My roommate is going to college to be a teacher and I think she's crazy (sm)
Posted By: quietmoods on 2005-08-01
In Reply to: I heard on the radio 23 states still have paddling in schools or physical discipline. - Shocked Mom
She's going to be an elementary school teacher so maybe it will be better, but her ex-husband was a teacher for middle school and my daughter was a high school math teacher, and both of them gave it up. The discipline is nonexistent in schools, as well as at home. I'm not saying that they should spank a child, but something has to be done. The principals did not enforce the rules of the school, always saying the child had a home live, or some other excuse, but never made any child responsible for their actions. I don't know what the answer is, but I can tell you I wouldn't be a teacher if that was the last profession on earth. My hat is off to anyone who can stick it out, and my prayers are with them.
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When 19 my roommate got pregnant...she was Catholic but - sm
and went to church on Sunday, etc., had guys use condoms, though 1 x did not only because she was trashed at the time and he forced himself on her (per her story). We discussed her options and both of us firmly believed that abortion was the best option as having it and keeping it was not feasible as (1) the guy denied it was his, though that could have been easily disproved, (2) her parents would have had a cow, (3) she did not want her whole life turned upsided down (yes selfish but at 19 that is the way it is). So a few of us got up the cash ($200), I borrowed a car from someone and drove her to the clinic about an hour or so from our school. Personally I think it was the right decision, but then again I am pro-choice/abortion. I don't agree with people who use it as a form of BC though (i.e. multiple abortions). If I got pregnant now (40) my husband (so he says) would push for an abortion, though at this stage in my life I would have a hard time making that choice and adoption would not be an option either....BUT at 19 I'd do it in a heartbeat. I had a scar in college too, I was a month late, using condoms and a diaphragm....luckily I was not pregnant just stressed out apparently. You cannot make the decision for her. You can point out options and pros and cons and possible later life ramifications, but I doubt it will do any good. My roommate married a few years after we graduated and was very firm in her decision never to have children as she just doesn't want them, to this day she has no children by choice. But your niece will need to learn to be more resposible. If she does not want to take the pill, which is so easy to do and remember (bogus excuse), she better carry condoms with her....plus if she is not careful and sleeps around a lot then she will, I guarantee, get herpes or another STD before she gets out of college. Ask her if she wants that or HIV, maybe she will get to thinking. Who knows.
What about Gen-Y? Try being a teacher.
Excellent article below;does not bode well for our future.
Also article about overweight, under-educated military recruits: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/20/struggling_for_recruits_army_relaxes_its_rules?mode=PF
For once, blame the student
By Patrick WelshWed Mar 8, 7:08 AM ET
Failure in the classroom is often tied to lack of funding, poor teachers or other ills. Here's a thought: Maybe it's the failed work ethic of todays kids. That's what I'm seeing in my school. Until reformers see this reality, little will change.
Last month, as I averaged the second-quarter grades for my senior English classes at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., the same familiar pattern leapt out at me.
Kids who had emigrated from foreign countries - such as Shewit Giovanni from Ethiopia, Farah Ali from Guyana and Edgar Awumey from Ghana - often aced every test, while many of their U.S.-born classmates from upper-class homes with highly educated parents had a string of C's and D's.
As one would expect, the middle-class American kids usually had higher SAT verbal scores than did their immigrant classmates, many of whom had only been speaking English for a few years.
What many of the American kids I taught did not have was the motivation, self-discipline or work ethic of the foreign-born kids.
Politicians and education bureaucrats can talk all they want about reform, but until the work ethic of U.S. students changes, until they are willing to put in the time and effort to master their subjects, little will change.
A study released in December by University of Pennsylvania researchers Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman suggests that the reason so many U.S. students are "falling short of their intellectual potential" is not "inadequate teachers, boring textbooks and large class sizes" and the rest of the usual litany cited by the so-called reformers - but "their failure to exercise self-discipline."
The sad fact is that in the USA, hard work on the part of students is no longer seen as a key factor in academic success. The groundbreaking work of Harold Stevenson and a multinational team at the University of Michigan comparing attitudes of Asian and American students sounded the alarm more than a decade ago.
Asian vs. U.S. students
When asked to identify the most important factors in their performance in math, the percentage of Japanese and Taiwanese students who answered "studying hard" was twice that of American students.
