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" Be Cool, Stay in School. Thank a teacher that you know how to spell, read, write and do simple math. It takes a special person to handle 25 different students per hour for 6-8 hours a day and deal with the students that don't show any effort or have other issues. Half of life is all about just showing up and giving it your best. The teachers got 2+% raise? Isn't that what workers get in the real world that work for companies? Why should teachers not be any different just because they work 9 months out of the year? "

" Again....sweet comeback.
And nice life. "

" Pretty sad when teachers can't even spell! "

" Sweet comeback. "

" Why don't you learn how to use spell check? "

" People, if you are jealous that teachers only work 9 months a year, and if you are upset they got a raise for "doing nothing", and if you feel they are bad teachers (that must mean YOU can do better...) then why didn't YOU get into teaching? Why didn't YOU get into teaching our youth the rights and wrongs, history of our country, how to write a complete sentance, how to be healthy, how to add, subtract, divide, graph, how to discover why an airplane flies, how velocity works, how to calculate caloric needs, how to discover an illegal use of prepositions, how to respect one another despite differences, how to solve a problem (in a school book and in life), how to manage a workout, how to locate a capital city of a state, how to understand a government and why other countries are not like the obese and selfish USA....do I need to go on?
Why didn't you do it? I know a few teachers and it takes a special, strong person to be a teacher. It isn't for anyone. Your profession is probably important too but you did NOT get there without the help of a teacher. Period. (And it was a teacher who helped you type your arguements and how to put those sentances together!) "

" What happened to this site? "

" Your raise is alot more than 20 cents an hour. "

" Why is it that just when a topic starts to get interesting, you pull it off the blog section. I was very much enjoying the conversation between our educators and the public. Please put it back up on the front page. "

" Even if you put in a 10 hour day, its not close to a full year of work like the rest of us do. On average you make around $40,000 a year, that's good money for 9 months of work.
do a better job of teaching our youth and maybe you will get a bigger increase.

JD "

" Teachers, do not respond to the negative comments... It is obvious that many people in Tomah still do not value your profession and you will not change their minds. The general public seems to believe that teaching can be evaluated like every other job. They know this because, hey, they all went to school, so therefore they are experts in the what it takes to be a teacher. 3.9 is an insult to the profession. Thanks to the QEO, it is about all you're ever going to see! In the end, you probably actually get about 20 cents an hour more if you are lucky. You do not need to justify how important teachers are in this society. You chose this field to help children. You know you matter to them. "

" You make some excellent points

BUT you have to remember in these small towns the School boards are filled with Friends and relatives of the Teachers. So this would be themselves policing themselves. this has been part of the NEA's ideas for the past 20 years or more.

This is why the Teachers pretty much get anything they want and is why they aren't held accountable locally. This is why "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" is Totally hated by the Teachers Unions

The NEA is the strongest Union in the country and has a stranglehold over the Department of Education

Substantial criticism has been leveled against the NEA and other teachers unions for putting the interests of teachers ahead of students and for consistently opposing reforms that critics claim would help students but harm union interests. The NEA has supported class size reductions and across-the-board salary increases for teachers: two measures that increase the number and compensation of NEA teachers.
the NEA has often opposed measures such as merit pay, school vouchers, reforms to teacher tenure, curriculum reform, the No Child Left Behind Act
ever since the judges have gotten heavily into education, and the National Education Association has gotten into control of that Department of Education, test scores gone down, there’s violence in classroom, things are going wrong. Also criticized is the NEA's "goal of changing public opinion on homosexuality, starting with the youngest generation.

The NEA is a Union that is for the most part WHACKO and will do anything to STOP REFORMS, They are GOD'S in the teachers eyes "

" So you work 9.5 hours + and still have time to get worked up about all this, and write all this? I laughed when I saw you actually got fired up about all this. You are hilarious! Can I meat you? I really want to be as cool as you. I bet your name is Bud and you have a sweet life. "

" Well re: Old school, why am I not surprised there is resistance to measure a teacher’s performance and then god forbid relate it to salary. Well let me try to explain to you how it could be done. First and foremost it would be up to the school board and administration to develop the particulars. Isn’t it their responsibility to set and enforce school policies? Some possible considerations could be to assess teachers based on their impact on student achievement. Another suggestion would be to have subjective evaluations by principals and peers,. How about some “way out there” ideas and have parental evaluations, maybe even student input. The possibilities are many. Bottom line is there are many easy to implement ways to implement a performance evaluation system.

I find the arrogance of teachers or resistance to this whole idea appalling. It’s our tax dollars paying teachers’ salary and it should be spent wisely. It should not be that difficult to establish methods to evaluate teacher’s performance and associate the results to salary increases. It’s done in business all the time. You know what this subject reminds me of? (Excuse the dangling participle) It reminds me of professional sports and the drug tests/steroids issue. People are acting like they have something to hide.
"

" How many months are you off in the summer? "

" For REALLY???

