# Teachers so full of shit. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 1, 2013, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825 "2013-11-01T08:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/21 "2013-11-01T16:34:53Z")
You know who else is full of shit? Firefighters. And cops. Sure, every now and then something is on fire or someone’s been robbed. But you know damn well that most of the time they just love to put on the sirens and lights and blow through red lights just to feel important. Assholes. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/22 "2013-11-01T17:03:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > On the one hand, teaching is a shitty job - long hours, little appreciation, rotten pay, and a whole lot of bullshit to deal with. > > On the other, “pay peanuts, get monkeys”. > > /thread. Discuss. They don’t get paid peanuts, and, it’s generally for 9 months of the year. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/23 "2013-11-01T17:05:48Z")
> [@Mrmanface](#): > > If you want to be rich, work hard. If you want to be a teacher, be a teacher and accept that you will only get average to above average earnings. > . I can agree with this. Not enough info on the friend part, tho. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/24 "2013-11-01T17:08:17Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Dude - I can think of 3 threads you’ve recently started: > > - You’re 30 and haven’t dated > - Anyone who calls themself a self-made man is a lying, privileged d\*bag > - Teachers are full of shit > > It sounds like you have some issues you are working through - I am sorry about that. I will say that if you keep looking at what’s wrong with others, and not what you need to change about yourself, you will not be looking at a happy life. I don’t think this is fair at all. WTF does it matter what his issues are, in other threads? ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/25 "2013-11-01T17:18:41Z")
I hate morons /thread discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/26 "2013-11-01T17:22:50Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > They don’t get paid peanuts, and, it’s generally for 9 months of the year. They get paid peanuts. [Especially in your state](http://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/documents/files/2013-2014_State_Minimum_Salary_Schedule.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/27 "2013-11-01T17:27:50Z")
Teaching is apparently the only job in the world that has ridiculously good pay and benefits and should barely be considered actually “working,” but that simultaneously only attracts the absolute worst possible people to fill those positions. Weird how that works out, ain’t it? /thread Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/28 "2013-11-01T17:30:15Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > You know who else is full of shit? Firefighters. And cops. > > Sure, every now and then something is on fire or someone’s been robbed. But you know damn well that most of the time they just love to put on the sirens and lights and blow through red lights just to feel important. Assholes. Dunno about firefighters, but cops deserve a break. They were bullied all through high school, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/29 "2013-11-01T17:31:32Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I don’t think this is fair at all. WTF does it matter what his issues are, in other threads? Since we don’t know the OP’s “friend”, we can only make judgments based on the credibility of the OP (assuming he had any.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/30 "2013-11-01T18:09:39Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I don’t think this is fair at all. WTF does it matter what his issues are, in other threads? Only that it feels, very much, like there is a lot more going on with the OP than just “let’s bash teachers.” It seemed worth pointing out, but I have no intention to push the point in this or other threads. Happy to step back. ---
**Author:** ![thisishowwepray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@thisishowwepray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thisishowwepray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/31 "2013-11-01T18:19:58Z")
I have seen plenty of people (assholes) go into teaching because it pays decently and not because they give a shit. Teachers like this are not good teachers. Good teachers teach because they care about educating youth. I’m currently an educator. I’ve had jobs that pay MUCH more. I have am Ivy League masters degree and a large skill set. I do not want to quit my job and I don’t care that I make less than I could. My job is fulfilling, and I would rather have a fulfilling job and make 5 figures than hate my job and feel like it’s totally meaningless and get paid 6. I also have no dependents and only have myself to support. I also live in Manhattan, where even a very good salary for a teacher (70k or so at a private school, let’s say) barely makes you middle class. I have to be pretty creative to get by on what I make (less than that). Still worth it. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/32 "2013-11-01T18:51:17Z")