American students named native intelligence, and some said the home environment. But a clear majority of U.S. students put the responsibility on their teachers. A good teacher, they said, was the determining factor in how well they did in math.
"Kids have convinced parents that it is the teacher or the system that is the problem, not their own lack of effort," says Dave Roscher, a chemistry teacher at T.C. Williams in this Washington suburb. "In my day, parents didn't listen when kids complained about teachers. We are supposed to miraculously make kids learn even though they are not working."
As my colleague Ed Cannon puts it: "Today, the teacher is supposed to be responsible for motivating the kid. If they don't learn it is supposed to be our problem, not theirs."
And, of course, busy parents guilt-ridden over the little time they spend with their kids are big subscribers to this theory.
Maybe every generation of kids has wanted to take it easy, but until the past few decades students were not allowed to get away with it. "Nowadays, it's the kids who have the power. When they don't do the work and get lower grades, they scream and yell. Parents side with the kids who pressure teachers to lower standards," says Joel Kaplan, another chemistry teacher at T.C. Williams.
Every year, I have had parents come in to argue about the grades I have given in my AP English classes. To me, my grades are far too generous; to middle-class parents, they are often an affront to their sense of entitlement. If their kids do a modicum of work, many parents expect them to get at least a B. When I have given C's or D's to bright middle-class kids who have done poor or mediocre work, some parents have accused me of destroying their children's futures.
It is not only parents, however, who are siding with students in their attempts to get out of hard work.
Blame schools, too
"Schools play into it," says psychiatrist Lawrence Brain, who counsels affluent teenagers throughout the Washington metropolitan area. "I've been amazed to see how easy it is for kids in public schools to manipulate guidance counselors to get them out of classes they don't like. They have been sent a message that they don't have to struggle to achieve if things are not perfect."
Neither the high-stakes state exams, such as Virginia's Standards of Learning, nor the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act have succeeded in changing that message; both have turned into minimum-competency requirements aimed at the lowest in our school.
Colleges keep complaining that students are coming to them unprepared. Instead of raising admissions standards, however, they keep accepting mediocre students lest cuts have to be made in faculty and administration.
As a teacher, I don't object to the heightened standards required of educators in the No Child Left Behind law. Who among us would say we couldn't do a little better? Nonetheless, teachers have no control over student motivation and ambition, which have to come from the home - and from within each student.
Perhaps the best lesson I can pass along to my upper- and middle-class students is to merely point them in the direction of their foreign-born classmates, who can remind us all that education in America is still more a privilege than a right.
Patrick Welsh is an English teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
Another former teacher
I just wanted to let you know you are not the only one who is a former teacher. I have a special ed degree and have taught in several different places, my favorite being with profoundly handicapped adults as a supervisor. However, where I am currently living I have had such a hard time getting back into that field. They only want to hire me for a job that I am totally overqualified for.
I was fortunate enough to find someone who was willing to train me in medical transcription on the job. With all my previous medical experience with education and wiht my on the job experience, I am now a single mom of three who LOVES medical transcription.
Sometimes I feel that I am wasting my degree, but then I hear something that I learned in college or through my previous jobs and know this is what I was meant to ....at least for now.
I don't know if this helps, but I just wanted to let you know you are not alone.
Have you called the teacher? sm
Over the years I've had to e-mail and talk on the phone to my child's teachers. If you don't have the teacher's number or e-mail, you could probably call your child's school and get the information. If the teacher is worth his/her salt, they would probably be happy to help you out.
from an MT into a English Teacher
Am thinking of getting some education units (degree hopefully) to become an english teacher. I have been an MT for roughly seven years, five months give or take including schooling. But since i feel that Big Company (fourth down upper left panel of your screen, starts with "m") that says they dont outsource, but we cant be be so sure. I feel that the work is not anymore paying well right now. (maybe im just not getting the big breaks) I feel that i have to check my alternatives - cause im not getting any younger. Its tough out there but i think that god will provide.
Am i too old to be a english teacher?
is there a age requirement on being an english teacher? Or 32 is too old?
