Local Schools

Teacher miss school more often

Sat, 12/12/2009 - 7:49am
By: longhair09

An article that caught my interest stated that teachers are absent 1.6 to 2.3 times the average worker. I know when I taught in the 80’s and 90’s that I was sick a lot in my first few years which doctors attributed to my work environment. However later I was rarely sick and missed very few days except for non-sick days. I knew older teachers that took every Friday or Monday off to use accumulated sick days before retirement because they were not compensated for these days at retirement.

I would be curious to hear from knowledgeable onlineites of their theories on this. This has impact for budgets as well as quality of education.

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Teacher absences
Submitted by bnanney on Fri, 01/01/2010 - 1:23pm.

As a teacher of 29 years, I was often sick the first few years that I taught school. I caught every little germ that came through the school until I built up a resistence and I considered myself rather healthy. I was still dragging into work daily as much as possible. Eventually I was able to fight off those ever-present germs without even a sniffle.
In the meantime, I have accumulated over a year of sick leave. I will be able to add that sick leave onto my years of experience for the purpose of retirement pay. The older teachers that I know do NOT take off to use accumulated sick days because we can now utilize our sick leave for retirement pay purposes.
While there are teachers who do stay out of work often, that is not the norm. Every profession has its slackers and education does as well, but I can assure you that teachers earn those days!

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not alleged teacher
Submitted by allegedteacher on Sun, 12/20/2009 - 9:12am.

not alleged teacher typing...her teacher daughter. I am a first year teacher, and I have already used several sick days. Why? I work with children. Hmmmmm, kids get sick, quite often actually. Ppl who work with them tend to catch whatever they have. I do not take off unless I absolutely have to, but when you work in a petri dish, it happens. I suggest that anyone with a problem with teacher sick days, sub for a while or GET A LIFE! I don't care how many days anyone else has, so why would they care how many I get?

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They earned the days off
Submitted by JustSayNo on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 5:49pm.

I think if they earned the days by putting in the years, then they should get to use the days or be compensated. The sick days they earn are part of their benefits package. Would you just give up your benefits? I'm not a teacher.

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Just
Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 4:38am.

I have never understood the phrase, "putting in the years."
Everyone puts in the years---it is called working for a living.

All the "sick" days are is more vacation during the school year in addition to the summer off.
They were intended to allow a person to continue getting paid when they were too ill to teach. Of course all take it all---sick or not---because others take it when they are not sick.

It is an additional cost to the school board to hire a substitute or excuse the class.

I would recommend that teachers get the days off for sickness or any other need with pay. If they don't use all of it, roll it over up to 30 days reserve for a real sickness sometime.

Most people use a day of their vacation for personal errands. With notice of course.

Let's don't make liars out of our teachers.

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Speaking about teachers.
Submitted by normal on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 6:50pm.

Short story, Social studies students study very hard to get good grades on the tests this week in a middle school. Teacher tells kids they can whisper when testing is done. Teacher gives kids that got 90+ a Zero for talking after she told them they could whisper( which in my book is talking) What do you recommend the kids do first and then parents if needed. I believe this teacher should grade them on knowledge and if she is so hell bent on punishment how about staying after school or cleaning up the classroom. But dont hurt the kids with zeros just because you can. Im being nice right now. Her name and school will follow.

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Nor
Submitted by longhair09 on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 9:07am.

does it have anything to do with the topic. Was this teacher absent when she gave the test? Was she absent the day she graded the test? Was she absent when she developed the test. Were the students told to only whisper about her being absent? Were the students that received zeroes talking about the teacher being absent? If after these you still feel adamant about this issue you can start your own blog. Norm you know I'm yanking your chain, loved you on Cheers!

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normal
hutch866's picture
Submitted by hutch866 on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 7:04pm.

You might as well stay nice, as soon as you post a name or school, it will be deleted, as it should be. This isn't the place for parent, teacher conflicts.

I yam what I yam....Popeye


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JustSayNo
Submitted by PTCGOIL on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 7:56pm.

Get to use the days or be compensated. What a moronic statement. Use the days for what?? To pretend being sick? Compensated for what?? Showing up to work when healthy? Aren't they already compensated for that on the form of a PAYCHECK?????

You obviously live off the government. Obama is your frickin' hero, no question.

Oh, and your other post. Yeah, let's not let the parents of this driver have ANY responsibility for their minor's actions. Just give the kid a license and a car and let her loose. You telling me NONE of these three kids 6 (or more) parents didn't know the driving arrangements and looked the other way??? Tragic? You better believe it.

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PTCGOIL
Submitted by JustSayNo on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 10:14pm.

Your so rude, judgemental, and closed minded I wouldn't waste my time on you. You are so wrong about so many things, I wouldn't know where to start. Happy not to know you.

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JustSayNo
Submitted by PTCGOIL on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 11:07pm.

As expected. You have just proven my points. Thanks and don't let the door hit ya on the way out.

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PTCGOIL
Submitted by JustSayNo on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 11:29pm.

I don't have time to get on here often because I have a life and I work, earning money to pay ALL my own bills. Your abnormal reactions to my posts got me curious so I spent a little time searching and clicking and read how others react to you and perceive you. They don't get you any more than I do. You spend so much time on here, yet you are so ineffective.

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JustSayNo
Submitted by PTCGOIL on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 11:39pm.

Good. Keep proving my point. I'll be happy to listen. Feels so much better to get it off your chest, doesn't it? There, there now.

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hey! Hey! HEY!
Submitted by longhair09 on Fri, 12/18/2009 - 6:14pm.

you two have the gonads to meet elsewhere and play out your middle school fight. This is about teachers and missing work not about you and your small lives.

Now, teachers work about 190 days a year and it makes sense that they would have to miss work like anyone else. Plenty of non-gov't jobs provide sick days as a benefit.

I thought that this study was very statistically inaccurate but then most news stories are. Numbers are rarely analyzed almonds to pecans with any accuracy. I was looking for some realization that this is a systemic issue or just a small part of nothing.

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Teachers Missing Work More Often or Not
Submitted by FernDawson on Sun, 12/13/2009 - 9:44pm.

As one still in the trenches, most absences I see at my location are due to personal illness, family illness, (children and elder parents), and such.

Every now and again I see the teacher taking a mental health day, which is defined by different people different ways. For me, such a day is one to take care of weekday business that cannot be conducted over a weekend or after 4 p.m., usually. Sometimes we teachers have to go to the county courthouse for business, to the Social Security office with our 67-year-old father, or go to a referral medical appointment we've been putting off for a month because we felt we could NOT take a day depending on what we're doing in class.

I don't see abuse of the system, but it does exist.

For the first six years of my career in a different county, I never missed a single day and got bonus days added at the end of the year to use if and when my regular sick days got used. Then my brother had emergency open-heart surgery, and I lost the record, but for a very necessary reason.

Most of the fellow teachers I know DO NOT want to take a day off because it puts us behind in our work, and planning a solid and meaningful lesson, emergency or not, is torture the day or night before to prepare a sub for all our classes. For much of what we do, we MUST be in the classroom with our students, much like a physician must be in his or her office seeing patients. We have emergency lessons on file, but those are a last resort for major emergencies we cannot see headed our way.

It is commonly said that for all the time we have OFF for holidays and summer that we don't need to take off any extra days, but surely people must know life doesn't stop on August 1 and resume on June 5.
Many of us care about our students and our careers enough to stay the course every day we can, but we appreciate the understanding when what little regular lives we have "get in the way" of teaching.

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