Our poor teachers.

For the last couple of weeks as I've been on Facebook I've noticed that a few of my 'friends' have had the same note show up in their posts.  It's the one titled 'Are you sick of highly paid teachers?'  Obviously this is a moot question because, as we all know, teachers don't make what anyone would call an extravagant wage.  So the answer to the Facebook question is, no.  I am not sick of highly paid teachers.  I'm just sick of whiny teachers.

To avoid any confusion, let me state at the outset that I am very good friends with several teachers.  They all know my viewpoint (something I've been working on lately is expressing my opinions more freely).  And so we are all on the same page here, I want it known from the get go that, while I have nothing but respect and admiration for the hard working teachers of the world, I don't believe that there is anything inherently noble about becoming a teacher. 

Are there many, many great teachers who seek out their profession because they want to educate and mold the minds of our future?  Yes.  Are there many teachers who spend countless hours both inside and out of their classroom preparing wonderfully enriching lessons for our kids?  Yes.  But let's be honest.  There are also many, many teachers who become teachers as a fall back (I've heard it said a couple of times a year since I've been at the U of R.....'if I can't get a job in my field of study I can always teach for a few years').  There are many teachers who do the bare minimum and find the students to be a necessary evil that they must tolerate in exchange for working only eight months a year. 

And to bring us back to the question on Facebook....NEWSFLASH: It's no big secret that teachers don't become millionaires.  To me this is the central point.  I get so tired of people making choices and then doing nothing but complaining about the results.  How scary is it that the people charged with educating our children and molding their minds can't even figure out a principle as simple as cause and effect?  If you want to make more than $50,000 average per year then don't teach!  No one is forcing you to walk into my kid's classroom.  I've yet to hear about the teacher brigade that storms into your home in the middle of the night and forces you to the local school. 

Smokers who sue Tobacco companies.  Drivers who get angry when they order hot coffee that burns them when it spills.  Teachers who complain about their wages.  These are all people who don't seem to have any critical thinking skills and certainly don't seem to want to take responsibility for their choices.  In the case of teachers this is not only annoying but it's downright unnerving.  How can you teach something (critical thinking, judgement, problem solving) if you don't understand and practice the concept yourself?  Infuriating. 

To sum up.....teachers, if you want to vent about how kids can be rude/disrespectful in the classroom or how you don't have the parental support that you need to successfully educate our kids, I'll be your biggest and loudest cheerleader.  But please, don't expect me to feel sorry for the size of your paycheck.  Because while you are enjoying your week off at Thanksgiving (and Christmas and Spring Break and three months off every summer) my husband has to go to work six days a week to make the same amount that you do.  And he doesn't whine about it either.  That was his choice.