Hi TIA, my DH is a former 7th grade teacher and now....
is a high school principal. Don't people like that ignorant poster above really burn you up? As the wife of a teacher, I can vouch for the long hours and dedication that teachers put in. My DH can talk you through a typical week that will prove that most teachers put in 12 months worth of full-time hours and MORE in the 9.5 months that they work. That doesn't even count the summer hours preparing for the next school year. I have sat home on my anniversary because my husband is off chaperoning a trip so the kids can attend a band competition a thousand miles away. We have spent endless dollars of our own supplementing these trips, buying things for needy students, and making "sports supervision duty" a family night out so we can spend a little time with hubby and Dad. Don't even get me started on the vandalism that we've incurred over the last 15 years. Shall I start with the car that some little gang banger started by pouring a gallon of gas into our car and setting it on fire, because he was suspended? Or how about the rocks put into our gas tank of our car? Teachers ought to get hazard pay! Wasn't an asst. principal just gunned down last week? Teachers don't become teaches for the money, believe me. Where else can you finish a bachelor's degree and an 18 month credentialing program for a whopping 25,000 dollars a year (in some areas, more in others). A car mechanic makes twice as much as that!!! So, I pretty much dismiss those people who think teachers sit on their butts all day and skate out the door at 2:30. Their kids are probably the worst of them all.
I used to be a typing teacher...
I used to be a typing teacher and also had long nails at the time. I got one of those split keyboards (ergonomic) and it helped. Having my hands in that position allowed me to type a lot easier with my longer nails. You might give that a try. Keyboards are really cheap.
I think I wanted to be a teacher
x
My mom is a retired teacher, so that was something
we never said at home. But as much as I have tried to correct my youngest, he still uses it. And he and my husband say, That DON'T matter. Yikes. doesn't doesn't doesn't. It DOESN'T matter!
You know, when you type doesn't that many times, it no longer looks like a real word. I double checked the spelling and I'm still not sure it's right.
Traveling teacher
Where in MT, you can E-mail me
My son's teacher sent me an e-mail
a couple of weeks ago and I could not believe that she said, "I hope that makes since." This was from a middle school teacher at that. I couldn't help myself but to write back, "I think I was able to make sense out of this."
From reading numerous other e-mails from this teacher, it is apparent that she also does not know how to appropriately punctuate sentences.
Terribly sad, indeed.
when the student is ready, the teacher will come
.
Too bad we can't have that sound bite..the CB teacher one! LOL
.
Math teacher is correct - and if
you'll work for .0725 cents a line, you're hired! 
Hey, maybe we had the same teacher! Cracked the ruler
on the desk and on some guy's knuckles when they were caught looking at the keys or the paper. LOL, she was a true peach!
My English teacher would cringe at the BOS. nm
x
If you think you have stress now, wait until you are a teacher.
s
Oh, grow up. There is no teacher here to be a "pet" for. (sm)
Unless you're paying me per line to obsess about my grammar and spelling on this message board, I am not going to stress my grammar and spelling. It's just like when I'm talking with friends. I don't say "I cannot" and "he will", I use contractions. However, I would not use contractions in a report. Casual conversation, like here, is different than professional communication, like in an email to a client, or professional work.
In short, get over yourself.
Teacher/baseball coach
nm
Help! need teacher gift ideas please
.
My favorite teacher died yesterday...
He was my choir director in high school - such a lovely, special and talented man. He really made a difference in my life 30 years ago. Sad day 4 me.
I agree..my mother was a teacher and when she died..sm
So many people told me what an impact she had on their lives. It was nice to hear it.
As a former 2nd grade teacher... NO way. Why? (see rant inside! Ha ha!)
As a former schoolteacher.... We would not have done "snowman poop" in class. No way, no how. I think it's a little on the tacky side but still relatively harmless, so that isn't why I wouldn't do it.
Too many parents with no life and too much time on their hands would complain. Teachers have to walk on eggshells to avoid giving parents any tiny thing to freak out about. The kids? They're great. Parents? Man, do we need some chlorine in the gene pool. If they aren't expecting teachers to do free tutoring after school (Why would you expect that? Do we give away free MT for doctors? No! ) or to hold conferences after 6:00 PM so they don't have to leave early from work (Hello, teachers have families, too! They're YOUR kids, YOU take off work early rather than expecting a teacher to stay past 5:00, okay?) they're "forgetting" to send lunch money for weeks at a time or refusing to take any responsibility for their child's behavior and blaming it on a million different reasons other than that they just don't take the time to work on the problem.
Two degrees in education and a gift for teaching, but never again. I'm an MT for the rest of my working years.
