[EconProf]

Pemeliza, 60 hours a week for teachers is not the norm. The usual teaching load for high school is 5 contact hours, leaving 3 for correcting & administrative time during the other 8 hours, plus whatever work is taken home, which varies by subject and yes, for math may be a lot. For some other subjects it is not much. Sorry, summers are generally not spent working on curriculum. But teachers do often take additional classes of dubious value to crank up their degrees and certifications to move into higher pay categories.
Good teachers like this one should certainly earn more. Unfortunately, those who work extra hard and are productive get about the same as those who do not, thanks to tenure and union rules against firing the incompetents. Many of those who leave the profession early on are the young and energetic ones who are turned off by the atmosphere and feel they can go farther in the private sector. Too often those left include many who seek only job security and retirement in their fifties.
I taught high school English for one year and it was difficult–not for the hours but the discipline problems. Went into college teaching which was far easier!

[EconProf]

Pemeliza, 60 hours a week for teachers is not the norm. The usual teaching load for high school is 5 contact hours, leaving 3 for correcting & administrative time during the other 8 hours, plus whatever work is taken home, which varies by subject and yes, for math may be a lot. For some other subjects it is not much. Sorry, summers are generally not spent working on curriculum. But teachers do often take additional classes of dubious value to crank up their degrees and certifications to move into higher pay categories.
Good teachers like this one should certainly earn more. Unfortunately, those who work extra hard and are productive get about the same as those who do not, thanks to tenure and union rules against firing the incompetents. Many of those who leave the profession early on are the young and energetic ones who are turned off by the atmosphere and feel they can go farther in the private sector. Too often those left include many who seek only job security and retirement in their fifties.
I taught high school English for one year and it was difficult–not for the hours but the discipline problems. Went into college teaching which was far easier!

[EconProf]

Pemeliza, 60 hours a week for teachers is not the norm. The usual teaching load for high school is 5 contact hours, leaving 3 for correcting & administrative time during the other 8 hours, plus whatever work is taken home, which varies by subject and yes, for math may be a lot. For some other subjects it is not much. Sorry, summers are generally not spent working on curriculum. But teachers do often take additional classes of dubious value to crank up their degrees and certifications to move into higher pay categories.
Good teachers like this one should certainly earn more. Unfortunately, those who work extra hard and are productive get about the same as those who do not, thanks to tenure and union rules against firing the incompetents. Many of those who leave the profession early on are the young and energetic ones who are turned off by the atmosphere and feel they can go farther in the private sector. Too often those left include many who seek only job security and retirement in their fifties.
I taught high school English for one year and it was difficult–not for the hours but the discipline problems. Went into college teaching which was far easier!

[EconProf]

Pemeliza, 60 hours a week for teachers is not the norm. The usual teaching load for high school is 5 contact hours, leaving 3 for correcting & administrative time during the other 8 hours, plus whatever work is taken home, which varies by subject and yes, for math may be a lot. For some other subjects it is not much. Sorry, summers are generally not spent working on curriculum. But teachers do often take additional classes of dubious value to crank up their degrees and certifications to move into higher pay categories.
Good teachers like this one should certainly earn more. Unfortunately, those who work extra hard and are productive get about the same as those who do not, thanks to tenure and union rules against firing the incompetents. Many of those who leave the profession early on are the young and energetic ones who are turned off by the atmosphere and feel they can go farther in the private sector. Too often those left include many who seek only job security and retirement in their fifties.
I taught high school English for one year and it was difficult–not for the hours but the discipline problems. Went into college teaching which was far easier!

[EconProf]

I think there is a good chance she reconsiders her decision to leave teaching after the upcoming year. Much of the pay gap she describes between teaching and nursing is closed if you look at the hourly rate, not the annual pay. With 3 months off in the summers and generous vacations during the school year that nurses don’t get, the monetary difference is small. She should include her retirement, medical, and other benefits into her total compensation too. Further, why is she getting only $38,000 per year, less than in previous years, and this with her advanced certifications. This is less than average starting salaries for teachers nationwide (according to the article). I wish the reporter had delved into why this county (which includes Cape Canaveral, is an hour’s drive from Orlando, and is pretty average demographically for Florida) pays so little.
Moving to nursing can involve weird hours, coping with imperious doctors and stifling bureaucracy and be a lot less fulfilling than giving kids an “aha” moment. She seems good at teaching and inspiring students, and that is the most important part of teaching, so I’ll bet she sticks with it.

