Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Do people say things like, "Off all summer? It must be nice!" with an annoyed look on their face? There is a custodian at my school who works the night shift. When I leave for the day, I say hello to him as I pass him. Sometimes he will grumble, "Oh, you're only working a half day today?" (it was a full school day) "I wish I had your money!" I usually just smile at him. I might come to the point where I'll tell him that he can earn what I earn if he gets a Master's degree in education.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

I get that from people that are not in education... but so many of my friends and my husband is also a teacher, so they understand what it's really like. my parents came to this country and had to work manual labor jobs like that custodian. now, they are so happy i am doing well and making a decent salary, because they didn't want me to work as physically hard as they had to and they saw how hard i worked to put myself through school to do so.

but to hear that from a custodian on staff at the school is definitely a first! it sounds like he might be frustrated with his job-- i am sure it can't be easy and he may feel a little bit "ashamed" being around teachers and administrators all day. I would be as nice as you can and compliment him on how nice the school looks and that you appreciate all he does. in my school, we are very good to the custodians and them to us, so everyone has a nice relationship.

Message edited 9/15/2008 10:03:43 PM.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

I hear it too. Some people are very nice and say "Oh your job is so hard, i could never do it", but others talk about how easy it is to be a teacher. And some people are very passionate about this too. They want teachers to stop complaining! They should be up with me grading tests and making lesson plans all hours of the night!

Message edited 9/16/2008 6:16:03 PM.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

I don't know about this guy, but the custdians in our building probably make close to what we do with OT, and no papers to grade. Our head custodial engineer does make more than the principal. Cry me a river.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

My MIL says stuff like the summers off comment all the time It's offensive to me and my mom who is a retired teacher.

She continually states that teachers make too much $. DH called her out on it and she had no idea I could take offense She hasn't stopped saying it either.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

There was a teacher that worked at my school a few years ago who would say similar things. If he saw me with a cup of coffee he would say things like "it must be so nice to be able to relax with a cup of coffee, I wish I had the time to do that..."

I was like

We were teachers together and he was trying to insinuate that he worked really hard and I just relaxed. He also made comments when he saw me with the TV/DVD player ( I was teaching a communications/media class- out of department, I might add--total PITA--at the time) He once asked me if I was showing the class "Caligula." Total nut job. He eventually got fired for insubordination. I think he left a tupperware of vomit on the principal's desk with a letter. Or so I heard...

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

we recently had a friend over who was talking about his sister's new teaching job. she's teaching 1st grade. he was commenting on how she was stressed and how he told her "how hard can it be? 1+1=2". it was so obnoxious. i have sort of gotten used to it. i originally worked in business and all my friends who are still in business just don't get it. they have no idea what it takes. i try not to let it bother me but it is insulting. my dh is always defending me because he sees how hard i work.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

It drives me absolutely NUTS.

People tell me all the time "must be nice to have 3 months off a year!" or "you're home by 3:30 every day & off every weekend.. you've got it made" and other stupid comments. They're only seeing the positives and not all the negatives.

So now my response is "Must be nice to go home from work & be DONE with the work & not have to think about it until the next day" or "Must be nice to sit at a desk & not have to deal with a classroom of screaming children all day."

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Another time, I reconnected with a friend and she had a new boyfriend who was a real jerk. They came over and he asked me what I do "all summer long". I explained that I take classes etc. He then suggested that I get a job at Home Depot. He said, "You're a teacher. You can work in the paint department!"

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Posted by maddysmommy

Posted by ladybug8

He then suggested that I get a job at Home Depot. He said, "You're a teacher. You can work in the paint department!"

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

My DH doesn't really get it - he does know how hard teachers work though, but he is always calling himself a "civilian" when with my family (mom, sister and BIL are all in schools and my dad was post office, so retired with a pretty nice pension)

most of my friends are not teachers though and they have never said anything like that...especially since they understand how not so great the mandatory vacation times can be, when we try to plan a vacation together during the most demanded vacation times.

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Posted by drpepper318

It drives me absolutely NUTS.

People tell me all the time "must be nice to have 3 months off a year!" or "you're home by 3:30 every day & off every weekend.. you've got it made" and other stupid comments. They're only seeing the positives and not all the negatives.

So now my response is "Must be nice to go home from work & be DONE with the work & not have to think about it until the next day" or "Must be nice to sit at a desk & not have to deal with a classroom of screaming children all day."

Re: Does anyone else have to deal with teacher haters?

Posted by ladybug8

Posted by maddysmommy

Posted by ladybug8

He then suggested that I get a job at Home Depot. He said, "You're a teacher. You can work in the paint department!"

At the time, I was teaching first grade so he figured all I did was paint and color with them.