Governor Christie has gone too far — Page 2

I've never understood the wisdom of having the convention in a BEACH town in the month of NOVEMBER.

Because it's good for the Atlantic City economy to have a big convention booked off season. And I'm sure the NJEA convention is one of the biggest conventions they have.

^ Exactly. My high school closed and still does the first Monday in December for the first day of hunting season. The reasoning is that not enough students would be in school for it to count. I actually don't know how true that is because my family doesn't hunt, so it was a wasted day off for us.

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No one is saying kids don't need breaks. People are just questioning whether kids need an equivalent of 6 days off in a single month, with teachers being paid for 4 of them.

And sure, it's the parents' responsibility to take care of their own kids, but it shouldn't be their responsibility to lose money and take off work while still paying taxes to fund a 2-day trip to AC for the teachers on school days.

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OK first off the state mandated that Teachers have 100 hours of professional development. In our district the kids had off on Tuesday because of election day because the schools are polling places and it is not safe to have strangers roaming the hallways of your school. So the kids had off and the teachers had an inservice about layered curriculumn. If we did not have convention we could not get enough professional development hours. BTW my school goes 182 days for kids and 185 for teachers

What made me mad is that he made a whole big stink about us trying to get people to vote (we never told them how to vote we aren't allowed to do that). He accused us of using kids and NOW he uses kids for a photo opt. Schundler went on the record and said he is hell bent against the NJEA because they campaigned against him and he will do everything he can to hurt them and their members.

This whole fight isn't about the kids and their education...it is a pissng contest...and I am sick of getting pissed on...just let me do my job and don't attack me or my profession


also thought this was interesting
Chris Christie, while U.S. attorney, often exceeded travel expense budget

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Updated On: 11/9/10 at 10:55 AM

Christie talks a lot but he will never do anything about the teacher's convention. He knows it brings a ton of business to AC. I always thought it was crazy that teachers got the time off for professional development...but aren't even required to attend the conference.

I said earlier, I think the convention should be moved to March. November days off makes sense, mostly. Everyone gets Thanksgiving, so those aren't negotiable. Election Day has become a problem in some districts because polling is held in school buildings. The teachers in my building made such a big deal about all the strangers walking through the halls that we finally got the polling moved to another section of the building with its own entrance. We have never had off for that day.

Conferences are NOT time off for us by any means - in fact, we work MORE time in school those days than normal days. The KIDS have time off, but how else would you work that? November IS the best time for conferences because if it was earlier we wouldn't know the kids' work well enough, if it was later, it would defeat the purpose.

I've been to the convention. I don't go every year. I wouldn't miss it if it was gone, really. My problem, as I've said, is with the inappropriate behavior of the governor. The links about his spending are just further evidence of how inappropriate and delusional ("shared sacrifice" my ass) he is.

Once again - the days off are NOT PAID DAYS. If the convention wasn't there, we would end the year two days earlier. My district has 182 days for kids each year (extra days are built in for snow days). Teachers are there 187 plus days worked during the summer. Honestly, I'd rather get out of school earlier in June - we're among the last districts out in the country usually.

Still, for the teachers who go, the convention can have many professional benefits. I went to a couple of great workshops and got some materials for classes the years I went. There are PLENTY of advantages to the convention. Thank God it's not mandatory. I can't IMAGINE 120,000 teachers descending on Atlantic City at once!

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In my district we must have 20 hours a year. We have professional days where we have people come in and give us workshops. I also go to state workshops and once a month we have professional development during our faculty meeting that go from 3 to 5. Fine take away convention, I have no problem with it. I will just get out in June 2 days earlier. As for confernces I stay 12:30 to 3 then come back 6 to 8 (and we don't get paid to come back at night) Also many people mention how we have off in the Summer. We don't get paid. My last paycheck is June 30th and I have to wait till Sept 15th for the next one. Thats why I have a summer job. But also in the summer(for no pay) I come back into school in August and I put my classroom back together and get everything set for the beginning of school. I also attend workshops over the summer that I pay for. I also spend like $1,000.00 a year on supplies for my students. I don't complain about it because it is part of the job. I also grade papers, do report cards, and fill out paperwork for the state. All during non school hours.

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