"Duh" teacher quote of the week....sm
Last week a teacher wrote my sister that her daughter was easily distracted in the classroom. Well guess what? There are 32 kids in her class (above what the state requires but they have a teacher shortage) and my niece says the teacher lets the kids run wild. No duh - I'd have a hard time concentrating with 32 kids in the classroom as well if I had 32 other 5th graders in the room.
DD is a 1st grade teacher, and is ready to throw in the towel
already - not because of the kids, but because of the interferring parents (mothers) who cannot bear to let "little Suzie" out of the nest, cuz, you know, she is my baby, so I want to be with her as much as I can. She thinks these mothers cause more harm psychologically for the kids that anyone realizes. They lose coping skills, other kids make fun of them for being a big baby, and they lose all identity. Can't these mothers get a life away from the kid's school? She has 3 or 4 that think they know everything and are constantly interrupting her to "correct" her way of teaching. She is not a new teacher, has been teaching for over 10 years now and is rated one of the top teachers in this area.
Hey, that's how I learned typing in 9th grade! And the teacher was a witch. nm
:)
Have you asked your teacher to look over your test files, if you saved them, to
s
I remember all that, too. The parents rarely, if ever, questioned the teacher or the principal.
I wonder what the change is? Do we parents have egos because now most of us have as much education as teachers do? Are we unwilling to sit back and never question "authority figures"? Do we remember being wronged in our own childhoods, so we're quick to defend?
I try not to be a buttinsky at my kids' schools, but sometimes I just don't agree with how they're doing things there. One day, three bigger boys with bad home lives and a history of fighting jumped my son, who is the most peaceful kid you've ever met. Two of them held him down while the third one was on top of him punching and kicking him. My son had to bite the kids to get them off of him. He was cut, bruised, and had a bloody nose. Guess who got punished? My son did, for biting. I called the cops and intervened at the school because my son has my full permission to defend himself against bullies, especially on a 3-on-1 situation.
I also remember being punished for things at school when I did nothing wrong, then my parents punished me a second time because of what the teacher said. I got detention for sneezing in class once. One of my teachers publicly humiliated me and threatened to pull me out of all the advanced classes if I didn't publicly apologize to another teacher when I wasn't even the one who said whatever it was she was upset about. One of my male teachers actually picked up a student and slammed him into the chalkboard, ripping the kid's shirt off in the process. So yes, I'm going to stay on the schools and make sure my kids aren't hassled by any burnt out teachers who are just biding their time until retirement. My kids aren't angels, but they're not demon spawn either.
I'm with you guys. Typing teacher used to make us keep nails short. nm
x
I use Vista with Office 2003 Student/Teacher edition. nm
I use Vista with Office 2003 Student/Teacher edition.
I did a few years ago. Awsome!!! Changed my life. Beth Moore is the best teacher out there. nm
/
I give ours gift certificates to the local teacher supply store.
One year, we also gave a teacher a gift certificate to PetCo (for the class bird!).
Betth Moore is a Bible teacher, and Living Proof is the name of her ministry. Geared toward women.
x
Mine's a classically-trained pianist/ jazz trumpet player/music teacher (private lessons), right
xxx
Thats just crazy!
Makes no sense! Wonder how these types of people are running the HR depts?!! I am fortunate enough to have three offices that I IC for. So, you moved because of the pay situation?? Hope your in a great position now!
-DAWN-
That's crazy!!
Are you serious? I can't believe they would cut our pay. The more you produce, the more the pay should be. They are getting paid per line from their clients. I'm sure they are not getting less from their clients because of DQS. If that happens, I'm quitting. I barely make enough now!!! How much was the cut, if you don't mind me asking? 
Wow - now I know I'm not going crazy!
I had never had this happen so didn't know what to think of it. Sheesh! Is the US outsourcing EVERYTHING now??? ARGH.
Are you crazy?
nm
Crazy Day
I don't post too much here, but I just have to vent. I went to pick up my daughter from school today. While I was waiting in my car, a woman backed into me. The damange didn't look to bad, but the lady won't get out of her car, so I called the police.
She was so drunk, she could barely walk. She had a baby in the car, about 18 months old, and was picking up her 2 sons. The police took her away in handcuffs, the breathalizer was over 0.13 and still rising!!
I was so upset about getting hit, but started thinking, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Our school parking lot (grades 3-6) is so crazy after school, I started worrying about how many kids she could have hit in the parking lot if she hadn't hit me first.
