Comments for best of myshortpencil

Comment on Don’t blame schools, it’s the parents’ fault by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:33:36 +0000

She is always blaming someone esle for her own problems in her life. I feel if she started to take responsibility for her own actions, maybe she would be a better person and stop blaming others. ISSUES!

Comment on Don’t blame schools, it’s the parents’ fault by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:28:26 +0000

I was wondering if Ms. Lana ever sat down with her own children to help them with school work or READ to them. I don’t recall!

Comment on How Can I Increase My Salary? by megan fox

megan fox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:44:44 +0000

Sign: umsun Hello!!! rcuwwymhyw and 5565ssgfhphzye and 7990Nice blog!

Comment on How Can I Increase My Salary? by angelina jolie

angelina jolie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:16:14 +0000

I love your site. Love design!!! I just came across your blog and wanted to say that I?ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. Sign: ndsam

Comment on How Can I Increase My Salary? by sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:27:40 +0000

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. Cheers! Sandra. R.

Comment on ‘Child-centric’ schools by Jerry

Jerry — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:53:58 +0000

Sure I’ve taught–law in colleges. But do I also have to be an oil rigger to be qualified to critique the price of oil? Since educator wages are set primarily by political forces, every citizen is qualified to critique educators’ salaries.

Comment on ‘Child-centric’ schools by DLF51

DLF51 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:13:46 +0000

Have you ever taught? Anyone with a college degree can become a substitute teacher. I suggest you teach for a few days or more in Albany, Schenectady, or Troy. Then you will be qualified to critique our pay.

Comment on Home-schooling in the modern world by Crystal Traini

Crystal Traini — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:57:25 +0000

I am a public school educator, turned SAH mom. My husband is also a public educator. And now here is your shock… WE agree with you!
I am glad I stumbled onto your blog. I have been doing a home study on sexual deviancy in the public schools and found your information-infor that ALL parents must be aware of!

Keep it up! Right now my children are in a Christian school while I stay home. Believe it or not- we do it on one of those “measly” teacher salaries Yes, apparently according to NEA we are “miracle workers”, right?

Anyhow, keep writing! I am enjoying knowing I am not alone. I feel outcast enough simply because I am a public educator AND conservative. That doesn’t settle well with the “open minded” liberal peers that I have

Comment on ‘Child-centric’ schools by Jerry

Jerry — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:13:10 +0000

Steven, I’m wondering whether you think it’s possible to have a thesis that isn’t prejudiced and slanted if the conclusion is that teacher salaries are too high? I take it that your position on the issue is neutral and objective.

Comment on ‘Child-centric’ schools by Steven Scharf

Steven Scharf — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 04:55:55 +0000

Why are you attacking teacher salaries and not other public servants.
Police and firemen make good salaries and get similar or better benefits than teachers. But no one attacks them. Why? Because the budget that pays for these workers is not under the direct scrutiny of the general public. You quote studies that show that having a master’s degree doesn’t make one a better teacher. Well, experience makes you a better teacher, a masters degree makes you master your subject better. What the problem is, until recently, it didn’t matter what you got your masters in, whether is was related to what you taught or not. I have a masters degree and then some, all in physics. I teach in one of the better schools in New York City. My students always do well on the NYS Regents Exam. Many teachers work hours beyond their regular day. There are two young earth science teachers in my department that arrive at school 7 AM in the morning and usually don’t leave before 3 PM and then take work home with them. Over my career I have accepted jobs that added many hours to my work week. Sometimes I got paid, sometimes I didn’t. In fact, most of the time I didn’t. So, there are many things all your studies miss. The hours teachers put in, the effort they put in to their students, the handholding, the teaching after and/or before school are not accounted for with your arguments against teachers’ salaries. Granted, there are a few bad apples, but you have that in any profession. The key to getting better qualified teachers in the classroom is to make requirements more rigorous and uniform. The system is to blame for many of the bad apples as well as administrators who give bad teachers good recommendations to get rid of them. Your study on the subject of teachers’ salaries is basically a statistical one with nothing more than a collecting of data you can get from the internet. Try visiting schools, talking to teachers, parents and kids. Statistics can be used to prove almost anything if there is premeditated agenda behind the study. Your thesis is prejudiced and slanted.

Sincerely yours,

Steven Scharf