These are my actual STATEMENTS:


1) "just about any Job that pays well demands more education to get into higher levels."

2) "Most of us work well over 9.5 hour days, doesn't that still leave 14.5 hours left in a day?"

3) "It's not like your digging ditches or hanging Iron, or driving truck all day, or farming or many of the other Jobs in life that are more physically demanding and actually harder on the noggin."


Now this is your RETORT:

" Notice how it said "DEGREE". What kind of degree do you need for digging ditches or hanging Iron, or driving truck all day, or farming? Enlighten us?



If this was graded in HIGH SCHOOL how would this teacher fair?

First off He didn't pay attention to the words in between or for that matter the meaning of statement 1) which CLEARLY STATES that Higher paying JOBS require you to have more education to climb into the higher levels. IT'S obvious that you have never worked in the real world

Number 2

This is Great you assume I work normal hours like you therefore my lunchtime is only 4 hours after work starts. FACT IS

My day Varies enormously, some days I leave Tomah at 3am to be in Madison by 4:30 as an example if I go to let's say St.Paul Mn I have to be in that office by 6:30 am and my lunch time is usually after 1 pm if I get one. So you see my Billing starts when I leave Tomah. Which means I am on the clock sometimes from 3 am and eat lunch at 1pm, LET'S DO THE MATH BOYS AND GIRLS. I believe I have more than made my point

But this is really meaningless in life, and this argument. It's very clear that your work ethics are seriously lacking. Your ability to complain about your hours clearly means your not happy at your job and should consider another field, Let's say ditch digging, or hanging Iron or possibly Farming or Trucking. All meaningless jobs as far as your perspective. All jobs I have done to make money to pay my own way through College and have the 2 degrees I now afford

The difference between you and me is immense, I didn't go to College to get a "DEGREE" and then expect others to pay me what I think I'm worth for showing up. I chose a field that pays very well and the harder I work the more money I make. Would I rather do something else, and have better hours. SURE I WOULD but this is the job that I have been trained to do and do very well and pays good money. Do I complain about it or think I should get more money just because I have been doing this for years, NOPE.

Because I would much rather be in My Job then digging ditches, or driving truck, or farming and I am thankful that this job is much easier and all those doing them other Jobs I look at with RESPECT unlike you.
I usually put in 70-80 hours a week, some weeks more some less and I know a lot of people that work 10 -12-14 hours a day 5-6 days a week, and you complain about 9.5 get REAL IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE JOB GET A DIFFERENT ONE

GOOD Work Ethics: Look it up and practice it "

" I wait as i always have to hear how teachers will be fairly evaluated for pay raises. "

" Someone touched a nerve, BIG TIME


QUOTE
"Let us know who your kids are so the teachers can grade them accordingly...!"


IS THIS A THREAT????????? I'LL TAKE IT AS SUCH.

WITH THIS "BETTER THEN THOU ATTITUDE" is why my kids went to a private school and then to the college of there choice, no help from you or the PUBLIC SYSTEM.

I thought the teachers taught tolerance and would listen to opposing viewpoints, I GUESS YOUR EXPOSED FOR THE FARCE YOUR ARE

a misstatement by you Mr.TEACHER

I stated that most Jobs that you climb the ladder of success requires more schooling. I guess you missed that memo

But I did not IMPLY that a "DEGREE" is needed for the occupations I mentioned, BUT there are many Farmers that do have "DEGREES" To Drive a Truck is considered a "PROFESSION" and Schooling is pretty much MANDITORY and with all the Requirements and background checks they go though is it fair not to think they are intelligent?
Do you understand the HAZMAT Codes and do you keep up with the standards that must be adhered to?

Can you hang IRON at 35 floors on a 6" beam?

Can you work 16-20 hours a day for long stretches in Farming? or work them hours driving truck?

You have made this into "YOUR" MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THEN ANY OTHER PROFESSION AND THAT IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE TEACHERS UNION

This is what is the PROBLEM in Academia, You teach Children and you believe your the most important OCCUPATION on EARTH and this is why you BELIEVE YOU DESERVE MORE MONEY AUTOMATICALLY, Not from the results you obtain

Teachers should get RAISES ACCORDING TO THERE PERFORMANCE, not length of time they have been doing the same job over and over day after day, OHHHHH kinda like a factory worker(another worthless bunch of DUMMIES, RIGHT?)

When TEACHERS like you understand that your not the most important PROFESSION in the world and every one working pays your wages and us Dummies that you think don't have Advanced degrees, may surprise you as to what our education really is(oops ended a sentence with a prep, that is illegal.I know and every teacher will make it a capitol offense)


I'm Tired of the TEACHERS pushing how important they are down our THROATS. Most teachers I have ever dealt with in business are some of the most arrogant people I have ever meet.

