Here's what we are facing as educators: We have the greatest educational resources available, ever. And yet, we have perhaps the most troubled youth, ever.
Should the failures of our educational system be placed solely on teachers? No more than having a vehicle break down and saying GM workers are overpaid, under worked whiners. I am not trying to whine. But this is the reality of our schools. I knew I would never be a millionaire as a teacher, but I never thought I would feel underappreciated, and I never fathomed to think that I would be faced with the challenges I see on a daily basis. We have higher dropout rates, homeless, poverty, kids who cannot speak English, illiteracy, pregnancy, athletic code violations, drug violations, expulsions, weapons, and more and more kids just unprepared to learn. The latest expulsion was for a student bringing a bat to school. Not for softball class…but with some evil intent. Without being dramatic, I'm somewhat glad it was "just" a bat. Nowadays, who knows? That could have been a real tragic event.
So, this easy, part-time, overpaid, Summers-off-job-that-we-cruise-through is what we have chosen. However, nowadays, my curriculum has become just a small part of what I must do. If you don't believe me you may visit any classroom in the district any time you wish. Just call the principal to arrange your visit.

So someone works at GM, someone is a teacher. If you don't like where you work, seek employment elsewhere.
To say that factory workers are under or uneducated is uncalled for and shows jealousy. If you can do a better job, go to it. I know many people with advanced degrees that work in factories because the pay is better.
To call in sick to prove a point is childish and sets a bad example.

Uff Da! Pretty sure that confederate flag and bumber sticker is not on my car!

Are you kidding me? Janesville would be a hicktown? I'm pretty sure if you drive around town you will find many vehicles with confederate flags and bumper stickers that read "git ur done"
Janesville is a hicktown!

Futureteacher. I will start by saying that I was born and raised in Janesville, and graduated in the top ten percent of my class and I appreciate everything any teacher did for me. Yes, teachers deserve a "fair" contract, however, its time that they look at reality and reality is that insurance plans are being re-vamped by every employer these days. Now,you say that the GM worker impact on your children is neutral at best. How can you honestly say that. What kind of city do you think Janesville would be without GM. General Motors built this city and continues to allow this city to grow. As for GM going on strike, the local employees had no choice in the matter. This was a national strike, and they had no input whatsoever. Just to set the record straight, I'm am not a GM worker, or an employee of any of their suppliers. I just know that without them, Janesville would be a hicktown.

Unions help those they represent by trying to raise wages above what they would otherwise be. To the extent they succeed, they reduce the demand for labor in unionized shops. That means more workers have to find employment in non-unionized shops, pushing down wages there. That's especially tough on workers with limited skills and education. The sad irony of unions is that they can only improve the lot of their members at the expense of other workers.

Decades of collective bargaining and political power and teacher salaries still stink? Time for a new direction, if you ask me.

A link to a WSJ editorial on Teacher Salaries:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/...

Momof5, I agree with your observations. Everyone deserves a COLA adjustment. It is also a good thing that teachers do not strike. Our education system has enough issues. Good points.

majormojo- You very well may know a GM worker who happens to be a millionaire. But, that sir, is not the norm of the workers there. And, let none of us forget that it is not a GM workers fault that they are overpaid. Just as it is not a teacher's fault they are underpaid. They deserve a fair contract and absolutely a pay raise (at minimum COLA). But, that does not give anyone the right to stage a sick-out. Comparing GM striking to the teacher's doing a sick-out is ridiculously unjust. If teacher's could strike, I am sure they would. Imagine the chaos! The state decided to step in and prohibit the JEA and other teacher's unions across the state from striking! Not everything that happens in Janesville is GM's fault. Let's concentrate on the TEACHERS and not on how it is a mere GM worker's fault. They may have a lot of power (again not sarcasim) but they do not decide what the teachers' get paid or how their contract will be negotiated. OR when and if they will stage a sick-out.

