Forgive me, but what teachers get paid summer time off? I certainly don't. My contract is from September 1 to the following June 30. That's it. No more paychecks between those dates. Dear lord, please don't start THAT rumor that teachers get paid summer vacations. Too many people already believe it's true, and so they say we have cushy jobs. Cushy jobs, my butt.


I work in the summers, so I can pay my bills. I simply do not make enough throughout the year to save my money and live off of it in the summers. You have a sweet deal if you're getting paid for work you're not doing. Perhaps your paychecks are spread out over 12 months, and you just take home less throughout the year. Still, this would not work for me since my COL is sky-high here in NJ.


Also, what teachers only work 37 hours a week? I am quite curious to know what subject you teach since you are home at 3:30 every day. We are CONTRACTED to work those minimal hours, but any teacher worth his or her salt is doing some sort of overtime, whether its taking work home or putting in time before or after the contracted day at work.


We get a 35 minute lunch--not a lunch hour like most people get. We do not get 15 minute coffee breaks. We do not get time to run errands or work out at lunch. So if we are contracted to finish our days sooner than our counterparts, surely those things need to be taken into consideration.


The prep time we are given is a complete joke--can't get everything done during that time especially now with all the additional paperwork and safety policies they put on our backs. I don't know about you, but I am inundated with meetings and committee work that we are contracted to do as long as it's "reasonable." Also, we are expected to do 100 hours of unpaid professional development on our own time. No other profession I know of expects a person to self-train and not get paid for it. And no, this professional development doesn't count toward a pay raise. It's a state requirement, too.


I find the "paid" vacations (i.e. forced holidays during the school year) a scheduling nuisance. We cannot take days off before or after holidays, so how can one do any significant traveling during the school year? And the summer months are very expensive for traveling to choice spots. I agree with the OP that teachers have little opportunities for travel. If there is time, there is no money. I'm sick of traveling on breaks when everything is expensive--and then realizing that I should be home resting from my work. I always get sick on holidays because that is the time I actually slow down and get rest. Stuff catches up with me then.