You want to teach "DIVERISTY" how about you start acting and doing what you so-called teach?

Every Job and every profession is important and when you put one "profession" So far ahead of another your doing the same thing that is done when labeling people by RACE,GENDER, Handicap laws are suppose to shield us from. I guess until us regular working people get Government protections were just lowlifes PAYING YOUR WAGES

Teaching should require more education and should be highly scrutinized, This is the time of life when children are most impressed and easily branwashed but you already understand that.

Also we the parents should be able to go in and observe teaching practices JUST LIKE IN THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Or we should be able to have the classroom stream live audio and video for us to observe without being in the classroom(this would be very cheap to by the way and I know many people that would donate so as to no cost to the School, the school by the way is us the people, not yours alone). All of the occupations I know of are supervised by people that represent the owners or payers of the people working.Most occupations have surprise inspections.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND was a good start but a lot more is needed to make sure were getting our monies worth with the teachers we have

The Teachers Union would never allow this and if they want more money then why NOT? what are they afraid of?


"

" I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you that some people actually think they should receive raises for any reason other than acceptable (read good) job performance. But then again maybe I shouldn't be since we're about to elect the most liberal wackos ever to be president.... Be afraid, be very afraid, life as we know it is in serious trouble if the opinions expressed in this posts are actually true. "

" Notice how it said "DEGREE". What kind of degree do you need for digging ditches or hanging Iron, or driving truck all day, or farming? Enlighten us? And I am so sure you put in 9.5 hours before lunch.

Let us know who your kids are so the teachers can grade them accordingly...!
"

" This quote is FROM a teacher, talk about out of touch


"How many other jobs out there demand that you go back and get a higher degree to get paid more? "


This has to be the most NONSENSICAL STATEMENT I HAVE READ IN YEARS, and WHY YOU ASK?

Because just about any Job that pays well demands more education to get into higher levels.

Just because a teacher says he works 9.5 hours a day doesn't mean he is very efficient at his job.

Most of us work well over 9.5 hour days, doesn't that still leave 14.5 hours left in a day?

It's not like your digging ditches or hanging Iron, or driving truck all day, or farming or many of the other Jobs in life that are more physically demanding and actually harder on the noggin.

I run my own business and a 9.5 hour day is usually before lunch

So don't whine about hours of work, If the teachers whine about the hours then get a different job.

Oh and the retirement of a teacher is GREAT if more people could retire with the money a teacher retires with it would be GRAND, I know my wife is a teacher and this info should be released to the public but that would be a huge can of worms that the public should never know "

" Thank You to the Tomah Area School District teachers. Since 1994 our kids have been involved in the public schools and have benefitted from a well-rounded education. In all these years we can find only two bad teachers -- and about 100 great ones. Teaching is no easy task. There are too many kids who don't have adequate parenting. There are parents who fight to keep their kids as ignorant as they are, and there are so-called parents who think raising their kids is someone else's problem. There's useless paperwork, requirements and controversy, while truly important areas of study are ignored. Paying teachers more is good use of our tax dollars. It is our future -- think of the waste of money in welfare, medicaid, warfare and fraud. All could be eliminated, or at least decreased, with more education. "

" Today I worked a 9.5 hour day with a 6 minute lunch break, due to a meeting over lunch hour. This is typical. I would wager that this school year, I average 45-50 hours a week, easily, not counting time put in on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and time correcting papers at home. Just so ya know. Also, teachers did not get into this career to make a million, we got in it to make a difference. "Follow your passion, not your pension." So any pay raise we get, is a bonus. If we want a bigger raise, we MUST go back to school. How many other jobs out there demand that you go back and get a higher degree to get paid more? "

" Apparently you are not a union worker and probably never have been one. Union contracts are designed to help the working class make money, not take it away from them. If it wasn't for the AFL-CIO were would this country be. We would more than likely be dependent on some other country. They deserve the pay increase and when their contract comes up again I hope that they get what they are asking for and I will be the first one to say that they deserve it. Without the teacher union and our children wouldn't be getting the education they need to succeed in life. Think about that the next time you start saying that teachers should get raises based on preformance. "

" what asessments what areas?Who would judge?Other teachers? Non teachers?You? Your statements about the homogenous classroooms prove how litle you know about how things are done.Many teachers have only the most motivated clooge bound kids all day while tohers deal withy therun of the mill including cdld and ed kids.How do you compare the effectiveness of those two teachers.Don't blow smoke or take one of your pmpous positions, tell us. "

" what a waste, more money for these teachers in TOMAH. It's nice that the Teachers Union makes sure there buddies are always elected to the School Board "

