Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wii have our first casualty
Adrian and I, in true financial responsibility, purchased a Wii last weekend for his birthday. No, we can't afford it, no we didn't need it, but dang it, sometimes you just have to do the impulsive thing (especially on the tail end of my salary tailspin). So anyway, the week has seen MUCH sporting (and jamming-- Guitar Hero). However tonight we were head to head in bowling when my poor cat, Louie, walked right in front of my strike zone and I clocked him in the face pretty hard. He was dazed for a moment but recovered. I do believe he'll be a bit wary of those controllers from now on. Poor guy.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Why teachers quit the profession
Could it be because of district office bureaucratic b*s*? I fully believe this to be true. So, allow me to give a little back story...
In my district you are required to take 12 credits continuing ed during your first 3 years. I received a list of required courses in my orientation in my first year. What followed is entirely my fault. I diligently took all of the courses on that list, but I failed to realize that it only added up to half of the required 12 credits. *DOH* How much time would it have taken me to actually do the math? .6 seconds? No no, I was too busy for that. So at the end of the summer after my third year I realize my mistake, that I am 4 or 5 credits short of my needed 12. Holy hell, I'm not going to get my raise... I was mad. WAY mad. But really I could only be mad at myself. Eventually I came to terms with my stupidity and accepted that my mistake cost me that one year of increased pay but I was determined that I would correct my error and catch up to my proper spot on the pay scale the following year (this year). I finished the necessary credits and was SO excited to see my new pay in September. But alas, the union was in the process of negotiating our new pay scale so all salaries remained the same until the conclusion of negotiations, which didn't happen until December. So January, yay! BIG paycheck with all that back pay plus the extra big money from my jump way down on the payscale (technically 3 spots down from where I was currently, a difference of about $4000.) All week I was beside myself waiting for that direct deposit slip that was going to make up for all the overdrafts and postponed bills of the last month. I pulled my slip out of my box, quickly pulled back the tape with bated breath and... it's the exact same. WHAT? (explitive, explitive). I couldn't figure it out. What happened? Where's my big payday? What's the deal?!? As it turned out we had our union rep at our school for lunch on Friday so I went and asked her. I found out that there were others who, for whatever reason, did not get their retro pay from the 4 months they were in negotiations, but I explained that I was also expecting to make this big jump down to step 5 of the pay scale (for my 5 years experience in the school district). No, she says, it doesn't work like that. "You lose that entire year of experience." What do you mean I lose that experience??? I worked it, I have it... what do you mean I lose it?! Apparently, because someone at the district says so, you can never catch up. So essentially, instead of being paid as a 5th year employee with 12 credits, I'm going to be paid as a 3rd year employee with 12 credits. Next year I'll be paid as a 4th year, though I will be in my 6th year. The crushing realization that my district was out to rob me of money that is properly mine bulldozed me. I could hardly focus on teaching the rest of the afternoon as I struggled to deal with my anger and disappointment. That stupid stupid mistake that has already cost me thousands of dollars will continue to cost me thousands more for the rest of my career. And why? Because someone with the power says that I can't move down the scale more than one step per year. No reason, you just can't. Well I can tell you the reason. It has everything to do with them not wanting to pay people what they're worth. Thanks for all your hard work but we're not going to pay you like you've done it. Awesome. I love my job. Truly. What the students do for me is incredible. But it's district b*s* like this that really makes me question things. Why does it have to be us and them? Why aren't we all on the same side?
*sigh* There are some things I'd love to say here, things that would attempt to express the depth of my anger at the unjustice but I can't. So anyway, thanks for the vent.
In my district you are required to take 12 credits continuing ed during your first 3 years. I received a list of required courses in my orientation in my first year. What followed is entirely my fault. I diligently took all of the courses on that list, but I failed to realize that it only added up to half of the required 12 credits. *DOH* How much time would it have taken me to actually do the math? .6 seconds? No no, I was too busy for that. So at the end of the summer after my third year I realize my mistake, that I am 4 or 5 credits short of my needed 12. Holy hell, I'm not going to get my raise... I was mad. WAY mad. But really I could only be mad at myself. Eventually I came to terms with my stupidity and accepted that my mistake cost me that one year of increased pay but I was determined that I would correct my error and catch up to my proper spot on the pay scale the following year (this year). I finished the necessary credits and was SO excited to see my new pay in September. But alas, the union was in the process of negotiating our new pay scale so all salaries remained the same until the conclusion of negotiations, which didn't happen until December. So January, yay! BIG paycheck with all that back pay plus the extra big money from my jump way down on the payscale (technically 3 spots down from where I was currently, a difference of about $4000.) All week I was beside myself waiting for that direct deposit slip that was going to make up for all the overdrafts and postponed bills of the last month. I pulled my slip out of my box, quickly pulled back the tape with bated breath and... it's the exact same. WHAT? (explitive, explitive). I couldn't figure it out. What happened? Where's my big payday? What's the deal?!? As it turned out we had our union rep at our school for lunch on Friday so I went and asked her. I found out that there were others who, for whatever reason, did not get their retro pay from the 4 months they were in negotiations, but I explained that I was also expecting to make this big jump down to step 5 of the pay scale (for my 5 years experience in the school district). No, she says, it doesn't work like that. "You lose that entire year of experience." What do you mean I lose that experience??? I worked it, I have it... what do you mean I lose it?! Apparently, because someone at the district says so, you can never catch up. So essentially, instead of being paid as a 5th year employee with 12 credits, I'm going to be paid as a 3rd year employee with 12 credits. Next year I'll be paid as a 4th year, though I will be in my 6th year. The crushing realization that my district was out to rob me of money that is properly mine bulldozed me. I could hardly focus on teaching the rest of the afternoon as I struggled to deal with my anger and disappointment. That stupid stupid mistake that has already cost me thousands of dollars will continue to cost me thousands more for the rest of my career. And why? Because someone with the power says that I can't move down the scale more than one step per year. No reason, you just can't. Well I can tell you the reason. It has everything to do with them not wanting to pay people what they're worth. Thanks for all your hard work but we're not going to pay you like you've done it. Awesome. I love my job. Truly. What the students do for me is incredible. But it's district b*s* like this that really makes me question things. Why does it have to be us and them? Why aren't we all on the same side?
*sigh* There are some things I'd love to say here, things that would attempt to express the depth of my anger at the unjustice but I can't. So anyway, thanks for the vent.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
surprise
I came home from class last night to two dozen red roses on the table and dinner ready on the stove. He bought the vases himself and spent an hour cutting and arranging the flowers to sit perfectly at different heights... whatta man. Think I might be pretty lucky.
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