Senator Randy White voted NO in the Senate Finance Committee and will be voting NO on the Senate floor on SB-249, the school calendar as it is present.
I have received numerous emails from school service personnel and teachers. The following is just an example:
The proposed new legislation concerning teacher pay for snow days should not be passed.First, we are SALARIED employees, meaning that we do not get paid for the hours we work each evening or weekend just to keep up with the mountains of lessons, tests, and other paperwork.
We do not get paid for the evenings and weekends we come back to school to work on a project, meet with administrators or parents, chaperone a dance, game, prom, or graduation. When we need to be absent, we write detailed lesson plans so that our students do not fall behind while working with a substitute.
We do not get paid when we attend workshops or graduate classes in the summers, often even at our own expense. We're not paid overtime when we come in early for morning duty, work through our lunch working with a student or on lunch duty or stay late for bus duty.
Second, as SALARIED employees, most of us have our salaries divided over 12 months. Snow days should not be a factor.Third, if the school calendar is extended only 7 days for students, but can be stretched beyond the end of school just to make sure that the teachers work" their full 200 days, what are we to do with ourselves in the classroom without the students?
We deal with constant stress. It comes from working with 20, 30, or even 35 students in each class. It comes from the variety of personalities in front of us at any given moment. It comes from dealing with the multiple levels in educational ability (from those who cannot learn to read beyond a third grade level to the highly gifted) in the same class.
Stress comes from knowing that one student is in trouble at home, or that a student is homeless, and has trouble focusing on classwork. It comes from having several sick students in the room, knowing that there will be others, and maybe you'll be next, taking it home to your family.
Stress comes from computers that won't work, not enough texts, classrooms that are too hot or too cold because the heating or air conditioning does not work properly. It comes from mandated tests and the pressure to get students to perform when neither the student nor the parents really care.
Stress is the biggest health factor in our profession. Please do not add to this stress by worrying about whether or not we work on a snow day. Trust me---with the extra hours we're all putting in, you're getting your money's worth.
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2 comments:
"I get tired of the WVEA and the AFT always talking about pay and not about kids." - Eric Wells, WV Senator.
AMEN, Eric & AMEN, teachers. I totally agree with whoever wrote this letter & I totall agree with Eric Wells. They're both absolutely right.
It's not about whether or not teachers get paid for a day or 2 here & there. It's all about what/how they're teaching our kids while they've got them in the classroom.
STOP tweaking test scores to make it look like they're better than they are. STOP paying teachers who aren't carrying their weight. STOP giving in to teachers' demands just because their wheels squeak the loudest.
START *teaching* our kids. START giving a rip about whether they're learning or just showing up. START making sure those who are being paid to teach are TEACHING.
Our priorities in this state are totally skewed & have been for a long time. We get hung up on such trivial issues & lose sight of what's really important - OUR KIDS.
I am a student at WVU working towards a degree in education. The teaching profession has always been my dream. I will have a masters degree in math upon completion in May. I never considered leaving the state before, but now will be accepting a position in Virginia. It would appear West Virginia doesn't appreciate education nor recognize it as a profession. Thank you Senator Wells for helping me make my decision.
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