Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

I have worked at a school in the city while living in the city. I now work at a school on LI while living on LI. For the record, I am not a teacher, I'm a school social worker, because for some reason that matters since teachers' opinions here are apparently not as valid as others'.

I think it's silly to tell people they should live closer to where they work. Especially in this economy - a job is a job, and we all know the cost of living closer to the city is ridiculous compared with further out. Also, living near family is a big consideration for many!

Everyone I know, regardless of their job, is ******** about going in to work today. The weather conditions suck and the roads are dangerous. On Monday, my LI school was open and one of the busses got in a minor accident on the way to school. Thankfully nobody was hurt but you bet your ass they closed today. When I worked at a special education school in the city at least half our students took the bus, and on a day like today that would be very dangerous.

Every situation is unique and different, but to lump all people in one occupation together is absurd. This is a hard winter, and safety of students AND teachers should be a priority.

This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Wow, I "caused" a debate that created 7 pages worth of opinions?!? Interesting to hear them all. I guess that's what makes the world go around. Safe trip home for those who ventured out!!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Think of it this way - whether or not it's the actual reason, for a lot of kids going to school means that they have proper heat, hot food, etc. That's much less of an issue out on LI.

In Brooklyn and Queens, it really isn't bad enough out to warrant schools being closed. It's rainy and that isn't the most fun, but it's not *that* bad. The city schools can't close just because a few of their teachers live in Suffolk (or wherever) and might have trouble getting in. Plus, if the city lost money because of taking so many days off, then programs could be cut and people would be upset about that - so it sounds like a lose-lose either way. Though I agree with what someone else said, that the schools shouldn't be considered as a single unit, since the conditions on SI can be so different than the conditions in Manhattan and so forth.

FWIW, when the city schools WERE closed a couple weeks ago, my office was still open, and I had to go in. I'm certainly not going to say that people should switch jobs or move closer to their job, etc, but at the end of the day, you have to make the decision for what is best for you. If you truly feel that it isn't okay for you to go, then take a sick/personal day - for any job, not just teachers. It's not a new problem that a boss (in any profession) would make decisions that are better for the company and not the individual employees.

This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

I feel for everyone that has to commute in bad weather
- but really? Lots of us do. I don't think that NYC doesn't care about their staff, I think they just rely on their employees to report to work when needed.

My office almost NEVER closes. We did for Hurricane Sandy and had to use personal time even though the office closed.

You aren't alone with having to make the decision Of using time or driving carefully.

I think in the city, you may get more parents who can't afford to take the day and stay home with their kids. If some kids can get to school, and it helps the families to make sure they kids will be somewhere safe and supervised, I understand the schools being open.

But if you don't feel safe driving, you should take the day off, even if it sucks to burn a day.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

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I think that many large corporate jobs are now allowing people to work from home more often so while they are not actually closed many people aren't necessarily commuting in on a day like today. Teachers, doctors etc. would not have that luxury.


This is another thought I had...

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Here's the dealy yo..

I think You can't have a LI mentality if you are working in NYC. They operate totally different. It takes a lot to shut the city down, hence why its called the "City that Never Sleeps".

Bloomberg closed the schools alot, I was actually shocked at how many snow days there were.

I live in No. NJ and was born and raised in NYC. I have a NYC mentality, School only closed down twice for me. I personally think some days NJ exaggerate on the school closings.. Today I think my son shouldve had a Delayed Opening. I had to drag him to my dentist appt and it wasnt really bad out (not a big deal). I am actually going to take him to Karate and then commute to work later.

My sister and her DH work in NYC and their girls go to school in NJ. They end up taking so many days and manipulating because they are required to go to work. Last year, they barely had days to take vacation in the summer. But its expected that its going to take a lot for their jobs to shut down especially since they work in the city.

I think the majority of kids in NYC are with in walking distance to their ZONED schools. I know in Queens some of the zone schools can be far & im guessing SI. But I also know alot of students that travel far are attending a school not in their zone. I traveled over an hour to Francis Lewis HS from Ozone Park. It was my decision and I commuted my little toosh sometimes for 2 hrs in the freezing snowy weather to get to school. But the Mentality is always that NYC SCHOOLS DO NOT CLOSE.