I taught high school physics in Texas for two years, and thought I was always going to be a teacher. I quit after 2 years of absolutely loving the job because I didn’t want to become one of those teachers who hates his job, couldn’t care less about the kids, and is doing it just for the time off and the money. Teachers are treated like shit, even in relatively good schools like mine. Sometimes they get paid pretty well, but almost never as well as they could be getting paid if they went and did something else (When I quit teaching to take a job in private industry, I got a pay jump of about $17k and it’s much higher than that now after only having my job for 2 years). Math and science teachers _especially_ like me have it the absolute worst not because teaching math and science is harder (it’s not, teaching english and history well is just as difficult), but because math and science teachers can almost ALWAYS make a boatload more money doing something else in private industry whereas an English major or history major usually can’t make all that much more by jumping ship teaching. I have the absolute utmost respect for teachers, as a rule they don’t get paid nearly enough for the amount of work that they do, and they don’t get nearly the support they need in general to be any good at all. That being said there are a surprising amount of terrible teachers who really should get out of the business. I was fast on my way to becoming one of those, which is why I got out. It was either basically stop caring at all about my work and my job (because if I continued to care it was going to crush my soul), or get out. So that’s what I did. My hat is off to those who continue to stay teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/33 "2013-11-01T19:14:05Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > They don’t get paid peanuts, and, it’s generally for 9 months of the year. My niece’s husband is a high school teacher. His nine months of the year generally include a lot of weekend work, getting to the school at least two hours before the students and staying after for at least an hour or two. Then during the summer there are recertification classes and a month of ramping up to any new curricula, books, class syllabi, etc. Based on a nine month work schedule, his pay and benefits look pretty good, but it’s still not a lot of money to live on. Luckily, his wife is a doctor, so they do pretty well now that her loans are paid off. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/34 "2013-11-01T19:33:36Z")
Don’t we have this discussion about once a month? My wife is a teacher and I’m a software engineer. I would say that teachers don’t make a bad income, at least around here, but they certainly aren’t making big bucks either. Put it this way: As a very experienced engineer I make about double what my wife makes as a moderately experienced teacher. But I have to admit that I think her job is a lot harder than mine. Mine involves writing computer code to solve certain problems. It’s stuff I can do no problem, given a quiet room and time to think. She has to teach 30 6-year-olds how to read. It’s a mystery to me how she can even get 30 6-year-olds to behave all at the same time. There’s no way I could do her job, and I’m a pretty smart guy (if I do say so myself). ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/35 "2013-11-01T20:25:01Z")
Any teacher who complains about the pay should try being a journalist. To wit: • The hours also suck, and could even be worse. Teachers don’t get called out of bed in the middle of the night to go cover a shooting or a kidnapping somewhere. • The pay is even worse because journalists don’t even do anything noble, like mold little minds. • Everyone hates a reporter. Nobody wants to talk to one. But people love teachers. • Every problem with “the media,” which is a few dozen different industries and professions, btw, that people have, they will take up with you. • No summers off. And for many, like newspaper reporters, no weekends or holidays either. •Oh yeah: print publishing. Dying industry. Good luck finding a job, college grads! • Any advanced degree past a BA/BS will get you exactly fuck all. Currently, I have a lovely, cushy, easy, 9-5 editorial job\* in a nice office with a metric fuckton of paid time off accumulated. But I still had to rely on Ramen Noodles and Kraft Mac n Cheese until I was like 28. If I were still young reporter, teaching looks like a _much_ better gig. - In which I work with teachers, 80% of whom are dumber than a bag of hammers. But they aren’t trained to do the work we’re doing so they’re out of their elements. I’m sure I would come off as dumber than a bag of hammers if I stepped into a classroom tomorrow. Just sayin’. Grass is greener. ---
**Author:** ![Mrmanface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mrmanface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrmanface)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/36 "2013-11-01T21:50:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m confused here - are you bitching about one particular person, about the whole profession, or are you assuming that because this one person you know is some sort of lazy, entitled loser you’re assuming every single other person in the profession is exactly the same? I’m bitching about people gaining virtual immunity from taking responsibility for their life and the ability to become instant angels because they once enrolled in a teaching course. You don’t understand, it is a god damnted cult. These people get together and it spreads like the freaking plague. You