Now, I like a drink or 2 myself, but come on, it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon in the school parking lot. I always worry about getting hit by a drunk driver, but I thougt I was safe at school.
crazy day
Oh my - how sad is that!
Yep . . . I must be crazy :(
I have been on the account for 1 day so far :( Obviously I don't expect to get 1400 right now, but I am hoping within the next few months I can work my way up to that. My Expander is my own. I have about 100 entries right now, but that is only after 1 day of work. I do plan on adding more, but just haven't gotten there yet. I have been transcribing for a total of 4 years now, but brand new to this account.
No, you are not crazy! sm
Although you may be expecting too much of yourself too soon in your MT career.
I have been in over 12 yrs. I have my own Expander with 20,000+ short cuts in it (if you email me, you can have a copy of it). I know this expander like the back of my hand after using it for about 10 yrs. I make about 1800 lines or so a day, less if I am tired like I have been lately :(.
It IS doable, but I don't believe you have enough expansions to maximize your skills and time.
Crazy, huh?
I know that is simply ridiculous. I admit 3 years ago I was naive enough to believe you could make over 40,000.00 a year, I am sure there are people who do, but I certainly don't. I do enjoy my job, but I wish something could be done about the misleading advertisements which are placed luring in unsuspecting people. Because honestly, if I had known, I would have most likely gone for a profession such as court reporting where there is a wider range of different branches that can be quite lucrative.
going crazy!!!!
I would consider myself to be a new MT. I have only been doing this for 2 years now and you know what, I enjoy doing this, but for some reason, I am just not getting some of it. I look things up, I do not reach my goal everyday because I stop to look things up, I run my reports through word to double check the spelling of things, and I still seem to have numerous mistakes and it is very irritating. I am trying very hard, reading, re-reading. I just do not know what I am doing wrong. I am at a loss. I honestly do not know what to do. I am in tears just about everyday because I get soo frustrated that I still make mistakes. I use macros so I do not have to type the same report over and over. If anyone has any advise what so ever, please, someone throw me a bone. I will try anything. I love being home with my children, but at the rate I am going, not making any money, I do not have a choice but to look for another job. Do not really want to do that. HELP!!!!
crazy idea
 I am not sure what would trigger anyone to think washing a keyboard in the dishwasher would work. I know from others who have had accidents by spilling a cup of coffee, water, soda etc it shorts out the keyboard so what would make anyone think washing it in a dishwasher is smarter? I cannot believe someone would try such an insane thing. Oh my. Those who have tried and ruined a keyboard obviously like to waste money on having to buy a new keyboard.
Because gas is going up like crazy, supposedly going up
30 cents/gallon tomorrow and will continue a steep climb. There are talks of rationing too as production has been severely cut due to Katrina.
yes - it will probably drive you crazy until you get
x
How are those crazy cupcakes?
Don't leave us hanging.
I'm w/you on this one! It's crazy to accept LESS THAN 10 YRS AGO. And that is just what MT com
benefits and put them in their pockets and called them PROFIT.
They put us at home and said that was an excuse to LOWER THE BASE RATE OF PAY.
I tell you what, 4 years ago I was making $42,000 a year working for a hospital.
I had benefits along with that $42,000
I WORKED AT HOME IN MY JAMMIES.
I HAD FLEXABILITY OF TAKING OFF just like I always had in life.
Do you want to know what I made last year doing the same amount of work??
I made $14,000 and NO BENEFITS.
The company I have worked for (which shall remain nameless but we all know who it is) has managed to take away BONUS LINES, ENOUGH WORK, and NEVER GIVE ME A RAISE IN 6 YEARS.
If they think they have created a better medical record system they have lost their everlovin minds. Reports are less accurate now than they ever were. The hospital may have a PIECE OF PAPER back in their hands quickly, but it isn't worth a tinkersdam.
So if you new MTs and even the older ones who now are on supplemental income or have a husband to back them up, us MTs who need to make a living to support our children - think again if you believe what we have been WORKED DOWN TO is a good deal.
MTs at home have taken on the RISKS of transcription. It is our personal time that goes unpaid while the company RISKS NOTHING. We are the ones sitting around setting up computers, eating down-time, trying to learn new programs on our own dime.
THINK ABOUT IT
crazy vs crazier
Actually, I KNOW that I worry so much more about things than I did when I first started out many years ago. Of course, now I have a family too, but I consider it an occupational hazard as we know what CAN and DOES happen to people. :)
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