If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

What are the pros and cons???? Was LI the right choice for you????

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Pros:
Better administration: they support you and want to succeed and they're not listening to some azz (like Klein and others) that know nothing about education to base their decisions on). they know what they're doing.

Better support of teachers: I am given autonomy to what I want to do and how I want to do... no one is breathing down my neck. no mandatory bulletin boards, no stupid teachers college, no checking to see if you went over your math lesson by 15 minutes, etc. no superintendent and regional visits and inspections.

Better salary: My pay went up $12,000 the year i left... I am NOT kidding! (I make well more now with a Masters than my husband will make in NYC when he starts Fellows with a DOCTORATE!) i am only a 4th year teacher.

Better teacher retention: people in my district are happy so they stay... so when i was knew i had a gazillion solid veteran teachers helping me , siupporting me, giving me resources, etc. when i was in the city everyone was new and it was hard to find a role model or mentor.

Better professional development: my district offers amazing applicable staff development. it is easier and less confusing to earn post-Masters credits.

Better commute-- it lessened by an hour and no LIRR and Metrocard costs.

no Court Street BS: when you have a question re: your salary differntial, benfits, transcripts, etc. you get an answer. you don't waste your whole day getting the wrong answer at Court Street. No more incompentence by clerical and support staff. they know what they're talking about.

CONS:
Health care costs: insurance is not free anymore... it is taken out of the check

Higher union dues

I miss the buzz and excitement of being in the city everyday... the subway, the eats, the fun happy hours... and of course, the kids... there is nothing like a room full of kids from Brooklyn. I loved that.

also, as someone who has worked for many years with people in poverty, i did feel like i was "selling out" by going to LI. i sometimes feel like i am needed more there and than i am here and i feel bad about that.


but overall, the professionalism, the commute, the overall quality of my work life has improved immensely on LI. i am treated as professional and am given so many opportunities to grow that i never got in the city. I would NEVER go back.... I am also fortunate to be in an amazing school with a great staff and a wonderful adminsitration. even as LI districts go, I am VERY lucky.

Message edited 9/12/2007 5:35:05 PM.

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

WOW Karen! Thanks for your very thoughtful response!

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Anyone else have opinions???

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

I totally agree with donegal419. Well done!

The amount of respect I get as a professional is unbelievable here on LI in my district. I do have to say though, that I have a friend who teaches in one district on LI and her expereince has not been the same as mine. I think it depends on your administration and the community in which you work.

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Karen always has the most eloquent ways to say things

Especially about being in a room with a bunch of kids from the city! ME and KelR have lots of great stories!!

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Posted by MrsYank

Karen always has the most eloquent ways to say things

Especially about being in a room with a bunch of kids from the city! ME and KelR have lots of great stories!!

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Donegal was spot on. Most of these are reiterations of what she said, but here's my view:

PROS:

- There's not the "blame the teacher" mentality in my district in LI like there was in NYC. In NYC when schools are failing or test scores are low, teachers are blamed - not parents, not administrators and their wacky micromanaging, and certainly not the students. In NYC we're constantly attacked in the media, and we have administrators breathing down our necks waiting for us to slip up (so they can write us up for it and look like they're on top of the problem and bringing their school back on track). In LI so far, I'm treated like a professional. My supervisor came into my room on Wednesday to observe 10 minutes of a lesson. We were just going over a quiz. When I saw her that afternoon, I apologized that she didn't get to see anything more interesting. She told me that no, the kids were all on task, actively listening to me and each other, and seemed interested in what was going on. That's all she needed to see, and that I should keep up the good work. I was honestly so taken aback by this I didn't immediately respond to her because I didn't know what to say.

- None of that aforementioned "wacky micromanaging." In my NYC school, we were mandated to seat the kids in a U-shape. If an administrator walked in and the kids were in rows, it was grounds for a U-rating. Seriously. We had to have our Bathroom Log out and open on the top left corner of our desks. If the bathroom log was elsewhere, it was grounds for a U-rating. Again, I wish I were exaggerating, but it happened to someone I know. At my district in LI, it really seems like as long as the kids are learning and they're engaged, they give you kudos for getting them there and leave you alone.

- The pay increase is nice too. I teach close to Suffolk, where the increase is not much more than NYC (only $2000 or so) but hey - that's $2000 in my pocket, so I'll take it. At some districts in Suffolk the pay is less than in NYC, depending on where you are on the pay scale.

CONS:

- While we're on the subject of pay, getting raises in NYC is much faster and easier than in LI. It stinks that in my district in LI they only accept GRADUATE credits for pay increases. This is a big deal. In NYC, you just have to take a CLEP test and it's 3 hours, $90 bucks, and 3 undergrad credits, done. Four or five of those, a few online courses, a few UFT courses, and you're at your Masters + 30 one year after you get your Master's. In LI, I have to pay a LOT more money and spent a LOT more time getting graduate credits for pay increases. Each course I take must be pre-approved from the district asst. superintendent. Now I realize that I'm complaining that I actually have to WORK for a pay raise, like "oh boo hoo," but honestly, in NYC it was SO EASY to move up that pay scale, I'd be at Masters + 60 by next year with comparatively little time or expense to me, and in LI I'm at Masters + 15 and have to take 5 hours a week or more out of my life to slooooowly work my way up the scale.

- Donegal mentioned a sense of abandonment, and it's true. I think I'm a very good teacher, and I feel pangs of remorse that I left the kids who need me more. The dropout rate at my HS in NYC was like 40%. Any kid that I could keep interested in my subject was a potential to lower that percentage. In LI, the expectations of the kids are higher and more of them start HS with the intention of actually finishing it, whether they enjoy my class or not. I could just be a robot up there dispensing textbook activities and they'd just do them because they're supposed to.


OVERALL:

I've only been on LI for 2 weeks. But I have to tell you, for me it was the right move. Because of all the micromanaging and the threat of being put on various lists (Chancellor's List of the 10 Worst Schools, Most Dangerous Schools, Schools with the Worst Retention Rate, etc.), we were being constantly observed by AP's, the Principal, District reps, people from the Chancellor's office. Everyone was unhappy at my school there. The staff was friendly and helpful, always willing to help another teacher out, but constantly annoyed and bitter. It was a poisonous atmosphere to work in. At my new school in LI, the teachers are happy to be there. It makes such a big difference in the tone of the school and how I feel when I'm there. I'm so happy that I took the chance and moved out here and got this job.

Re: If you taught in NYC and are now on LI...what is different?

Thank you girls! I was really thinking that I would just stay BUT all of you have showed me that I need to try my best to get out this year!