are you a feminist?

[rexlunae]

I had a related conversation with conservative friends last night. They have family who've moved upstate to a more liberal urban area where their kids are getting a quality education, additional support for their autistic child, music and art in the curriculum (the availability of art and music classes astounded them), all things that are scarce to missing where we live. He acknowledged that none of those benefits would be possible here because almost every ballot proposition is consistently voted down. Voters here say no to everything, and it shows in the infrastructure wherever I go. (With the exceptions being the wealthy enclaves where developers' fees and higher property taxes make a significant and visible difference.)

It's a problem that's fairly new for the GOP, but the current crop seems to have no understanding of the need to spend money now for the sake of the future. Education is one of those areas. If you cut the budget for a school (or just let it stagnate), it doesn't impact you. It impacts your children and grandchildren. Teachers today are expected to work very long hours with no overtime pay, pay for supplies for their classrooms with their own money, and they are constantly maligned and placed at the center of political controversies. And their unions are under constant attack.

There was a time that routine spending wasn't such a big problem. But no longer.

 

[chrysostom]

It's a problem that's fairly new for the GOP, but the current crop seems to have no understanding of the need to spend money now for the sake of the future. Education is one of those areas. If you cut the budget for a school (or just let it stagnate), it doesn't impact you. It impacts your children and grandchildren. Teachers today are expected to work very long hours with no overtime pay, pay for supplies for their classrooms with their own money, and they are constantly maligned and placed at the center of political controversies. And their unions are under constant attack.

There was a time that routine spending wasn't such a big problem. But no longer.

this is all very interesting and nice
but
you seem to be ignoring that the education bill is paid by the state
and
they can't borrow money like the federal government can
nobody can borrow money like the federal government can
nobody should be allowed to borrow money like the federal government does
so
please address reality
if
you want to talk about funding education

 

[rexlunae]

this is all very interesting and nice
but
you seem to be ignoring that the education bill is paid by the state
and
they can't borrow money like the federal government can
nobody can borrow money like the federal government can
nobody should be allowed to borrow money like the federal government does
so
please address reality
if
you want to talk about funding education

Gee. It seems like, there is a mechanism for generating revenue that doesn't involve inventing money out of thin air. What was it called? Waxes? No, that's not it. Faxes? No.... It was something like that.

 

[chrysostom]

Gee. It seems like, there is a mechanism for generating revenue that doesn't involve inventing money out of thin air. What was it called? Waxes? No, that's not it. Faxes? No.... It was something like that.

taxes?
the kind we get to vote on?
guess what?
when you ask for excessive wages
excessive health benefits
excessive pension plans
we are still able to get 51% of the vote
because
only 49% are on the public dole

 

[rexlunae]

taxes?

Oh yeah. That was it.

the kind we get to vote on?

Either way. That's what tends to happen at the local level. At the state level, it's usually the legislature.

guess what?
when you ask for excessive wages
excessive health benefits
excessive pension plans
we are still able to get 51% of the vote
because
only 49% are on the public dole

Teachers? Excessive wages? Are you joking?

 

[chrysostom]

Teachers? Excessive wages? Are you joking?

do you know what they are?
tell us
the wages
the health benefits
the pension
the actual hours per year that they work

 

[Rusha]

do you know what they are?
tell us
the wages
the health benefits
the pension
the actual hours per year that they work

But what about the children ...

 

[rexlunae]

do you know what they are?
tell us
the wages

It varies a lot, but anywhere from $45k to $70k is typical. And it's been declining the last few years. Certainly not lavish by any reasonable standard.

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_211.60.asp

the health benefits
the pension

Once again it varies, and I don't have any good aggregate data on it.

the actual hours per year that they work

A lot.

 

[chrysostom]

here is a great post by
michaelcadry
in another thread

a very good read

 

[annabenedetti]

just in case anyone wants to know who restarted this

they never forget

That reminds me: Are you still a first wave feminist?