go from having a group of ordinary, decent, down to earth friends to a bunch of whinging, whining, entitled shits who make it societies responsibility thgat they get paid what they want. Every single time I meet with these people I have to listen to the woes of the teaching profession and have to sit there with the other non teachers and agree with everything they say. Meanwhile I’ve got other friends in truly crap situations who don’t say a word and have to listen to someone on vastly more money whinge to them. It makes me sick to my stomach to see one more brain dead low life becoming a future educator of our children. What hope to the little fellas have when they’re being taught by lazy morons who couldn’t be bothered getting a proper job ? Then found out teaching - IS - a proprer job and whinged about having to work for the next 30 years until retirement. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/37 "2013-11-01T21:50:43Z")
> [@Mrmanface](#): > > /thread > > discuss. Make up your fucking mind. ---
**Author:** ![Mrmanface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mrmanface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrmanface)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/38 "2013-11-01T21:58:50Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Don’t we have this discussion about once a month? > > My wife is a teacher and I’m a software engineer. I would say that teachers don’t make a bad income, at least around here, but they certainly aren’t making big bucks either. Put it this way: As a very experienced engineer I make about double what my wife makes as a moderately experienced teacher. > > But I have to admit that I think her job is a lot harder than mine. Mine involves writing computer code to solve certain problems. It’s stuff I can do no problem, given a quiet room and time to think. She has to teach 30 6-year-olds how to read. It’s a mystery to me how she can even get 30 6-year-olds to behave all at the same time. There’s no way I could do her job, and I’m a pretty smart guy (if I do say so myself). Women teaching in primary school is different, that is like a duck to water. Just wondering when you are expecting your first child ? Must be exciting to be having a son ? What I don’t respect is a smelly hippy who never shaves or washes, has no motivation, no back bone, and the weakest hand shake I have ever seen going into the teaching profession. I am so angry, because THAT piece of SHIT in one way or another is going to be a role model and an educator of young minds. I don’t even know how this idiot is still in college. I’ve been gone from college a long time and he was there when I was there. ---
**Author:** ![Mrmanface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mrmanface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrmanface)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/39 "2013-11-01T22:01:26Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I taught high school physics in Texas for two years, and thought I was always going to be a teacher. I quit after 2 years of absolutely loving the job because I didn’t want to become one of those teachers who hates his job, couldn’t care less about the kids, and is doing it just for the time off and the money. > > Teachers are treated like shit, even in relatively good schools like mine. Sometimes they get paid pretty well, but almost never as well as they could be getting paid if they went and did something else (When I quit teaching to take a job in private industry, I got a pay jump of about $17k and it’s much higher than that now after only having my job for 2 years). > > Math and science teachers _especially_ like me have it the absolute worst not because teaching math and science is harder (it’s not, teaching english and history well is just as difficult), but because math and science teachers can almost ALWAYS make a boatload more money doing something else in private industry whereas an English major or history major usually can’t make all that much more by jumping ship teaching. > > I have the absolute utmost respect for teachers, as a rule they don’t get paid nearly enough for the amount of work that they do, and they don’t get nearly the support they need in general to be any good at all. > > That being said there are a surprising amount of terrible teachers who really should get out of the business. I was fast on my way to becoming one of those, which is why I got out. It was either basically stop caring at all about my work and my job (because if I continued to care it was going to crush my soul), or get out. So that’s what I did. > > My hat is off to those who continue to stay teaching. Do you see how that is illogical ? You have the utmost respect just because they became a teacher. So I could enrol in a teaching course, and all of a sudden you’d have the utmost respect for me ? Why are you enabling crap people to enter a profession ? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825/40 "2013-11-01T22:34:07Z")
You know, I don’t complain about being a teacher. In fact, I’ve made about 3000 posts on this board over the course of a decade about how much I enjoy being a teacher. But in day to day life, I’ve found no one wants to hear about how much you love your job and how fulfilling you find it. It comes across as smug, frankly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-so-full-of-shit/672825.md?page=3)