Posted on 08/30/2007 5:50:30 PM PDT by Kaput
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N for the N-E-A by: Bethany Stotts, August 23, 2007
According to Expedia.com 2006 survey data, the average American employee gets 14 days of vacation annually, and usually only uses 10 of those. In contrast, human resources firm Hewitt Associates reports that Europeans average around four weeks of vacation per year. Hewitt Associates told Vault, an internet-based career-information provider, that Denmark employees receive the most vacation in Europe, with an average 31 days per year, while Switzerland came in on the low end with an average 20 days vacation annually. Vault reports that because Americans receive vacation based on seniority, it can take American employees 15 years or more to earn four weeks of vacation, unless you’re a teacher, of course.
On August 20, 2007, the National Education Association website featured a survey asking educators “How long was your summer break?” It provided the options of:
• No break;
• 3 weeks or less;
• 4 to 6 weeks;
• 6 to 8 weeks; or
• More than 8 weeks.
Of the 454 people surveyed, 76% recorded receiving four weeks or more vacation this summer with many of them receiving 8 weeks or more summer vacation time. Despite these cheerful results the NEA asserts, “Taking the ‘whole summer off’ isn't quite like it sounds. . . Paperwork, planning, preparation and continuing education can shorten the summer quite a bit.”
“How much time did you actually have for a ‘break’?” the teachers’ union asks. In other words, who would like to share their tales of woe of how overburdened their summer schedules really are?
One poster, using the name Cynthia Lee, complained on the forum that “My summer broke [sic] was a little over 8 weeks. . .I am very disappointed. . . Even though we had a short time out, we continued to go to workshops. It seems as if there wasn’t a break at all.” Those employees receiving one to two weeks vacation annually might object to Lee’s characterization of 8 weeks as a “short time.” Also, those workshops don’t seem to be helping this teacher’s spelling.
Similarly, another poster, Csanders reported “I've had 13 weeks ‘off,’ but I've spent a lot of that ‘off’ time on school-related work.” Csanders took a two-week course in June which required reading four novels, writing a ten-page paper, and writing and revising 20 pages of materials. The teacher reported working between 2 and 4 hours per day during the course, claiming “Since the time I spent on ‘school stuff’ was a few hours here and there rather than 8-hour owrk [sic] days, it’s hard to determine exactly how long my summer break has been.” The online course didn’t seem to help with this teacher’s spelling either.
One might argue that teachers—given their allegedly low incomes—spend most of their summer working at their second job. However, only 13% of the teachers in the NEA survey reported that they were actually working at another job.
Perhaps there is so surprisingly little moonlighting on their part because public school teaching salaries may be actually higher than advertised. According to the NEA salary tables, Pennsylvania teachers earn an average $54,027 per year. D. C. teachers earn an average $61,195 per year. Mississippi, ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau as the poorest state in the Union, pays its teachers an average $37,924 annually.
Another NEA survey, found in the professional pay subsection, asked teachers and school support professionals to answer the question “How have you been spending most of your time this summer?”
• 30% reported that they devoted their time to classes;
• 3% reported that they spent most of their time “Preparing for the upcoming school year”;
• 47% of respondents reported that they were taking what the NEA website listed as “well-deserved time off!”
Apparently, taking a vacation four times longer than that which most taxpayers enjoy is a teachers’ professional right. This clear educational exceptionalism doesn’t stop just at vacation benefits. The NEA has launched a “nationwide salary initiative. . .advocating a $40,000 starting salary for all pre-K-12 teachers and appropriate professional pay for higher education faculty and staff.” (emphasis added).
Bethany Stotts is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
If you would like to comment on this article, please e-mail mal.kline@academia.org
For the record, I spent the entire summer going to softball games, reading, and sleeping in. It was pretty sweet. If anyone is looking for a job teaching, most school systems are still searching for qualified candidates. Apparently the pay is great and you get summers off. Who wouldn't want to be a teacher? Check your local board and have at it.
and don’t forget Winter break and Spring break.
I was a teacher, loved the time off. I did take a lot of work home with me, and had to do a lot of workshops, but only about 1 week out of the summer. A friend of mine has been teaching for 5 years in a city public school and was complaining because now she only makes about 50,000 a year.
When I get "two weeks of vacation" that usually translates to 10 paid vacation days (two 5-day weeks of pay). I wonder if the survey introduced confusion over terminology.
I’ve been teaching for 10 years, I don’t even come that close to 50k. But, I love what I do and I plan on doing it for the foreseeable future. No real complaints about salary, working conditions, or working hours. Went into it with my eyes wide open.
Americans get vacation based on seniority?? nope. There is no national, government based system
How is your summer unpaid time if your pay is spread over 12 months?
Federal workers do get more vacation time the longer they work. The top is 8 hours every pay check, or 26 days per year. This is in addition to 10 paid federal holidays and 13 sick days a year. That’s 49 working days for arithmetically impaired, or nearly 10 weeks.
I take 5 days vacation a year. And not all at once. The longest is 3 days. I have not taken a week off 9 days in 6 years. Makes a difference when you work for yourself and no vacation is paid vacation. I do just fine. Now my employees get 2 weeks vacation and 10 sick days. Imagine.
It’s my choice. I could choose (and some do) to be paid over the 10 month period and then receive no paycheck in the summer. Since I don’t work in the summer, I choose option B. Those that work in the summer often choose A because it is more money per month.
not everyone works for govt
Oh, I know that, I was just offering it as an observation. Sorry, didn’t mean to make it sound like that was a nationwide system. You are right - that is Fed Gov only and not typically copied outside the Fed Gov
Yes. And my brother who works for the State gets to accumulate his vacation days. He will get to retire 3 years early all paid cause he has not taken on day off.
Sleeping in? Playing softball? What about all that “Paperwork, planning, preparation and continuing education... ?”
My husband will do the same. He is ‘guestimating’ 18 months early, but no guarantees. You never know what curve balls life will give you.
I had to work overtime last week without pay...I demand a congressional investigation.
And I don't play softball, I watch it. Much safer
Since I teach special ed, I NEVER bring home work because of confidentiality issues and county requirements. I work late if I have to, but no school work comes home.
I was a math teacher & coach in the 50’and early 60’s, paid for nine months, went to National Guard camp and worked for the Agric. Dept the remainder of summer, wife and three kids. - I too loved it but for $300 a month I had to move on following the almighty dollar.
My take on the schools today is too much governmental meddling with their mandatory social programs, and, of course, discipline. I know of several young teachers, whom I believe were excellent in their work, but who left teaching because of student behavior and poor administators who are so wrapped up in political correctness nothing gets done about it. Money was not the issue.
14 days of vacation a year?? Man that sucks. Just how work-obsessive are we? It’s not like it’ll kill the economy if we take a few extra weeks off for relaxing...which is healthy, y’know.
Anyway, I should be glad I’m a student and don’t have to worry about that at the moment...3-month summers of sleeping in, FReeping, vacationing, and waiting for hockey season to start. Sweet.
the story makes it sound like that is a national system
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