For shame!
 

I was watching the local state-run news show tonight when I got wind of a teacher's strike somewhere in the country. Where it was is not important, nor is the reason for the strike. What was important was the responses to the strike from the typical man-on-the-street interviews. One of the women interviewed said something to the effect that the strike was bad because it was now forcing parents to either take time off from work to stay home and keep an eye on their kids, or bring their kids to work with them. This made me very unsettled and disgusted. Now, before I go off cussin' and yelling at the top of my lungs, why and what is so bad about what I heard, and do you agree that it's a bad thing?

that she said what she said? some women are bitches. put it at that :D

There are a couple of sad things mentioned in your post. In no particular order:

1. The fact is that there are many families where both parents work just to make ends meet. If you have a young child (under 12) out of school, you do need to be home to care for that child or make arrangements for someone to be there. Unless grandma or another family member is free to do it, you're probably going to miss work or pay someone to watch them. In some families, that toll on their income is going to hurt. It costs money to raise a family. That's just a fact.

2. Teenagers should be trusted to care for themselves when situations like this arise. The emphasis being on the word should.

3. Teachers are generally underpaid. In an ideal society they wouldn't have to go on strike. But we all know this isn't a perfect world.

So I agree, on several levels, it's a bad situation. I'm assuming the best here in believing that the mother interviewed had to work to support the family and not to satisfy her desire to increase her shoe collection. And before you call me sexist, it's just my belief that when you make the decision to have kids, you better have a plan where one of the parents (mom or dad) or a grandparent, etc. can stay at home for the sake of the child.

i'm tired of these women who say stuff like "i'm more than just a mom, i'm a career woman." and then they dont want to take care of their kids. someone's got to do it. no i didn't mean the nice lady at kindercare.

It is very sad to here things like that. Children should not be had with the thought that a school will raise them. If you think they are a nuisance and you cannot be bothered with them then what was the purpose of bringing them into this life? I am appalled! Off with their foul tongues!

I guess if it was that big of a deal they would just switch their kids school and let them continue the education they should be getting....instead its taken apart by a few stupid people into being a bad thing for them...when its a bad thing for their children.
So many parents feel they have to do things a normal parent would want to do IE: make sure your child has a good education and a nice home, you should want to do it and not be forced, people that feel forced are the same people that need to be pulled from the gene pool.

My child (when the day comes) will become the number one important thing in my life, I will do every thing I can to assure a safe and happy child hood, if it meant leaving work, home schooling I would do it in a sec with out one word.

God I could get so pissed thinking about those dumb ass parents who complain about having to do things for their child, like its some inconvenience ….the person being inconvenienced is the child for having been unlucky enough to have such irresponsible parents.

it was my dad actually that stayed home and took care of my brother and me[edit]I, damnit, i can't gramaticize:p[/edit], though he still sounds like everyhting he says is either a presentation or an argument (which my friends find hilarious, btw).

I think waht bothered me most about that was the fact that they were complaining about having to take care of them, and not the fact that the kids wouldn't be going to school or learning anything.... granted, that's not a very common occurence, but it's the principle of the thing, and that's what first struck me. I approve of going to school, especially now that i'm paying for it (read: my parents are paying for it, but i choose what i do)

Well said DJ!
Kids dont ask to be brought into the world we bring them.
I am lucky I never had to work while having kids,
My oldest is 11 and my youngest is 2 .
I have 3 boys and being home with them is awesome I love it and so do they.
My husband and i decided that when had kids I would be home with them until they were able and ready to take care of them selves so he worked 2 jobs for 5 yrs until we had enough money to survive of his one main one and then woo he got promoted big raise and all....
but we never saw eachother for along time so my kids could have me at home ------ it was well worth it though my kids are great .

that's sweet :)

thats waht children are about, they ernt pets or chors they are children tha are reflections of you. it sounds like youll have some pretty awesome kids.

my mom's belief is that children ruined her life :cry:

