Posted on 08/31/2020 6:49:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A significant number of teachers have put in for retirement over the last few months as educators say they’re frustrated with remote learning as well as worried about the coronavirus.
Those who are concerned about becoming sick oppose reopening the schools but those who are frustrated with online learning want to get back to in-person teaching.
The two seemingly paradoxical concerns have caused many teachers to seek different career paths, different roles or to focus on raising their own children.
In New York State, teacher retirements are up 20 percent from 2019, according to data from the New York State Teacher Retirement System. About 650 teachers filed for retirement between July and early August alone.
The one thing not often discussed by those who are pushing remote learning is the stress on teachers who are forced to be “on” for most of the day — their lives on display for all to see.
A St. Petersburg, Florida, teacher of five years, Jessica Smith, put in her resignation earlier this month over the stress and “paranoia” that comes with live-streaming to scores of students. The Thurgood Marshall Fundamental School teacher’s departure comes amid 90 other teachers retiring from public schools in Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, through the Deferred Retirement Option Program, Bay News 9 reported Monday. District records showed there were 58 retirements and 252 resignations through the state employee “DROP” program this year.
There’s also the problem of knowledge retention. Apparently, students don’t assimilate as much information via computer as opposed to in-person instruction.
Bean said remote learning through computers eliminated much of the joy and personal connection teachers get when they’re able to instruct their students in person.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Normals are Going Galt.
Just wait until the cities and states file for bankruptcy or cut back on publicly funded pensions when tax revenues continue to suffer due to the lockdowns and loss of businesses.
My daughters got the last of the conservative teachers. At least where I live in formerly red VA.
Maybe a good time for Hillsdale College to put out remote learning programs to fill some of the void.
When they find out what actual work is like, they’ll be back.
Good. I wouldn't want some coward teaching my children.
There’s also the problem of knowledge retention. Apparently, students don’t assimilate as much information via computer as opposed to in-person instruction.
Bull schiff. My daughters did remote learning years ago. They had no problems in assimilated more information because there were less distractions. To this day, I continue my education through reading and remote learning (EdX). I get to go at the pace I want and my schedule allows. I assimilate more information faster. I also get to go back and review more difficult topics. There is no rewind on live teachers at the off-moments you need the information.
Perhaps these teachers just want their fat pensions for the dismal jobs that they performed over the years. 99% of teachers give the rest a bad name.
I think it depends on the subject matter involved.
Some subjects can be learned just be reading books and seeing video. Other subjects are best learned through in person instruction.
I can see a place for live instruction when performing labs when hands-on learning is involved, but the theory preceding the labs can be learned on-line.
I’d say that the great wave of liberal/progressive teachers began in the 1960s when they were granted deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War... They packed our public schools with like-minded fellow travelers ever since. And of course, they want their union benefits regardless of the shortened workload under the lockdown. It’s a scam but rest assured: at least kids are getting a break from the relentless indoctrination. JMHO.
How many of these very same teachers are out rioting?
CORRECT. DIL is studying nursing, most of her work is online,
which gives her time with our 3 yr old granddaughter. Days she does Clinical’s we keep our Granddaughter. And will do so as long as we can, to keep her out of the INDOCTRINATION CENTERS.
Since teaching how to read and write and do math and read actual history has been replaced by SJW curriculum then those that want to teach will leave.
Teacher Retirements Are Up Across The U.S. Here’s Why
States and unions going broke?.
The “reason why” is still the same reason it always has been. Teachers get little support form administration. Fort Worth ISD is a good example. They expect the teachers to do online learning, yet their IT department is almost non-existent. If the teachers have a problem with the system (which can be on or off at any time) they are on their own. At least one of the larger schools is a total construction sight, yet the teachers and support staff are supposed to “report to work” in a non-air-conditioned, dust-filled environment with spotty network services, and only some of the classrooms and offices functional. And, where are the administrators? Good luck finding one. I know the IT department, Human Resources, and Administration building are not answering their phones.
I wouldn't dare let my child attend a public school these days.
...fat pensions...
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I have been told that early retirement for teachers means a reduced pension. Does that depend on the state?
I would assume that they work like most pensions. The fewer years you have the lower the pension. If you work longer than standard retirement age your pension is greater.
Just remove the retirement age from the equation. The fewer years you put in the less you get out. The more years you put in the more you get out.
To tell you truth, I don't have much problem with that as long as the teacher is contributing to their pension. The problem with pensions arise when they are poorly managed, and the promises made by the pension fund are outlandish. A lot of pensions for teachers and other union employees have a defined benefit. This means there is a formula for years served that guarantees a pension payment relative to the highest amount of salary received in the year or several years of employment. That works as long as the pension fund is managed appropriately and there isn't a huge differential between beginning and ending salaries. That's where these pension funds get hit. Constant raises over the career of a person skews the benefit relative to what the person put in. It is even possible to retire with a yearly pension payment that is greater than the person's last yearly salary. This is done by doing a lot of extra overtime which leads to service credits (the time used to calculate the benefit).
The other major problem with defined benefit pensions is that if the stock market tanks the value of the overall pension fund falls below what the fund has to pay out to all pensioners. That may be a short term problem, but it isn't actuarily sound, and the pension fund has to borrow money to pay all pensioners. When this occurs multiple times the interest accrued on loans to the fund take away from new investments needed to meet the liabilities of current and future pensioners.
If I were faced with the decision of having a defined benefit pension vs. a self-directed 401k or IRA I would choose one of the latter. There is always a risk in investing. The risk a lot of these union types face is no pension at all if the pension fund goes bust. (And they do go bust.) That's a lot different than the value of a 401k going down 20 or 30% because of stock market crash. The holder of the 401k needs only to wait for the market to recover to get back to even. A good example of this is the ChiCom Flu crash this year. Half a year later, the market is recovered and making new all-time highs.
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