Reader comments
Teachers might get more money

i like the way you present the news but it should be more colorefull and some pictures should be added.

Head Start has never proven to be a good investment. Put the $700,000 into other human services like dental care or something. I would bescared to put my kid in a Head Start program.

The UEA needs to realize one of the "things that matter most" is fixing the broken-down bureaucratic education system they've built. That's why the new programs are important.

As a teacher, if I ever had a year where there are no "NEW" programs, I will jump for joy and sing hallelujah!

that's great, now if we could just get them to teach.

This comment is not meant to offend the 11.2% of the teachers in the Utah Public Education System who actually teach and earn their paycheck.

I'm offended, regardless of which side of that percentage I'm on.

You have no clue what teachers put up with.

Your comment was posted at 10:23 a.m., right in the middle of your work day! I'm offended that you are reading and blogging in the middle of the day when you should be doing your job. NO soup for you!

My kids were in the middle of a 3 minute video clip and I have two computers running to enter grades, add blog entries, write lessons, plan next week, play the movie clips. All the while, I'm grading, dealing with kids and messengers coming in.

I am a master at multi-tasking.

I'm offended that you think me only worthy to eat soup!

You are upset a teacher took about 30 seconds during a video clip to post?

Let me ask you one quick question. If you need to use the restroom at 9:30 in the morning, when do you go? Must you wait until 10:10 for a 5 minute passing period to take care of that business so that you don't leave the students unattended. Oh, wait, that's between 3rd and 4th period, and your toughest group of kids is coming in, so you wait until 11:00 (you could call for coverage, but you teach in a portable without a phone and no other teacher is close enough to help) so you manage to wait until 11:00, quickly finish and wash your hands, and barely get there to open the door for the next clas and the whole passing period has been hurried and you teach bell to bell, so you just keep running and waiting until 11:50 so you can run down and purchase lunch and take it to the faculty room, shove the food down and unlock your door at 11:20 and start teaching.



But way to catch him there, Inspector Clouseau.

Regards.
History Teacher

Oh, Pay Math/Science Teachers More

Once again big promises by our local government. In the end teachers will get 2% with 1.5% of that going to insurance. Last year teachers got "The Big Increase" average that in with this years final numbers and you've got nothing...falling further and further behind. No wonder they cannot find teachers. Read the posts here and you can get a pretty good idea of the lack of respect people have for teachers. Combine that with little or no support from school administrators, massive class size and teaching becomes a sad job.

I wish the legislature would have tried harder to support Huntsman's ideas to increase teacher compensation more.

Please don't pay ME more. Pay us all more. I do not want to work in a school where the art, language, history, band, P.E. teachers, etc. all give me dirty looks.

We all have the same minimum education, teach the same rugrats, and put in the same hours. We just have different "specialties".

I've taught both core and elective classes and it is a different world, but it doesn't justify alienating my colleagues.

Equal pay for equal work!

I have worked in the private sector and as a public teacher and believe me, internet surfing is far more common in the private workplace than in schools. No matter where it takes place, it is wrong unless you are on a break. With regards to teachers, there are no breaks except for the 25 minute lunch period and even that is much less than 25 minutes when you spend about 5 minutes after class discussing grades, discipline or whatever with students who need help. Most people don't realize that. Even recess for students is not a recess for teachers.

I used to think I knew everything about teaching until I became one. How little did I know. This has got to be one of the toughest jobs there is. It has to be in the top five of emotionally draining jobs you can find. If you think watching your own few kids at home is tough, try a whole classroom full of hormone driven teenagers all day long. Everyone thinks they are an expert about teaching. I don't respect anyone's opinion about the profession until they have actually worked in the profession. Their comments exude naivety.

That was one of my greatest concerns before I started teaching... bathroom breaks.

I need them, and whenever I need them.

I still haven't figured out a system that is perfect, but you start to learn some serious body control after a few years.