The Story of Adam (and Eve?)

This is the story of Adam, who commented on our little blog about his girlfriend's (we'll call her Eve) experience getting a teaching position in Madison (we believe).   We sincerely appreciate Adam for coming forward and speaking his piece.  But on the flip side, he underscores that old quote about statistics: What they suggest is intriguing, but what they conceal is vital.   Adam shares some numbers with us...just enough for us to poke a few holes in the logic bag.

ADAM's e-mail comment is provided completely uncut.   All we did is split it up into bite-size chunks and offered our response.

Enjoi!   And much thanks to Adam for bravely going where very few venture.

ADAM:

My girlfriend and I have been together for 3 years, and she is finally moving up to the Madison area.

SP-EYE:

You do not say from where your GF moved "up to Madison".  Is it Janesville? Beloit?  Illinois?  Or some ultra-rich suburb somewhere inbetween.  Makes a difference in salary grids.

You also say "my girlfriend"...NOT my fiance...although you've been together 3 years.  While not trying to pry into things personal, it's important to consider whether this relationship will eventually become a legal merger of both people and finances.  It helps figure out the money thing ...read on.

ADAM:

We started looking for apartments that would cost between 1,000 and 1,1000 a month. After getting her contract, (being a teacher for 10 years mind you), we have now decided that we can afford only 800 dollars a month.

SP-EYE:

OK...now we have some data to work with.  10 yrs removed from college puts her in her at about 32-34 years old.  So we're guessing you're both past the crazy kid-out-o-school splurging on "me" things. Hopefully.

10 years teaching experience translates to a salary in the low to mid-40Ks....with only a B.A.   But since she has 10 years experience she has to have renewed her license...probably twice.   We're guessing she must have accumulated two 6-packs of credits post Bachelors, so we looked at Madison's "Track 2"

Madison' s Track 2 at 10 yrs experience translates to a salary of $43,523 per year  (yes, for 9 months Adam).  On a monthly basis, that translates to gross pay of $3,627 per month (again spread over 12 months).  The guiding philosophy is not to pay more than 25% of your gross towards rent, so...yes....we would agree that SHE should limit an apartment rental rate to $907/month or less.   But if you're living together, don't you have TWO incomes, Adam?  If you're bringing home any bacon at all, then surely you can afford more.  Wait...you ARE working, aren't you?

And actually, she could probably afford a small house or condo and get in before values really start rising and interest rates are still low.  Payments on a $150K mortgage (30 yrs) would be about $675/mo.    Oh yeah...you gotta tack on probably $300 to $350/month for property taxes.  

But let's dig a little deeper.  One teacher we know pretty well has been out of school exactly 2 years....so...you know...low on the salary grid totem pole.  And that would be in the heart of Milwaukee, where the grids aren't very friendly.   But even she can afford $700/month for rent.  So we're having a hard time figuring out how TWO of you, and the teacher with 8 more years on the grid, are struggling to pay $800/month.  Do YOU work, Adam?  Just askin'....cuz the numbers aren't adding up, yo!  Or do you two both drive Mercedes?   Eatin' sushi...or seabass... every night?  Sorry...forgive us for the absolutely shamelessly gratuitous Seabass reference.

ADAM:

 She took a 14,000 pay cut to come to Madison. In case you had not noticed that is about an entire years worth of rent.

SP-EYE:

Zing! Ouch...that stings, Adam!  But, yes, we noticed.  Funny though...we instantly looked at it from the angle that you must be some catch (LJH-esque?) for someone to take a $14,000 pay cut.  And possibly even foot the entire bill for an apartment!  But hey...love is blind, right?   We are very familiar with a damn fine dude who quite his job and moved halfway across country to be with the one he loved.  That didn't end well

But of course while it is implied that she came up here for you, maybe it was for family...or a chance to work in a better school district.  One wouldn't take a pay cut AND choose to work in a worse district, would they?  We think you're probably a pretty good catch, Adam....but THAT good?   Not after 3 years and no ring!  ZING!   How'd that feel, buddy?!  :-) 

ADAM:

Then comes the aspect on working conditions...but that is like trying to explain how to gut a fish to a member of PETA.

SP-EYE:

Working conditions?  Really?.  You make it sound like being a teacher is akin to working 16 hour days in some 3rd world sweat shop for peanuts.  Um...REALLY, Adam?  Much of the rest of the world works 260 days per year.  When was the last time you checked the base pay of ...say...firefighters or police?

Adam...we're afraid to have to tell you, but someone slipped you the Kool-Aid.  We grow tired of this whole "working conditions" crap.   And that' not fair to crap.  

We do dig the PETA/fish gutting analogy though.  That was clever.

 I am sure you are one of those people that say things along the lines of, "don't get me wrong...I don't hate teachers", or "teachers get their summers off so this is more than fair." Truth is, that is exactly what I would expect someone to say that doesn't know a thing about the situation. 

SP-EYE:They say that expectations are only met with disappointment, Adam...and  we wouldn't want to disappoint you. Fact is, Adam...we DO respect and value teachers...at least the ones that aren't whiney.  Oh...did we say that out loud?  We have both publicly and behind the scenes been pushing to raise the floor for teachers' base salaries...but also to establish a cap.

But the whiney ones and the dead wood have to go.  We'd love to get a whole bumper crop of new energized teachers that aren't going to drink the Kool Aid.  Poor working conditions?  Please!  Not sure you' know what poor working conditions were unless it but you on the behinder.  What is needed to create "good" working conditions?  Ice cream socials every Monday?   Only having to teach two classes a day?   We're sure that teaching five classes a day is absolutely inhumane.

ADAM:

Have you gone into a school lately to shadow a teacher to see what they do? I didn't think so.

SP-EYE:
Can't say we've shadowed a teacher for a day Adam...you see we work for a living.  But we did see a teacher's shadow on Groundhog Day this year...do we get half credit?  

Oh...and that's 12 months a year that we work....260 days....not 190.   But we know some teachers very well.  There are teachers (and administrators) in the family.

Honestly Adam..have YOU shadowed a teacher lately?  Of course, if you're not working, maybe you have the time to do that.  Tell you what though...we'd challenge YOU to spending a day in a teacher's class right alongside with us.  Got the stones for that, Adam?  You know our number.

ADAM:

I wish I could say it in a way that would make sense to you, but the truth is, it will never makes sense to you. Fairness is all that you preach about, but can't for one moment understand what fair actually is until you walked a day in their shoes.

Cheers

12:58 p.m., Saturday May 18

SP-EYE:

Geeez if you aren't the pot callin' the kettle black with all the negativity!.  Were you asleep in class when they talked about taking the high road?  Wanna talk about fair, Adam?  We know quite a few folks in the public sector that are paid LESS than people with LESS seniority and LESS productivity in the same job.  Can't say as we've ever heard of such a thing with teachers.

Here's a little life lesson, Adam...life is quite frequently unfair.  It's how one deals with it that is the true measure of a man or woman.  

An Educator Responds...

I have often though about sending a response to some of what you post but this is the first time I have actually followed through.  I [have experience teaching in the district and]  at times agree with your take on issues...but this time you seem to be lacking (or at least not fully disclosing) some basic needed information. 

 

I have to believe that you are aware that the majority of teachers pick up credits because it is required by state law!  Please do not blame teachers for saying that they need to spend their summers picking up more credits when, I suspect, your favorite example (the vaunted elementary librarian) probably does not truly believe that she requires a Ph.D. to find news stories for a third grader...but as long as she is being required, by law, by a legislature that apparently does believe that to be the case, she ought to be paid.

Aside from the obvious continuing certification demands now being ascribed to teaching licenses, there is also the issue of culture.  I believe you to be a businessman so you are quite familiar with corporate culture and should be aware that you do not simply change a culture overnight with the a wave of the "wish wand."  It takes, in most businesses, approximately 5-7 years to fully change an established culture.  For decades, teachers have been playing the hand that was dealt them...credits and experience.  For decades, to make more money as a teacher, the "system" in virtually every district was structured the same: get more credits, get more experience, earn more money.  In business, if you want to make more money you move up the ladder.  In education, there is no ladder...unless you want to be an administrator!  By now demanding a change in the structure of the salary schedule you are effectively demanding a change in the culture - in  a very short time!

What you appear to be advocating by compressing the salary schedule, through the elimination of years of experience and credits,  has the potential to create a leapfrog effect.  This is what I believe the teachers union is attempting to avoid.  It would be not unlike a new attorney coming in and making more than a full partner in the firm.  Numerous recent studies have supported the fact that experience does, in fact, make a better teacher.

Perhaps the time has, indeed, come for a change in how a salary schedule is structured (especially in light of the fact that far fewer teachers find it to be a lifetime career anymore!) but it should be done in transition over a period of time.  And this does not address the variances that  will exist if one district - or a few - change and many others do not and a teacher moves between districts.   Also by the way, I believe that a salary schedule is a minimum.  I think the district can pay more.  In fact, at times they will (don't know if Sun Prairie has ever done that!).

If nothing else, you present "food for thought" but you also need to be fair to your readers and explain that teachers are simply doing what current law is requiring of them.

-----------------------------------------------

SP-EYE comments:

First, and foremost, we appreciate someone having the temerity to not only respond, but to provide their name.  We fully applaud that action.  It's so much easier to engage in dialog when someone isn't using a throw-away e-mail address.  This subject requires dialog.  And at least one educator had the guts to do so.

We see a couple of themes here which require our feedback:

1) Was SP-EYE fair regarding teacher certification requirements?

If we came across as disingenuous,we apologize, that was not the intent.  We certainly do understand that--depending on the license they hold---teachers may be required to obtain additional education requirements for license renewal.  But that being said, let's be totally fair and state that those that require credits have a license good for five years and 6 CEUs are required to renew the license.   Over a 30 year teaching career, that's exactly 36 credits.

But remember...teachers also receive a 2% salary increase for every 6 credits they earn.  If they are "off the grid", then if its a course that fits with their role, and they pass it, the district will reimburse them $300 per credit.  So for each of those 6 credits, they would be reimbursed $1800.  One can get credits for $300 if one looks.  And sometims those credits require very little time to earn.

It is of note that those on the upper end of the salary scale, who received their teacher license prior to 1983, received "life" licenses, and they required NO additional credits.  That explains why at least one teacher with over 35 years experience had only a BS degree plus NINE credits.

These days, under PI-34, teachers can opt (in lieu of credits) to develop a PDP or Professional Development program individualized for them  The downside of course is that their is accountability for holding to satisfactorily completing the plan. 

2) You can't change the culture overnight.

Generally speaking, we agree; in normal times, one cannot change the culture overnight.  But these are not what we'd considered normal times.  Act 10 is here and has withstood numerous challenges.  It looks like it's here to stay, so we need to deal with it.   Act 10 served as an instantaneous game changer.

We're also not the Lone Ranger here.  Other school districts have already done this (doing away with the grid).  The change is already happening across the state, and we suspect the nation will be forced to follow.   The teacher grid model is no longer sustainable.

And as for Sun Prairie being "able to pay more"....  sure...we can pay more.  And McDonald's can pay more, and so can Walmart.  ANYONE can pay more.  But it comes at a cost.  For McDonald's and WalMart, they simply would charge consumers (that would be US) a higher price.  For the school district, it means higher property taxes.  And even the teachers DO have to understand that the old revenue limits are still in place, so there is a maximum that we can spend (gee...hope we don't suddenly get a hole in any damn roof!).

The real question is....WHY should we pay more...other than to increase the base for starting teachers?  A large number of teachers make $65,000/year or more in base salary alone....and that's for 9 months.

3) The leapfrog effect.

We think that the analogy of a lawyer coming in and making full partner to start is a little over the top, not to mention unrealistic.  We're talking about compressing the salary scale, not paying everyone the same.  The base wage paid to teachers is ridiculously low.  You know it; SPEA knows it; hell, everybody knows it.  But nobody wants to do anything about it because of the way things have always worked.

The way the rest of the world works, is a world in which there is a salary scale to work with (and often a maximum "hire rate").  I someone with great credentials and abilities comes in, you may throw a few more dollars at them.  Then, annually, if "company" performance allows it, a pool of money is made available for pay increases.  There is no "everyone gets 3%.   Usually managers have authority to determine how they dole out their groups'  share of the pool.  Those that are not performing to standard may NOT get an increase, while others that are rising above may receive more than the average increase.   But there is no automatic increase because you are a year older.  Unions, of course, are less than enamored with this.

Again...our sincere thanks and major kudos to the sole educator who drummed up enough courage to open a dialog.

At the end of the day, do we not teach our children to embrace change and dare to try?  To face life's challenges?  Instead of endless arguing about a contract proposal which is both fair and unlikely to change substantially, why do teachers not accept change and serve as role models?  

Can We Get This Straight...PLEASE?

January is almost done.  The school board SHOULD be working up a budget for 2013-14.
Oh...but wait....the "professional educators" union is still stalling on raises for 2012-13.

