I don't know what they think in the Jewish world. It seems to me like they expect men in kollel to be the future and they are the only ones who count in the Jewish world sometimes. At least, they are always trying to pressure people into sending their money there. Yet here I am reading in the Yated, a teacher who hasn't been paid since February wrote in to ask the public to reallocate their charity spending to the Yeshivas and Beis Yaakovs.
Don't get me wrong. I've heard about this phenomenon before. I hear all time about how most of the schools don't pay on time. For those who read the post I put up before: Frustrated in Far Rockaway, a woman is frustrated that single teachers get engaged to Lakewood guys and get married mid-school year leaving their students in the dust with a sign, "Lakewood or bust!" This woman was concerned it's disruptive to the students psychologically for them to have so many teachers leave like this.
I had intended to post a follow up preposition. Why not have teachers sign a contract that they will stay for the full school year, with penalty of a fine taken out of their final pay check if they don't complete the year. Well, now you can see this is not exactly very threatening when they've become accustomed to working on a volunteer basis.
Now, I am not a teacher. I don't have kids and I'm not even married. Perhaps, I am no one to comment on this. I can't help but think that the children, not the adults, should be considered our future. This is why they pay public school teachers more. They figure they will pay them more to attract better teachers. This in turn is supposed to help the children.
Additionally, one might consider that most of these teachers are supporting kollel husbands on this measly pay that they don't even get paid. So, these yeshiva bochurim that we place above our children are being punished by this, as well.
Hi, you invited me to join your group for people converting a few days ago. I am the first Sarah on the frumsatire post who is the product of an intermarriage haha.
ReplyDeleteWhere is it? I'm not very computer savy... :-\
Hey Michal,
ReplyDeleteI was an elementary school teacher in the US before I moved to AU. I worked in the public sector. The pay is not so good but I enjoyed the job and I had the same hours as my daughter. That outweighed all the negatives by far. My eldest sister, on the other hand, worked for a private school as you portrayed in your article. She is constantly not getting paid. I always wonder what's up with this as the tuition is quite high and parents pay for their child's uniform, etc. Thankfully, her husband makes good money so she only teaches because her heart is in it. I doubt many teachers do it for any other reason. When I was in Uni for my teaching degree, I first got my bachelors - 4 years - then spent a year teaching for free in schools as part of my training and also going to classes. So, no teacher with half a brain does it for the money.
Unfortunately, signing a contract that you will stay the entire year may not be all that fair. If you sign a contract that you will stay and you don't get paid for months on end, how are you to pay your bills? That's the tough part.
Private schools, not just Yeshivas, are famous for this. I do not know the root of the problem. However, if they want to hold on to the best of the teachers, they need to pick up their game.
Think about going to your own job, while helping to support your family or even worse, being single. Now, think of how would you pay your bills each month if you did not get paid?
I worked on an Indian reservation in Nevada. It was a very 'needy' school as no teacher, save one or two, stayed for more than a year ever. That is why I worked there - they need a teacher that would help them to learn self control, respect of others, and of course how to make good kosher food ;) I loved teaching there.
I think the problem of not getting paid is more prominent with the Orthodox Jewish schools. The pay in any private school is so much lower than that of the public school which is actually pretty low considering you have to have a master's degree for the field. I find typical "woman jobs" to pay less than typical "man jobs" as a whole and I think that adds to the problem as teacher falls in the woman category. I should blog about that at some point.
ReplyDeleteWell, I believe the children are our future. Teach them well, and let them lead the way; show them all the beauty they posses inside. Give them a sense of pride, to make easier. Let the children's laughter, remind us how we used to be.
ReplyDeleteAnd furthermore, everyone's looking for a hero; people need someone to look up to. I never found anyone to fulfill my needs. A lonely place to be--so I learned to depend on me.
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow, if I fail, if I succeed, at least I'll know what I've achieved. No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity.
Alright-ee then Ms. Houston. However, please don't bust out into song because you know what will happen.... the yeshivish men will be putting their hands on their ears.... "la, la, la, lalalala, la, la, la, lalalala, la, la, la, lalalala." I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist that one.
ReplyDeleteReally? You think the singing is going to be the thing that is a problem?
ReplyDeletePutting hands over the ears, "la, la, la, lalalala, la, la, la, lalalala, la, la, la, lalalala."
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Kol Isha! Kol Isha!
ReplyDelete