" I honestly don't believe that so many individuals are having a hard time with granting raises based on performance. How would you recognize how well someone performs on the job? Regular reviews that assess the teacher/employers performance in certain areas would probably be a good place to start. In addition, it would be a good time for that teacher/employer's supervisor to provide constructive criticism on how they can improve their performance. I don't really feel it's all that difficult of a concept. Most people that have completed any probationary period on any job would understand this. Furthermore, I would imagine every teacher, in every class room, probably has some students that excel and some that struggle. It would seem that is the nature of the game, and that is why it is called work. I'm sure most teachers would love to have all students that are self-motivated and capable of teaching themselves, but again that's why it's called a job! Accountability can create tremendous change, and accountability for student performance, while not the perfect solution, is a good start. Seriously, what incentive is there for a teacher to do a good job, if there is no consequence for poor performance, and increases in compensation regardless of their work, or lack of work? "

" I want to know specifically what standards will be used to pay one teacher more then another or less.How will you compare the teacher who works with run of the mill students to the ones who have only top of the heap?What will be your markers of a job worthy of a pay raise?In small towns this is the formula for nepotism "

" This is a first, but I have to agree with your statement about appropriate/adequate compensation for appropriate/adequate performance. Pretty much the rest of your philosophy is whacked and uncharitable, but you're right on this one. "

" No I feel that you and all the other bible thumpers simply hate teachers.You think they should lick your boots and work for peanuts.My advice is get over yourself.your assumption that your fanaticism gives you any real leverage in life or death is silly. "

" FINE! If you want to pay teachers like you pay a daycare (since most people view school as free daycare anyway), that would be $8 an hour per student. I would see roughly 20 kids per hour for 7 hours of the day, so if you'd like to pay me the $1120 per day for the "daycare" I do, THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC!! Man, over $200,000 per year - that's a GREAT SALARY for all we have to put up with. "

" Why should all teachers get a 3.9% raise? I would agree that some deserve that kind of a raise and maybe even more, but there are some teachers out there who are just coasting along. Pay these people by the way they perform! Thats how the rest of society works. Remember teachers only work 9 months out of the year and very rarely put in more than 38-40 hours a week. Figure out their hourly rate. That is very good money. So quit your complaining. "

" So those that you classify as hateful, born agains, are misguided because we feel that people, regardless of occupation, should be compensated according to their performance? Wow, how enlightened of you! "

" You have a problem with teachers becasue as a group they do not lean your way politically.You are a sorry excsue for a human.Actually teacher pay in Wiscsonsin has been dropping for a long time.We are now in the bottom half nationally although our kids test as high as anyones.If you leave the Milwaukee system out of it we are the best in the nation but in your warped hateful born again mind we should not get paid for what we do. "

" I am glad to see them get a raise,personally I think they deserve it more often. "

" I don't have a problem with a teacher getting a raise, provided that he/she is a good teacher and is deserving of being paid better than the slouch teachers out there. However, I do have a problem with every teacher getting a raise simply because they are all united and have the tax-payers and school board in a position where they really have no other choice. It would seem that only teachers, bureaucrats, and elected officials get a raise just because, regardless of actual performance, unlike those of us that realize we are compensated based on our performance! "

" Now that is funny .Most teachers have to supervise at least 20 kids per hour in a class room setting when the City Employees supervise themselves and the other 3 employees it takes to change a light bulb. Give me a break education NEEDED to work for city High School Diploma Education NEEDED to be a teacher minimum 4 yrs most minimum 5 yrs plus they have to continue education to keep teaching Most Teachers invest 20,000 on an education City employee 100.00 for a pair of blue jeans & a T- Shirt
Please dont degrade the teaching profession by saying City Employees deserve the same!!!When the city is graded on "no streets left behind "then maybe you can compare City Employees to Teachers "

" I think the teachers need more money, they are the ones raising most children nowadays. If you ask most anybody who had a outstanding influence on them a lot of them will respond with a teachers name, not a parents. Don't get me wrong there are great parents out there, but from past postings on this very site parents want to place blame on others instead of themselves. So if we have a good teachers salary, GOOD teachers will come to Tomah schools and a better society of new kids will come of it. Think of that before you say the city employees don't get enough, come on the streets still look bad and I see those guys out EVERY day, whats that say for city compared to teachers now? "

" Why do people always want to compare themselves to others when it comes time to getting raises? Compare apples to apples. City Employees and School teachers are totally different. If you think you need a raise then compare yourself to other comparable city employees in other cities and make a case for yourself. If you deserve it it will show. It doesnt help at all to say you deserve a raise because they got a raise. "

" CONGRATS!! Probly less than they were looking for but im always glad to see teachers paid more. "

" Why do teachers get a larger raise than the rest of the hard working city employees?Mr mayor you sold us down the river.Do not vote for ludeking for mayor,he does not tell the truth. "