Pretty sad when the teachers act less mature than the students.

I meant how many were legitimately sick or out vs called in for a "protest"

1234 the article clearly states 111 as the number that called in sick

Can't we all just get along?!

Let the teachers keep their benefits and give them a cost-of-living wage hike. Its a compromise. Teachers don't get rich, yet they'll be satisfied.

There--that will settles it. This closes out this discussion forum. I am moving over to the "insurance looms" forum and try to settle things there.

The ignorant don't care about facts. And teachers already are aware that teaching is not going to make them rich, but they do want a fair contract.

Mr/Mrs Irish, how many people called in "sick?" If you read the article it really doesn't say. It could have been 2 or 3 you don't know. So before you blast all educators maybe facts would be more important.

Major, . . . your hat sir.

I am really sick of teachers thinking they need more money all the time. They chose the profession to help educate our children, not to get rich. If they wanted to get rich, they should go into consulting.

I happen to kjnow a GM worker who is a millionair and he only has a 6th grade education and cannot even read.

Oops, The Gazette is in business to sell papers AND promote their own political views/adgenda...sorry, my error.

Note: the gazette quoted ONE teacher anonymously. The statistic provided suggest a minor change over last year and they never give any other numbers to support any claim. Remember the gazette is in business to sell papers.

Secondly, GM and other similiar employees ARE overcompensated for doing jobs that require little training and intelligence. Their impact on my children is neutral at best. Priorities are dead wrong when there are professions/jobs that compensate more than those who have a direct impact on the future of our children, society and culture. We are talking about the education of our children. To the teacher bashers, put a hat on. Your ignorance is showing!

I have a question that maybe some of our educated public would be able to help answer. Why is it that teachers contract negotiations are carried via the media much like the contracts of professional athletes, while most of our other public employees are done behind closed doors.

Why does everyone jump on the GM bashing bandwagon right away? Are they overpaid? Not for me to decide or judge. Are they undereducated? Not for me to decide or judge. What I can say is that the wear and tear on a factory worker's body can be horriffic. That is where some of that overpaid compensation comes from. Let's me honest, how many of us would be able to go to work and do the same thing--day in and day out--with no change in the monotenous? All while having loud pneumatic tools in your ear and exposing your body to poor ergonomics. No one's job is perfect and we all have made choices to work where we work. It takes OVERPAID (note sarcasim) GM workers, underpaid teachers, and everyone in between to make the world and economy go around.

Besides, how quick everyone forgets the public outrage and negative media coverage when GM had to close down a few years back when the Packers were playing on MNF. What the media didn't tell the public was that GM operated with that many or LESS workers many nights! Everyone wants to point fingers but no one wants to look in the mirror while doing it! Teachers do deserve more money, but many people would be hardpressed to find anyone in the workforce who doesn't deserve a raise. The issue at hand is that they acted like their students and set a poor example! No wonder generation "y" is going to hell in a hand basket! Parents condone and enable their kids. Teachers, aka role models, act like kids.

1st -Let's not bash the GM workers. Teachers chose their profession, so let's not compare it to those of other professions or jobs.
2nd -As a former teacher, I am very much opposed to the "sick out" that was put on yesterday. A more effective way to communicate your displeasure might have been to go home "sick" at 2pm when the inservice started. I'd like to know what the aim of this action was? If it was to disrupt students and secretaries, you succeeded. If it was to annoy the administrators, I feel you failed miserably.

The fact of the matter is that our public school system is failing. 2005 testing results show that 25% of 12th graders tested proficient in math and 35% in reading. The No Child Left Behind program has shown little to no results. We are consistantly testing lower than other industrialized nations and haven fallen consistantly in the rankings the past thirty years. The current system is broken and until something changes it will continue to deteriorate.
The majority of teachers are great at what they do and should be willing to be rated and paid on a merit system but as long as the unions and NEA (National Education Association) thrive this will never come to be.
The following is from the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/opinio...

