[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by PammyJ

For those who are not aware, education is in a paradigm shift throughout the nation. There is more to the above examples. Exceptional Education teachers are angels in this field. They have way more laws and regulations to deal with for each and every student. I would venture to say if the above examples were true, then these teachers are not going to be on easy street for long. 46 states are under this transition. Yes, there are some jobs that are less work than others. Exceptional Education is not one of them! You can be sure if you are teaching core courses, teachers are using provided lesson plans and text books as a resource, the state standards at the students level is the curriculum. Teachers may make it look easy, but trust me, understanding the level of rigor needed for each standard and at the level needed to progress each student takes time, dedication, and training.
Education is not the same as it was when I got into it. Accountability is keeping educators working hard and on their toes- sometimes feeling like we have to achieve the impossible! We keep stretching ourselves and plugging along to take the students to a level they never expected to achieve. We are teaching dual set of standards this school year. One set to be measured by FCAT, the other set to be measured by PARRC in 2014-2015 school year - HA! We are working our tails off! And that's all I have to say about that!
Go police officers and educators!!!! I know this thread started with the salary conversation, but I am very passionate about the work of my profession, have to defend it!

pammyj - you don't hafta preach to me - my niece in s.c. is fought every day by a school system that tells her they do not have to accept the diagnosis, confirmation and confirmation of that confirmation of her son's autism! it would be nice to find aomeone, anyone who would work for the good of that child - wouldn't it?

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by DougB

She has every opportunity and to meet the individual needs of Special Ed students she is required to.

doug - it's n.j. - one does not veer from the guidelines - one adheres to them or one suffers consequences - most frustrating for her!

[JP]

I think both teachers and cops are in the profession they are because they love what they do. The salary is a secondary consideration and people that pay that salary are aware of this and that is why the starting salaries are relatively low.

We are all fortunate to have these types of dedicated people around.

[DougB]

Thank you swat team in Hialeah today!

[DougB]

nj,
i have no knowledge of how things work in NJ or SC. Thought we were discussing salaries in Central Florida.
Also, I have nothing but praise for those heroic officers in South Florida today. You couldn't pay me enough to do what they did today.

[PammyJ]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

pammyj - you don't hafta preach to me - my niece in s.c. is fought every day by a school system that tells her they do not have to accept the diagnosis, confirmation and confirmation of that confirmation of her son's autism! it would be nice to find aomeone, anyone who would work for the good of that child - wouldn't it?

When my son was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism 22 years ago. This was around the start of the surge of children being diagnosed. He was considered a behavior problem, paddled and suspended numerous times. I fought with the system as well throughout his school years. I chose to keep him in special education classes to shield him from those who did not understand this disability. He earned a "special diploma." on his own after he graduated he went to evening classes and earned his GED. It is much better now than it ever has been. There are so many children with this diagnosis, that it has to be proven that his disability is affecting his learning. In my experience, educators are sensitive to this. However, I can imagine there are places that may not be. As you can imagine, any school I work in, I can spot them immediately. While these students are in my care, I do what I can. Public school is not for everyone. There are special charters in some areas that may cater to special needs children. Choices are plentiful in some areas. Best of luck to your family. Autism is a lifelong struggle for those who have it. I feel very blessed to have my son and to have the opportunity to help others on the spectrum.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by JP

I think both teachers and cops are in the profession they are because they love what they do. The salary is a secondary consideration and people that pay that salary are aware of this and that is why the starting salaries are relatively low.

We are all fortunate to have these types of dedicated people around.

I think that there is a lot of truth to what you are saying. If the salaries are not high enough, no one will take the job. If the salaries in a particular profession are low, people will not get degrees in enter into those fields. As much as teachers or cops or anyone else for that matter complain that they are underpaid, they are the ones who decided to go into that field and they are the ones who accepted those positions. The person being hired is the one who ultimately decides what they are willing to work for.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by DougB

Thank you swat team in Hialeah today!

It looks like they did an excellent job and handled a very difficult situation as well as it could have been handled. Congratulations and thanks to all of them and all who decide to go into that line of work.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Indydealmaker

So far this year 57 Florida officers have died in the line of duty. 19 have perished by gunfire.

And every one of those is a great loss. I don't mean to minimize their deaths but there are over one million law enforcement officers in this country. So, 57 seven out of 1 million. Since the original poster brought up being shot at, that's 19 out of 1 million.

I mourn for every one of those deaths, As I said my father was a police officer.

But the numbers say that the odds are in their favor.

