Unpopular Opinion(s) Thread

aye brah i've been saying this for a min!!


im tired of hearing that people got into teaching as a last option. WTF?!?!?
i want to see teaching as a more prestigious professions, which is the case in other countries.
i want to see people who typically gun for MBB, high finance, SWE at FAANG now work their butts off to become teachers.

I will also say that teaching is as much of a relationship building position as it is an exchange of information position.

We often get folks with PHDs that come back to teach HS/MS and it usually fails. Sure, they have the technical information but they generally are unable to connect.

So, it takes much more than high aptitude to be a strong teacher and just looking at where the current talent pool fared academically isn't the best way to view it.
 
There are many nuances pertaining to this issue and they vary depending on the market. One fact is that there are literally hundreds of thousands of open teaching positions with no one qualified to take them.


It is interesting to see some of the different insights. I think that many of you would be surprised at how teachers are actually compensated. For example, teacher pay doesn’t vary that much based on the teacher’s educational background. In most districts a masters gets you a few extra thousand (mine is extra $3k per year) and a PhD is only a few thousand as well. Not a game changer for anyone. You aren’t paid for the summer, your pay is just stretched out over 12 months. Teachers in rich areas and teachers in poor areas make the same amount of money so long as it is the same school district. The issue lies in situations where wealthier districts are next to poorer districts (usually the suburbs). Some teachers may even get bonuses for filling positions in schools in the poorer areas. Private/charter school teachers generally make less and are often unlicensed. “Schools of choice, “lottery”, and ”magnet” schools are really just public schools with the same teachers and pay as the neighborhood schools.

Going forward, we are also running into issues with bus drivers, custodial staff, and the clerical workers we need to make schools function. The wages simply aren’t competitive with anything out there.
 
I don’t know much about teaching, but I do know about being a student and I know there’s levels to teaching. I think that should be acknowledged.
 
I don’t know much about teaching, but I do know about being a student and I know there’s levels to teaching. I think that should be acknowledged.

Of course man. That is a given that nobody in their right mind would dispute.

But, It is acknowledged and in certain regions those teachers get compensated for their high performance.
 
We blame teachers for the societal problems we have. It’s not hard to be an adequate teacher when the kids all have two parent homes and the resources they need to succeed inside and outside the classroom. There’s always a few troublemakers or annoying kids but for the most part the kids learn, enjoy, and have a safe place to be during their formative years.
Here in lies the problem. The way society is moving, alot of kids aren't being raised in a two parent household. Becomes more evident when you look at low income vs middle/high income.

A teacher teaching in a low income area has a more difficult job vs a teacher teaching in a high income area because usually the students from a low income area are dealing with external issues at home that get in the way of learning.

Students having to worry about where their next meal is coming from and whether their parent is going to help them with their homework or even make sure they do it vs those who don't have to worry have two different outcomes
 
Here in lies the problem. The way society is moving, alot of kids aren't being raised in a two parent household. Becomes more evident when you look at low income vs middle/high income.

A teacher teaching in a low income area has a more difficult job vs a teacher teaching in a high income area because usually the students from a low income area are dealing with external issues at home that get in the way of learning.

Students having to worry about where their next meal is coming from and whether their parent is going to help them with their homework or even make sure they do it vs those who don't have to worry have two different outcomes

All of which you said is why just looking at student "performance" in certain areas and blaming teachers for that LACK of performance is removing ALL nuance from the equation.

Edit: thought you were the other guy lol

Plenty of schools systems in low income communities like Baltimore have plenty high spend per kid but perform poorly
 
Here in lies the problem. The way society is moving, alot of kids aren't being raised in a two parent household. Becomes more evident when you look at low income vs middle/high income.

A teacher teaching in a low income area has a more difficult job vs a teacher teaching in a high income area because usually the students from a low income area are dealing with external issues at home that get in the way of learning.

Students having to worry about where their next meal is coming from and whether their parent is going to help them with their homework or even make sure they do it vs those who don't have to worry have two different outcomes

The greatest predictor of student academic success is family income level. The second greatest predictor is the family’s education level.
 
I don’t know much about teaching, but I do know about being a student and I know there’s levels to teaching. I think that should be acknowledged.

100%

What we don’t have is an effective method of quantifying this. Districts want to break it down to ”learning gains,” but even that doesn’t tell the full story. There are incentives to teach AP classes (bonus pay based on number of students who pass AP test, usually about $50 per kid), but not enough incentive to teach the low level kids.
 
All of which you said is why just looking at student "performance" in certain areas and blaming teachers for that LACK of performance is removing ALL nuance from the equation.

As already stated, there are a lot of moving parts in this situation. My response was to let him know it's not a financial issue.
 
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Yup. With enough money you can buy a degree at almost any school.
Money doesn't buy you a degree; it buys you the time to focus on studying.

If you don't have to worry about student loans and rent/food money, you can spend more time actually studying, participating in extracurricular activities relevant to your major, and networking with your peers and professionals.

That's where the difference lies between those who can comfortably afford college (no loans/no need to work) and those who can't.
 
Yup. With enough money you can buy a degree at almost any school.

That’s not what I meant by that. Generally speaking, students whose families have more income are more likely to be on grade level or above in subjects like math and reading starting from kindergarten and on up.

The degrees thing is a separate topic and much less relevant. The people who live in nice subdivisions are not buying degrees. The people with private jets and home chefs may be able to buy admission into certain schools, but not degrees. The people with private islands might be able to “buy degrees.“
 
Money doesn't buy you a degree; it buys you the time to focus on studying.

If you don't have to worry about student loans and rent/food money, you can spend more time actually studying, participating in extracurricular activities relevant to your major, and networking with your peers and professionals.

That's where the difference lies between those who can comfortably afford college (no loans/no need to work) and those who can't.
I was referring to the pay to play system the super rich engage in. This is in addition to the advantages you mentioned. Some celebrities recently got caught but I'm sure it happens more than it's prosecuted.
 
That’s not what I meant by that. Generally speaking, students whose families have more income are more likely to be on grade level or above in subjects like math and reading starting from kindergarten and on up.

The degrees thing is a separate topic and much less relevant. The people who live in nice subdivisions are not buying degrees. The people with private jets and home chefs may be able to buy admission into certain schools, but not degrees. The people with private islands might be able to “buy degrees.“
Might not be outright cash purchases. The who you know is real though.
 
Y'all have more patience than me lol.

The "teahers aren't underpaid" might be the worst take I've seen on NT in about 3 years. God that was bad.

However I do have a question. What is a "good" teacher, and what is a "bad" teacher? I went back and read the last few pages and saw both of those adjectives used to describe teachers without much clarification on what is defining each.
 
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the worst take I have ever seen on NT is people not thinking teachers aren't underpaid.

the vast majority of (public) teachers in the US are bums who couldn't get a job elsewhere but complain all day about how underpaid they are.

i already said i don't mind paying good quality teachers more & spending more to get good quality teachers.
 
the worst take I have ever seen on NT is people not thinking teachers aren't underpaid.

the vast majority of (public) teachers in the US are bums who couldn't get a job elsewhere but complain all day about how underpaid they are.

i already said i don't mind paying good quality teachers more & spending more to get good quality teachers.

This doesn't make any logical sense nore is it backed by any data. The vast majority of public school teachers when compared with other professions of a similar education level are paid 23.5% less. So they can excel in the same course work in college and obtain a degree but can't do the other jobs?

Once again what is a “quality” teacher? It seems like you’re making all these statements based on feelings and bad experiences you’ve had with teachers. For that I apologize.

I feel this way about police officers

Police officers it makes sense. You don’t need a degree to be a police officer.
 
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