 

[bybee]

are you a feminist?

no one here wants to say they are a feminist
but
they don't want to say they are not a feminist

bybee and spitfire are not timid at all
but
both were very reluctant to say whether or not they were a feminist
and
it took repeated requests to get them to say they weren't
so
what is the deal here?
why is this such a difficult label?
is there some kind of intimidation going on?

The problem is you. I do not acknowledge your right to question me!!!
Are you a misogynist?
I am not timid. And I do not identify with feminism. I'm too old for such drivel. But I absolutely detest men who consider themselves superior to women.
We are each born with God given gifts. And we must encourage each other to use our gifts.

 

[rexlunae]

But I absolutely detest men who consider themselves superior to women.

That is not far from the definition of feminism.

 

[Town Heretic]

do you know what they are?

It depends on their level of education/training and how long they're in the system.

I looked up the average for an elementary teacher and it's around 42k, or about eight grand under the median household income and lower than the salary of the average holder of a bachelor's degree, which a teacher must have. The average starting pay is about 30k, which is, again, lower than the average else...about fourteen thousand less. And teachers salaries only compare worse as the years toll, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

the health benefits
the pension

Don't know. State retirement.

the actual hours per year that they work

According to studies noted by the NEA:

Teachers spend an average of 50 hours per week on instructional duties, including an average of 12 hours each week on non-compensated school-related activities such as grading papers, bus duty, and club advising.​

Or, according to the Gate's foundation:

A new report from Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on the Teaching Profession, finally quantifies just how hard teachers work: 10 hours and 40 minutes a day on average. That’s a 53-hour work week!​

But then I recall my own mother, working until after the school bell, grading papers many a night, designing lesson plans and projects. It wasn't as demanding as the hours needed by our restaurants, but it was substantial.

I know that when I took over three English courses for a teacher on maternity leave and essentially ran the semester under waiver, cradle to grave, I worked into weekends and over holidays. It wasn't the load I had as an attorney, but it was substantial and certainly far in excess of any reasonable relation to the pay-scale. I wouldn't have considered it if my motivation was monetary.

But then, teachers have a different agenda.

 

[bybee]

It depends on their level of education/training and how long they're in the system.

I looked up the average for an elementary teacher and it's around 42k, or about eight grand under the median household income and lower than the salary of the average holder of a bachelor's degree, which a teacher must have. The average starting pay is about 30k, which is, again, lower than the average else...about fourteen thousand less. And teachers salaries only compare worse as the years toll, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).


Don't know. State retirement.


According to studies noted by the NEA:

Teachers spend an average of 50 hours per week on instructional duties, including an average of 12 hours each week on non-compensated school-related activities such as grading papers, bus duty, and club advising.​

But then I recall my own mother, working until after the school bell, grading papers many a night, designing lesson plans and projects. It wasn't as demanding as the hours needed by our restaurants, but it was substantial.

I know that when I took over three English courses for a teacher on maternity leave and essentially ran the semester under waiver, cradle to grave, I worked into weekends and over holidays. It wasn't the load I had as an attorney, but it was substantial and certainly far in excess of any reasonable relation to the pay-scale. I wouldn't have considered it if my motivation was monetary.

But then, teachers have a different agenda.

Teachers are, mostly, saints!

 

[aikido7]

I am not a feminist. Not completely, anyway.

But now I can usually see and recognize the quality in others. I support it. Of course, I don't regard feminists as castrating "feminazis" as Rush sometimes says.

I love all women. Their gender does not threaten me.

 

[Rusha]

 

[bybee]

That is not far from the definition of feminism.

True, the other side of the coin!

 

[chrysostom]

anna is a feminist
but
she doesn't know how many babies have to die

 

[bybee]

anna is a feminist
but
she doesn't know how many babies have to die

That is a nasty thing to say. Anna is a good person and she doesn't deserve these kinds of assaults.

 

[chrysostom]

So... what does "feminist" mean?

That reminds me: Are you still a first wave feminist?

look who keeps bringing this thread back