Message edited 2/5/2014 1:36:35 PM.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Posted by jellybean78

Posted by sameinitials

Posted by Sash

Here's the dealy yo..

I think You can't have a LI mentality if you are working in NYC. They operate totally different. It takes a lot to shut the city down, hence why its called the "City that Never Sleeps".

I like this a lot.

Yes you worded it perfectly.

This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Not a teacher. But work in healthcare. Healthcare never closes. Needless to say I am at work today. Not happy but here.
I pretty sure everyone does not want to be out today if they didn't have to. Everyone in my dept showed up today.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

I commuted today from Nassau to the Bronx. Normally, I don't mind and don't complain about snow days. I have lived in Chicago, and they get so much snow...basically from November to April, so a few inches doesn't bother me. But, I am 37 weeks pregnant, and sitting in the car for 5 hours (like I did two weeks ago) is uncomfortable, and I get worried about going into labor on the side of the LIE. Luckily, my boss let me leave early today so I could beat the traffic.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Posted by MegZee

Posted by lynnd126
If you work in NYC and live in Suffolk, that is a choice you made for yourself.

If the DOE paid better I could afford to live in Nassau.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Posted by ave1024

Posted by MegZee

Posted by lynnd126
If you work in NYC and live in Suffolk, that is a choice you made for yourself.

If the DOE paid better I could afford to live in Nassau.

You could also rent in queens. Home ownership is not a requirement in life.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

For anyone, What is the main reason for keeping schools open in severe weather? I received a letter from my district that says they are going to take certain holidays back if all snow days are used up. So they do make up days if they have to. Do NYC schools (or other districts) want to stay open in severe weather to avoid doing that? I'm curious as to why they choose to be open.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Posted by lilqtny

BTW all of the non teachers can just take a sick day too and as far as saving days in our "bank". That is the ONLy way NYc teachers can have children of their own as we do not get any maternity. And unlike many other jobs at the end of the year we can just get them paid out.

This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

I won't argue with someone who is not going to bend...but...it is NOT sick time to have a child..women working in other fields (I will not say ANY other field, as I do not have that knowledge) do not have to take SICK time to DELIVER A CHILD. Don't even say it's a luxury because that is an insult...enough of the "free" days over the summer..if you think it's free time, ok, become a teacher...

I cannot believe this is the turn this thread has taken..fine..be cranky that teachers are cranky but honestly..to go after maternity leave...get a grip on yourself..

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

My kids school is open today in RVC. And alot of the teachers don't live close.

My husband I both had to work today because our companies are open. If I didn't want to commute in I could have used a personal day. I only get 6 a year. I also could have used a vacation day. My boss gets just as mad as any principal when people call in. But we deal with it.

What makes me laugh is every snow day the teachers complain that school isn't closed but the they whine when they have to tack days on at the end of the year before many of them can go on summer vacation. Can't have it both ways.

You choose your job. And you know what the commute is and how it could be impacted when the weather is crappy. Same as any other job.

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Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Message edited 2/5/2014 3:22:28 PM.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Message edited 2/5/2014 3:22:43 PM.

Re: This NYC Mayor is out of his mind!

Posted by ave1024

Posted by lilqtny

BTW all of the non teachers can just take a sick day too and as far as saving days in our "bank". That is the ONLy way NYc teachers can have children of their own as we do not get any maternity. And unlike many other jobs at the end of the year we can just get them paid out.

I did a little research as I was curious about this statement.

NYC DOE

First off yes you have to use CAR days to go on maternity. You bank your CAR days and you can obviously carry them over each year. Fine.

If you exhaust all your CAR days you can borrow up to 20 days and still be paid in full.

And finally if you use the max and borrow the max, the attached document says they are giving you up to 30 days of prorated paid leave (or grace days). Isn't that considered partially paid maternity since its weekends and holidays? If it is, how come you haven't mentioned this part?

Also aren't teachers paid throughout the summer when school is not in session? That's a lot of "free" paid days which IMO should offset a lot of this maternity drama. Do you really expect an actual maternity plan in addition to 2-3 months off? Do you expect to be double paid if your maternity happens to fall during the summer?

Message edited 2/5/2014 3:20:09 PM.