5 ms·

Well, "Yes Prime Minister" already figured it out. The whole education system is more for the welfare of bureaucracies and teachers/unions instead of students'.

Well, "Yes Prime Minister" already figured it out. The whole education system is more for the welfare of bureaucracies and teachers/unions instead of students'. And that was some 40 years ago.

superchroma 3y ago
Teachers make very little money. Society has deemed them worth almost nothing despite the fact that they're pivotal in shaping minds; the future of america, and that they do very hard, frustrating work taking care of our spawn in a country where parents treat school like daycare instead of a place to learn. They wouldn't need a union to collectively bargain if they were taken care of properly. On the flipside, I acknowledge that it is unfortunate that teaching seems to be a drip pan to collect people who do not succeed in primary careers, and that should probably stop also.
- ochoseis 3y ago
  Teachers appear to earn an average of $79k in California[0], and are eligible for a pension[1] that probably boosts their earnings to the equivalent of a six-figure job. Also, they get summers and holidays off. Not silicon valley engineer money, but not bad. [0]: https://www.niche.com/blog/teacher-salaries-in-america/ https://www.niche.com/blog/teacher-salaries-in-america/ [1]: https://www.calstrs.com/retirement-benefits https://www.calstrs.com/retirement-benefits
  - TulliusCicero 3y ago
    True, but it's also true that average cost of living in California is quite high, brought up by insane CoL along the coast.
  - Jap2-0 3y ago
    > Also, they get summers and holidays off. Please don't perpetuate this. Any half decent teacher is going to spend summer looking at curriculum, block/lesson planning, in meetings, organizing their classroom, doing continuing education and training, etc. Sure, it's not as much work and it's more flexible during the summer, but it's by no means time off. Also, they work a lot more than 40 hrs/week during the school year. Also, they have a lot less flexibility about when they get time off. Also (in secondary/postsecondary), they have exams immediately prior to Christmas. (And yes, I bet you get Christmas off too.) And so on.
    - Gareth321 3y ago
      > Any half decent teacher is going to spend summer looking at curriculum, block/lesson planning, in meetings, organizing their classroom, doing continuing education and training, etc. But the unions ensure that the NOT half decent teachers get paid the same, and they’re taking all that time as vacation. With such an incentive structure, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are a lot of NOT half decent teachers, and they get a lot of time off.
- ip26 3y ago
  The two are probably the opposite sides of the same coin. If it was a prestigious and well paid profession, a career flame-out would not be able to land a job teaching.
dangus 3y ago
[flagged]
tgv 3y ago
A bureaucracy tries to keep itself alive. That's part of its goal. But "Yes, Prime Minister" is a British series, so unions are small, and not well off; they've got some political influence, and form a jumping board for future politicians, but that too is the nature of "middle field", as it's known in Dutch: the sector between citizens and government. Teachers' welfare also can't be the point, since more and more people avoid becoming teacher altogether. It's too much work for a pretty modest income. Education involves a lot of money. It's the interference of individuals that want some of that that deteriorates it.
- timthorn 3y ago
  The teaching unions have pretty broad coverage, even more so when Yes PM was written.

Well, "Yes Prime Minister" already figured it out. The whole education system is more for the welfare of bureaucracies and teachers/unions instead of students'. And that was some 40 years ago.

superchroma 3y ago

Teachers make very little money. Society has deemed them worth almost nothing despite the fact that they're pivotal in shaping minds; the future of america, and that they do very hard, frustrating work taking care of our spawn in a country where parents treat school like daycare instead of a place to learn. They wouldn't need a union to collectively bargain if they were taken care of properly. On the flipside, I acknowledge that it is unfortunate that teaching seems to be a drip pan to collect people who do not succeed in primary careers, and that should probably stop also.

ochoseis 3y ago
Teachers appear to earn an average of $79k in California[0], and are eligible for a pension[1] that probably boosts their earnings to the equivalent of a six-figure job. Also, they get summers and holidays off. Not silicon valley engineer money, but not bad. [0]: https://www.niche.com/blog/teacher-salaries-in-america/ https://www.niche.com/blog/teacher-salaries-in-america/ [1]: https://www.calstrs.com/retirement-benefits https://www.calstrs.com/retirement-benefits
- TulliusCicero 3y ago
  True, but it's also true that average cost of living in California is quite high, brought up by insane CoL along the coast.
- Jap2-0 3y ago
  > Also, they get summers and holidays off. Please don't perpetuate this. Any half decent teacher is going to spend summer looking at curriculum, block/lesson planning, in meetings, organizing their classroom, doing continuing education and training, etc. Sure, it's not as much work and it's more flexible during the summer, but it's by no means time off. Also, they work a lot more than 40 hrs/week during the school year. Also, they have a lot less flexibility about when they get time off. Also (in secondary/postsecondary), they have exams immediately prior to Christmas. (And yes, I bet you get Christmas off too.) And so on.
  - Gareth321 3y ago
    > Any half decent teacher is going to spend summer looking at curriculum, block/lesson planning, in meetings, organizing their classroom, doing continuing education and training, etc. But the unions ensure that the NOT half decent teachers get paid the same, and they’re taking all that time as vacation. With such an incentive structure, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are a lot of NOT half decent teachers, and they get a lot of time off.
ip26 3y ago
The two are probably the opposite sides of the same coin. If it was a prestigious and well paid profession, a career flame-out would not be able to land a job teaching.

dangus 3y ago

[flagged]

tgv 3y ago

A bureaucracy tries to keep itself alive. That's part of its goal. But "Yes, Prime Minister" is a British series, so unions are small, and not well off; they've got some political influence, and form a jumping board for future politicians, but that too is the nature of "middle field", as it's known in Dutch: the sector between citizens and government. Teachers' welfare also can't be the point, since more and more people avoid becoming teacher altogether. It's too much work for a pretty modest income. Education involves a lot of money. It's the interference of individuals that want some of that that deteriorates it.

timthorn 3y ago
The teaching unions have pretty broad coverage, even more so when Yes PM was written.