[EconProf]

I think there is a good chance she reconsiders her decision to leave teaching after the upcoming year. Much of the pay gap she describes between teaching and nursing is closed if you look at the hourly rate, not the annual pay. With 3 months off in the summers and generous vacations during the school year that nurses don’t get, the monetary difference is small. She should include her retirement, medical, and other benefits into her total compensation too. Further, why is she getting only $38,000 per year, less than in previous years, and this with her advanced certifications. This is less than average starting salaries for teachers nationwide (according to the article). I wish the reporter had delved into why this county (which includes Cape Canaveral, is an hour’s drive from Orlando, and is pretty average demographically for Florida) pays so little.
Moving to nursing can involve weird hours, coping with imperious doctors and stifling bureaucracy and be a lot less fulfilling than giving kids an “aha” moment. She seems good at teaching and inspiring students, and that is the most important part of teaching, so I’ll bet she sticks with it.

[EconProf]

I think there is a good chance she reconsiders her decision to leave teaching after the upcoming year. Much of the pay gap she describes between teaching and nursing is closed if you look at the hourly rate, not the annual pay. With 3 months off in the summers and generous vacations during the school year that nurses don’t get, the monetary difference is small. She should include her retirement, medical, and other benefits into her total compensation too. Further, why is she getting only $38,000 per year, less than in previous years, and this with her advanced certifications. This is less than average starting salaries for teachers nationwide (according to the article). I wish the reporter had delved into why this county (which includes Cape Canaveral, is an hour’s drive from Orlando, and is pretty average demographically for Florida) pays so little.
Moving to nursing can involve weird hours, coping with imperious doctors and stifling bureaucracy and be a lot less fulfilling than giving kids an “aha” moment. She seems good at teaching and inspiring students, and that is the most important part of teaching, so I’ll bet she sticks with it.

[EconProf]

I think there is a good chance she reconsiders her decision to leave teaching after the upcoming year. Much of the pay gap she describes between teaching and nursing is closed if you look at the hourly rate, not the annual pay. With 3 months off in the summers and generous vacations during the school year that nurses don’t get, the monetary difference is small. She should include her retirement, medical, and other benefits into her total compensation too. Further, why is she getting only $38,000 per year, less than in previous years, and this with her advanced certifications. This is less than average starting salaries for teachers nationwide (according to the article). I wish the reporter had delved into why this county (which includes Cape Canaveral, is an hour’s drive from Orlando, and is pretty average demographically for Florida) pays so little.
Moving to nursing can involve weird hours, coping with imperious doctors and stifling bureaucracy and be a lot less fulfilling than giving kids an “aha” moment. She seems good at teaching and inspiring students, and that is the most important part of teaching, so I’ll bet she sticks with it.

[EconProf]

I think there is a good chance she reconsiders her decision to leave teaching after the upcoming year. Much of the pay gap she describes between teaching and nursing is closed if you look at the hourly rate, not the annual pay. With 3 months off in the summers and generous vacations during the school year that nurses don’t get, the monetary difference is small. She should include her retirement, medical, and other benefits into her total compensation too. Further, why is she getting only $38,000 per year, less than in previous years, and this with her advanced certifications. This is less than average starting salaries for teachers nationwide (according to the article). I wish the reporter had delved into why this county (which includes Cape Canaveral, is an hour’s drive from Orlando, and is pretty average demographically for Florida) pays so little.
Moving to nursing can involve weird hours, coping with imperious doctors and stifling bureaucracy and be a lot less fulfilling than giving kids an “aha” moment. She seems good at teaching and inspiring students, and that is the most important part of teaching, so I’ll bet she sticks with it.