The other issue as far as money goes, (and we are discussing how much they make) is that many LEOs have the ability to work details. My father did this for years and often doubled his annual salary. They earned 1-1/2 to double their normal hourly wage for details. AT $42,000 an officer can make an additional $30,000 by working an additional 20 hours a week.

I worked 60 hours a week for most of my life and never made $72,000

[jbdlfan]

Originally Posted by DougB

Times are different. This is 2013 and Florida. The highest salary for a teacher with a doctorate and 30 years experience in Sumter isn't even 66K. No incentives offered for class size either. Schools get fined if they go over class size. Many districts haven't given raises in the last 4-5 years.

Doug, right on the money! Marion County teachers start about $36,000. You don't hit $40,000 until your 10 year unless you have your Masters. Not to mention, I've been the district for 7 years and have received one raise since starting. Not a complaint, just a fact. Those that say we work 196 days with summer off, HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's comical. Myself and many of my hardworking colleagues are still at school past 6 pm at night and taking work home with us then. You don't just write up a lesson plan, present it, and then you are done. You analyze and evaluate the results to check for understanding. But......to get back to the original idea about pay in Central Florida, teachers and cops are significantly underpaid. Florida is a Right to Work state that still has unions. Unfortunately, in my case, the union is costing me thousands of dollars a year. But I absolutely love what I do, so money is no object.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

And every one of those is a great loss. I don't mean to minimize their deaths but there are over one million law enforcement officers in this country. So, 57 seven out of 1 million. Since the original poster brought up being shot at, that's 19 out of 1 million.

I mourn for every one of those deaths, As I said my father was a police officer.

But the numbers say that the odds are in their favor.

The other issue as far as money goes, (and we are discussing how much they make) is that many LEOs have the ability to work details. My father did this for years and often doubled his annual salary. They earned 1-1/2 to double their normal hourly wage for details. AT $42,000 an officer can make an additional $30,000 by working an additional 20 hours a week.

I worked 60 hours a week for most of my life and never made $72,000

I once again respectfully submit that the numbers are not the issue. While being a police officer isn't even in the top ten most dangerous jobs (being a fisherman or a forestry worker or a pilot is more dangerous than being a cop or even a soldier in Falujah), these are the people that run towards danger! But numbers are misleading. While there are about 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the country, about 155 on average die in the line of duty each year, and half of those fatalities are from traffic incidents. However, it does not include the nearly 58,000 assaults on police officers that occur while protecting us.

[rubicon]

As I stated in my original post the market primarily determines job salaries in a community. Of course unions skew market development.

What I had learned in Human Resources is that every employee at every level believes they are under paid, Every employee survey comes back with that same perception. also compensation the biggest factor until you starting asking about benefit working conditions.

What people must remember is that they choose their means of making a living.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by rubicon

As I stated in my original post the market primarily determines job salaries in a community. Of course unions skew market development.

What I had learned in Human Resources is that every employee at every level believes they are under paid, Every employee survey comes back with that same perception. also compensation the biggest factor until you starting asking about benefit working conditions.

What people must remember is that they choose their means of making a living.

Very good and very accurate post, Rubicon.

I found out those same things when I worked for 36 years in HR for the Federal government.

When I was in my senior year of college (after being in the Army), I decided I wanted a steady job for a career. I took the Federal Service Entrance Exam and with the extra points added for being a disabled vet, I was lucky enough to be selected in the Veterans Administration Personnel Intern program. I knew I would never get rich but I am very glad I took the advice of my father and chose that as my career.

[Monkei]

Originally Posted by buggyone

I recently added to a thread that the starting salary for a Sumter County sheriff deputy was about $42,900 plus benefits. A couple of other posters thought this seemed low for a starting salary.

What do you think would be a fair starting salary for such a job in this part of Florida?

It takes a special person to be a cop. I know some who would take even less to be one.

[festusrules]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

i thought teachers were salaried whereas police were hourly. teachers only have to work 180 days per year, police maybe 250? at what grade level do you think teachers start working night/weekends? and what teacher works during the summer who is not paid for it?

My daughter is a 6th grade teacher with 5 years experience. She works many extra hours during the school year and the summer (including yesterday and today). The only pay she received was a couple days when she taught a course to others in her grade level within the district ( she was chosen for this task because of her skills and knowledge learned in her Masters program). I once thought of teachers having 3 months off during the summer. I now know better. There may be a few teachers who work minimal hours, but my daughter and her peers put more into a job that most of us could not do. She deals with kids who come from broken homes, low incomes, parents who have drug problems, etc, etc.

A proud parent of a GREAT Teacher.