That is truly the saddest thing I have ever heard. :(

Can i just ask waht was the reason for the strike? If it was pay, then how much do your teachers earn?

in the USA, you can literally make more than a teacher by having a job at mcdonalds (were talkin $17.000 - $30.000 range here for elementary education). teaching is a labour of love at that salary, and some people really dont love to teach, i guess.

i'm sure they love to teach as much as their students love to be taught- a problem here is that many children are simply unwilling to learn, and not only that, now they know their rights. so they can tell a teacher to *something very rude* and the teacher can't do a darn thing about it. i am thinking of our (UK, specifically Scottish but i believe the problem is worse in the south (i.e. England)) educational system here, but the teacher's life is just becoming more and more hellish all the time, and being underpaid really doesn't help matters. teachers (must, i assume) get by on the help they give to the students willing to learn, and simply disregard those who are "less willing" ("dicks"). i have admiration for anyone who can go through that much bollocks and still come out with an even marginally positive attitude.

(that's another overlong post. think: succinct, succinct, succinct, succinct... argh!)

//edit:speelUng?

Why does it take something as serious as the September 11th attacks for people to reevaluate their priorities. I agree with most of the prior posts, very unsettling. I figure if I'm going to make the most out of life why not do every thing in my power to make things better or a little easier for my neighbour. I meet parents like that everyday dealing with troubled teens. I don't want to blame the parents but they sure make it easy. It really pisses me off.

Re: For shame!
 

I like how none of the parents mention that "Now my child won't be able to learn" - instead its more focused on "Now I won't get my free daycare" :rolleyes:

It's a sliding scale, from $20 000 CAN for someone fresh out of Teacher's College to $60 000 - $75 000 for a university professor with a Ph.D or a High School teacher with about 20yrs seniority.

Mind you, once you earn $60 000, you are in Canada's highest income tax bracket, and your federal income tax alone comes to about 54%.

Re: Re: For shame!
 

seems we agree, xerxes :)

omg... There were feudal serfs that were taxed less...

Photofx - I didn't read the whole post... guilty as charged :p

All of this is true but it can be a major inconvieniance for the parents when something like this just comes out of the blue. "No sorry Jack I am unable to close this £200,000 deal today." "Really John, well no christmas bonus for you then". A bit extream I know but you get the idea.

Also you have to question what exactly they were asked, the media have a great way of giving someones responce but not the question given. Hence the public is given an impression that is false and meaningless. I always hear on the TV things like "When such and such was questiond about such and such they said....." Saying they were questioned about something doesn't give you the question and often this will be a biased question thought up by the tv company to promote their own agenders or political stance. You can be asked about something and give two completly different answers depending on the exact question, not the topic.

sorry, i was talking about parochial school in Ohio. public school teachers are paid much better. i should have made that distinction.

i actually got that Mcd's thing from a teacher, btw.

That's complete BS. Average teacher pay in 1999 in the US was $40,574. Granted, that's not going to buy a Porsche, but it's significantly higher than the overall average. I'm sick of teachers pretending like they get paid less than minimum wage.

Edit: Oops, already been addressed. :)

P.S. Doesn't a happy meal cost $60000 Canadian? :D

honestly you still have to put your children first, I would feel good about shooting down a $200,000 deal for my kids sake (not super good, but good) bieng able to grow up in a good home, although I do see what your saying the $200,000 would make it a little better but thinking that way can only get you to the postion of the parents that started this topic. :(

Phily Baby makes a good point about the media. I tried also to allude to that in my post, but was too vague. The media isn't going to interview the 9 out of 10 parents who AREN'T going to compain about the situation. There's no story there. They are going to interview the 1 whiner (bad parent) out of 10. Just something to help put this in a more realistic light, for what it's worth.

Canadian politician: vile socialist bent on stealing your paycheque

The life of an average small business owner (note: teachers have no busniess expenses, so have little or no deductible income... it's all taxable).

Canadian Income Tax calculator

yea.. oh well.

then i found a computer :rolleyes: