Trading money for time

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Home : 2002 : April : 6

Trading money for time
By ConnieDanz

I had a great professor for Social Studies Methods last year, who had a wonderful attitude about all this. Because most of us were second-career teachers, he asked, "How much vacation did you all have at your desk jobs?"
The answer of course is "two weeks a year."
"And How much do you get as a teacher?" Well, let's see... there were the 3 weeks at Christmas, another week for Spring Break, every federal holiday and a few state ones, one Jewish holiday, and OF COURSE the two months off in summer. Hmmm... what does that add up to again?
When the other teachers in the class complained about "lack of respect,"

he asked, "Have you ever run into one of your students while shopping?" (Most of us had.) "How do they react to you?" The pretty universal answer was, they grab Mom's hand and say, "Mom! Look! This is my teacher!" and lead mom over excitedly. "How much more respect are you looking for? Did you get EVEN THAT MUCH at your desk jobs?"

So my response to the theme of this thread is this: I have little ones at home. I have traded the better-paying desk job for more time with them. And nobody ever, EVER led their moms over to me in the store when I was a systems analyst!!!

How's that for a different perspective?