I'm not sure how much the medical reserve is. Maybe some portion of it should be included in the negotiations. However, if it's within normal ranges, it is best to leave it to cover higher claims years. If the reverse were true, and the reserve was low, I wonder if the teacher union negotiators would be willing to offer concessions to help build it up. Both sides need to understand that it can go both ways.

All of you teacher bashers out there really don't understand the full story with the contract negotiations. You also don't understand how crappy the insurance they already have high co-pays is either.

futureteacher: keep in mind that a lot of the postings are from OVERPAID & UNDEREDUCATED GM workers. They wouldn't understand if they tried. It would be interesting if all the teachers in the US would just quit for a couple of years. See what happens to society, maybe then they will understand and give teachers what they are worth along with a little more respect.

Also, teacher's in Janesville are not permitted to go on strike and picket like the GM employees are. When they weren't happy they walked around with signs all day telling everyone how they are being mistreated. The problem is that no one feels bad for someone that is making over $60,000 a year w/out an education. So if the teachers were to have organized a day to call in, then more power to them.

By the way I am not a teacher, just a person who realizes how much they are being screwed!

I think it would have been more useful and interesting to compare this week's absence with last Monday's numbers---not another inservice day. There may be a couple of things playing out here. Are 10+% absence levels normal or are inservice days higher to begin with? I don't think all of this is teacher bashing--it's only bashing the ones who chose to make this type of immature statement and admit to it!

Why save face, it does not matter what teachers do in the first place. They will be ridiculed no matter what happens!

I cant believe that anyone has anything negative to say about teachers. They are getting the shaft handed to them on a platter. They have been under paid and under appreciated for too long. These are the people who shape the future of society! They are the guides to our children's future! No wonder the USA is losing ground to other countries. If this were an issue concerning the almighty GM worker around here, whose job is less important to our future and should not make more than our teachers, it would be an outrage!

You are right 91 to 111 is not that huge of a difference, But for an inservice day in both years to have that many teachers gone is a load of crap and a huge cost to the district no matter how you look at it. I bet bottom dollar that no matter how the district would change inservice days for the better there would still be a huge amount of teachers that call in. The union should immediatly denounce the actions of these teachers to save face with the public. If it doesn't the bashing is well deserved!

Hmmmm?  111 compared to 91 last year, when negotiations weren't happening. That's not a HUGE difference. Of that 111 that were absent-how many had put in for a personal day?  How many were truly sick or had a sick child to tend to?  Of that 111-maybe someone is on maternity/paternity leave.  Maybe someone was sitting at a parents bedside.  Out of 846 teachers-735 were NOT absent!   Teachers are human-lets not bash them all for a small percentage that made a poor choice!

All the teachers who were gone should have went to the doctor as well. Maybe they could use up the rest of the surplus! Why is it that during the last contract negotiation the district also had a surplus? A mediator finally got involved and the district gave the teachers a portion of this surplus. Why is it different this time around?

Why wouldn't the public go and start "Teacher Bashing" because of this. I am sorry but this is pathetic. Doing something like this does not help the cause at all. 111 teachers call in sick at a cost of what 80 to 100 dollars for each sub. They should be lucky to get the 3.8% raise. Heck why don't they do it a few more days to prove thier point and bankrupt the district. If crap like this does not make people start open enrolling thier kids to other district I don't know what will.

This is a great example for the young people that are expected to respect their teachers. If you don't get your way, lie and pout. These teachers do not deserve to be rewarded for such juvenile behavior, but should be required to apologize to the taxpayers and maybe spend a Saturday morning in detention.

Pathetic.

I wonder why teachers didnt call in sick Tuesday through Thursday? Everybody enjoys a three day weekend.

I cannot believe that teachers are surprised that the general public does not support these childish actions?

Does anyone know if you can be employed as a teacher in Janesville and not be a member of the Union?

Let the Teacher Bashing Begin!!