love teaching the kids. I think you see this complaining mpstly in schools that are overcrowded, kids that the parents don't work with them at home so they are behind in their studies, not enough time to teach everything they require by state, etc. I would be un oraganized too if I had to work under all the pressure that they do. You go and spend a day in that classroom and you will see. You really have to be a go getter and a organized person to do this type of work. They are way underpaid. They should be the highest paying jobin my book. Where would all these people be without someone teaching their kids? They have a right to complain sometimes.

Answer 3

I don't agree with the "most teachers" comment. However, I do understand and agree that SOME teachers have problems with organization, but so do many other professions. The difference is, teachers don't have assistants and/or secretaries to keep them organized, they must do it all on their own.

Could it be that when they go to school and train they think they will be TEACHING? Think about all that a teacher has to be these days...parent, coach, counselor, nutritionist, fashion consultant, role model, team leader, prison guard, mentor, mediator, arbitrator, team player, artistic, create something out of nothing with little or no budget to work with, blah, blah, blah....

If they could do the job they trained for and ONLY that...teaching, they might be a little more pleasant.

You sound like a parent that is actively involved in your kids' lives and want only the best for them...it is my opinion that you are a dying breed. I'll bet that if you offered any teacher any help, they would gladly include you in the organizing effort.

It's not that they don't like their jobs, it's that their jobs are MORE than an 8 hour a day job...and sometimes it's more than they bargained for. And teacher's should be one of the highest paid professions in the world as far as I'm concerned...and I'm NOT a teacher.

Answer 4

Teachers, like any people who have jobs, get caught up in their own worries and concentrate on the negatives. You have to remember that teachers are dealing with 20+ different personalities, each one of them with unique and pressing demands, on a daily basis. Teachers see the best in people, and they see the worst. While you may be a great parent and your children may be angels, they're certainly not the only people your teacher comes into contact with. We (teachers) must work with/around abusive/neglectful parents and must determine the needs of each student in our class. It's our job to help each and every little body to succeed. It can seem like a daunting task at times, especially when you then consider all the beauracratic crap we have to sift through in order to reach those students. It's easy to get caught up in all of it. It's also easier to complain to our co-workers than to praise our successes. While this is certainly no excuse, I hope it will at least provide some insight. With that said, we're not underpaid. We're overworked when we choose to be overworked. Relatively speaking (relative to most other professions in this country), we ARE underpaid. Relatively speaking. My husband and I are both teachers, and the bills get paid just fine. As for being unorganized and sloppy (though I don't personally lose assignments), that's an issue for individual teachers to work on. There are SO many things to keep track of, and the really great teachers are too busy trying to reach lives that they often can't find the time to keep themselves organized better. It doesn't mean they're not good teachers. It just means they're not organized. I put things in a special place so I won't lose them, and then I lose the special place. It's not from a lack of trying though, I promise! We love our jobs though, even when we vent.

Answer 5

I changed careers in my thirties, took a ten thousand dollar pay cut, and went into teaching. It was the hardest, most stressful job I've ever had.

You never know what societal problem is going to come walking through that door or how you're going to protect the children that you are taking care of [in loco parentis] when some of them don't follow your instructions on a good day. I've known students to spit sunflower seeds on teachers, to assault them, to insult their family members, to throw chairs. When this happens, people start giving the teacher suggestions for building better relationships with the children.

Have you considered homeschooling your three children? Imagine you had to homeschool twenty-three, all in a different place as far as maturity, size, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and skill levels. Imagine you had to do all of this at the same time you're paying the bills and balancing your checkbook with not quite enough money (similar tasks to the recordkeeping teachers have to do throughout the day while keeping an eye on two dozen children). You'll get a glimmer of what a teacher's day is like, and how many tasks they have to perform and decisions they have to make in too little time.

And to top it all off, you rarely get to go to the bathroom.

The teachers who stay in spite of it all worry that society would fall apart if someone doesn't get in there, fight the good fight, and try to make it all work.

And they may be right.

Answer 6

I agree completely with MJ. I am finishing my college education to become a teacher for the love of teaching...the love of education...the love of literature. Doesn't change the fact that the wages are generally crap.

During my many years in the education system as a student, I met VERY FEW teachers that were all of the negative things you've listed. Perhaps if people encouraged teachers more and supported them in thier role as EDUCATORS OF YOUR CHILDREN, we wouldn't mind the lack of pay.

I have a question. Why do so many people ask the same question about teachers complaining about how little they make?

Answer 7

ooh i am so fuming at your total ignorance right now! god that shits me. tell you what follow a teacher around for a day and just see how much work they do. teachers constantly work their butts off and don't even get me started on those fools that think teaching is a 9-5 piece of cake job with holidays. just ask yourself if it was so easy, why is there a teacher shortage? probably because it is one of the most demanding and stressful jobs around. No offence sweetie but until you've tried it yourself don't judge what you don't know because it is just showing you as the ignorant fool that you are. As far as the pay goes teachers are professionals, they go to uni they study a challenging degree, in fact its longer than most degrees and therefore they deserve professional pay. let me just list a few characteristics of what makes a job a professional career and not just a job. A profession requires prolonged training delivered by academic institutions, it's work is based on a specialised body of knowledge and expertise, requires substantial intellectual and practical training - teaching is a profession therefore teachers deserve to be paid like professionals

Answer 8

When a person goes into the teaching profession they are idealistic about wanting to teach children to become our future. What they deal with, not all times, are kids who don't care, parents who are not involved, over sized classes and little pay. Surely you must realize that a person who goes into the teaching profession does it out of love for children because they sure don't get paid for it. They are criticized for our children not being able to read, but do the parents read with them? With the increasing language barrier you have kids whose parents cannot help them with homework. Ask your child's teacher to sit in class one day, you will thank that teacher before the day is over. Demand smaller classrooms so that teachers can feel like they have truly accomplished something. My biggest thrill is to see a light-bulb light up for a child who has previously not had a clue.

Answer 9

Parents like you with the above comments make teaching hard and in the words of Rodney Dangerfield make teachers feel like they don't get any respect. Why don't you try going into another classroom, not your child's and volunteer for a month and see if your tune changes.

Teachers work hard, just like any profession , there are bad ones, but without teachers, there would be no one to inspire your children to reach higher, do better, think critically and become better than you.

Answer 10

If you think the job is so easy and the teachers you have had contact with so incompetent, why don't you get in there are show them how to do it? I can guarantee that you will change your attitude if you spend a couple of days doing their job.