They want more money...more than the 2% every other group got.
They want the raises percentage to apply to all members unilaterally.
We think they (or at least their negotiating team) need to get real.

We have agreed---repeatedly---with SPEA that entry level teachers need a wage hike.  But SPEA won't compromise.  We need to get rid of the grid and compress the salary structure.   Teachers serve a vital role...but a 5th grade educator needs neither a PhD or an $86,000 base salary.  We would be happy to advocate for something along the lines of a starting wage of $40-45,000 with a ceiling under $70,000.  You hit the ceiling and your pay is frozen until the school board changes the floor and ceiling...which may (or may not) be an annual adjustment.

It's a 9 month job, people
Please...we're so tired of the argument that the job of a teacher is a 12 month job.   Stop the madness.  Many of you work another job during the summer months.  So don't tell us that you work a summer job to pay the rent but then also tell us that you slave your summer away working on lesson planning.  Some of you work (and get paid additionally for) summer school assignments.  If you need all the summer months to do "lesson planning", how do you possibly have time to teach summer school?   Yeah....RRRRRight!  And the blue/white collar non teacher doesn't do ANY work during their vacation time. Think again.

So stop singing Aerosmith's "Dream On" and try David Bowie's "Get Real".  Seriously...can you please GET REAL?  Your contract is for 190 days.  That's all that is required.  The rest of the working world has a "contract" of 260 days.   That  means that you only work 73% of what the rest of the world works.  And that means that your $32,505 base wage is equivalent to  $44,500 that the rest of the world earns.  That means that our 5th grade teacher making $86,000 (for 190 days work) is equivalent to a salary of $117,800 for the rest of us.  Now...we're not saying that your base bay for  new teacher is great.  But that is a separate issue.  We need to stop comparing apples to pineapples....or...in this case...ROAD apples.

It's a choice...You do not need all those credits/degrees

Teachers will also cry that they spend all kinds of time and money paying for additional education credit that they "need".  Like we tell our kids:  NEED?  or WANT?   Many do not need credits; they WANT the credits because they know that every  credits gets them a 2% increase as they "change lanes" on the grid.  Fine...we do away with the grid and you can get off the gerbil wheel.

Now...maybe instead you want to be honest and tell us that at least some of you are obtaining an advanced degree so you can move into administration.   That's great...but it's also a horse of an entirely different color.  You do not need that degree for your teaching job...you seek it for something else.

By all means, advance your education if that's what you CHOOSE to do.  But do not use it to rationalize your need for better pay.

You're not the only ones that work more than 8 hrs/day
Again, we tire of all the stories of all the time spent beyond a teacher's working day doing "teacher stuff".  We're not drinking that Kool-Aid!  You think you have the market cornered on putting in more than 40 hrs per week on your job?  Think again.  The rest of the world ALSO routinely puts in more than their "required" time.  They work at night, on the weekends, while on vacation.

None of us work 40 hr weeks.  But the majority of us do not get the summers off where we could vacation, get a second job doing something else we enjoy doing, or do nothing.

You want to be known as PROFESSIONAL educators?  Then please ACT like a professional.

Is it really even 8 hrs/day?
Most of us go to our 9 to 5 jobs (or 8 to 4, or whatever)...our 8 hours jobs and, other than a 30 minute lunch (or 30 minutes of "break"), they o their job for the entire day.  We do not get *paid* time to "prep" for out jobs.  We are expected to be there and do it.

The best kept secret of professional educators is that they are only required to "teach" for 5 or maybe 6 "class period" per day.  Middle school is a great example.  Class "periods" are 45 minutes.  Teachers are required to teach 5 classroom periods plus take on one supervisory duty (study hall, lunchroom, etc.) per day.  Add it up people.  Including a 30 minute paid lunch, that accounts for 300 minutes, or 5 hours per day.  That means that they are paid for 3 hours (37.5%) of their daily time for work planning or classroom prep!!!!

How many of you non-teachers get 3 hours each day PAID time to prepare to do your job?


Let the crucifixion begin....but we need to get past the horse puckey and start being honest.  No more embellishing.  We grow weary of the nonsense.
Dear Professional Educators...it's time for you to accept the offer made by the school board and move on.   Your dreams of Act 10 being struck down have gone up in smoke.  Get over it.  Move on.  Hell...move forward.  The school board has offered you a VERY fair plan.

To borrow from a slightly crude but perhaps appropriate adage..."Tough titty said the kitty, but the milk is still good"