[EconProf]

Let’s not resort to simplistic slogans that developers always make lots of money. They have certainly not been making money in recent years, as reflected by their stock prices and the fact that many smaller builders simply went out of business. Yes, they capitalized on our insane appetite for houses during the bubble years (and why shouldn’t they?), and made money then. But over the course of the cycle their profitablity isn’t so great.
What has stayed the same is the costly burden of government. If you haven’t built or put on an addition, you have no idea of the wasteful burden put on builders, which must be passed on to the consumer.
As to the above complaint about Mello-Roos fees, this is to pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads, etc., in effect, a tax the developer merely passes on to the consumer.

[EconProf]

Let’s not resort to simplistic slogans that developers always make lots of money. They have certainly not been making money in recent years, as reflected by their stock prices and the fact that many smaller builders simply went out of business. Yes, they capitalized on our insane appetite for houses during the bubble years (and why shouldn’t they?), and made money then. But over the course of the cycle their profitablity isn’t so great.
What has stayed the same is the costly burden of government. If you haven’t built or put on an addition, you have no idea of the wasteful burden put on builders, which must be passed on to the consumer.
As to the above complaint about Mello-Roos fees, this is to pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads, etc., in effect, a tax the developer merely passes on to the consumer.

[EconProf]

Let’s not resort to simplistic slogans that developers always make lots of money. They have certainly not been making money in recent years, as reflected by their stock prices and the fact that many smaller builders simply went out of business. Yes, they capitalized on our insane appetite for houses during the bubble years (and why shouldn’t they?), and made money then. But over the course of the cycle their profitablity isn’t so great.
What has stayed the same is the costly burden of government. If you haven’t built or put on an addition, you have no idea of the wasteful burden put on builders, which must be passed on to the consumer.
As to the above complaint about Mello-Roos fees, this is to pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads, etc., in effect, a tax the developer merely passes on to the consumer.

[EconProf]

Let’s not resort to simplistic slogans that developers always make lots of money. They have certainly not been making money in recent years, as reflected by their stock prices and the fact that many smaller builders simply went out of business. Yes, they capitalized on our insane appetite for houses during the bubble years (and why shouldn’t they?), and made money then. But over the course of the cycle their profitablity isn’t so great.
What has stayed the same is the costly burden of government. If you haven’t built or put on an addition, you have no idea of the wasteful burden put on builders, which must be passed on to the consumer.
As to the above complaint about Mello-Roos fees, this is to pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads, etc., in effect, a tax the developer merely passes on to the consumer.

[EconProf]

Let’s not resort to simplistic slogans that developers always make lots of money. They have certainly not been making money in recent years, as reflected by their stock prices and the fact that many smaller builders simply went out of business. Yes, they capitalized on our insane appetite for houses during the bubble years (and why shouldn’t they?), and made money then. But over the course of the cycle their profitablity isn’t so great.
What has stayed the same is the costly burden of government. If you haven’t built or put on an addition, you have no idea of the wasteful burden put on builders, which must be passed on to the consumer.
As to the above complaint about Mello-Roos fees, this is to pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads, etc., in effect, a tax the developer merely passes on to the consumer.

[EconProf]

You underestimate the dynamic and self-correcting nature of our market system, and also ignore some beneficial effects of such an event.
First, SDSU students are not stupid–they will go to other neighborhoods, etc., saddling the new foreign owners with huge vacancies. Second, those new areas receiving the influx of students, will boost their prices, spurring the building of more rentals, subdividing houses, etc. In addition, the happy sellers of all the SDSU-near housing and apts must have been paid a pretty penny to sell out–they will now spend, save, and invest, leading to more beneficial effects.
I think it was at the height of the Japanese boom in the 1980s when all the US-bashers thought we would be overwhelmed by the Japanese buyers (before their 2 decades of stagnation), that Japanese investors bought the famous Pebble Beach, for about $1 billion I believe. They way overpaid for it, and sold for a lot less years later. Vancouver may some day experience the same.
We need to keep our country open for business, preserve property rights and the rule of law, and welcome foreign investors while we hope they keep on welcoming us.

[Author]

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