Governor Christie has gone too far- Page 2
Governor Christie has gone too far
#25Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 1:56pmI agree that having the convention in November is STUPID. Do other States do that?
#26Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 1:59pmI've never understood the wisdom of having the convention in a BEACH town in the month of NOVEMBER.
#27Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 2:09pmForty thousand teachers attend the annual convention -- it is the world's largest. The convention fills most of the hotels. November is a slow month (and cheaper) for the convention center and the hotels. A summer event would not work logistically.
#28Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 2:10pmBecause 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.
#29Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 7:00pm
If all those days off are "for the students", how come every school district I'm familiar with calls them something like "professional days for teachers"? Teachers get paid for those days, but the students sit around watching Hannah Montana marathons instead of learning, and the parents have to take off work to stay home with their kids or hire a sitter and waste their own money. The only one this set up benefits is the teachers.
Wanting life but never knowing how
#30Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 7:31pm^ 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.
#31Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/8/10 at 9:02pm
I'm not talking about professional days in my argument that kids need breaks. There are people who argue that school should be year round. It simply won't work.
Professional development days ARE designed for the teachers, but there are benefits for the kids as well. It might inconvenience some parents to have to take care of their kids, but that's a responsibility you take on as a parent.
Getting back to the point, though, it doesn't matter WHAT anyone thinks of the convention - the fact is, Christie had no business bashing teachers in front of kids.
And the news keeps getting better. This on the man who's supposed to be balancing our budget:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/gov_christie_spent_more_money.html
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20091013/STATE/91013081/Records+show+Christie+topped+limits
#32Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 1:24am
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.
Wanting life but never knowing how
#33Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 10:06amorangeskittles - we are NOT paid for those days. If we didn't have those days, the school year would be two days shorter. NO ONE is getting any money for that time.
#34Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 10:55am
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
#35Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 2:09pmjason already posted two similar articles. Christie's travel expenses at his former job nothing to do with the discussion about school closings for multiple teachers' professional days. So far, you haven't come up with any argument in defense of planning 5-6 school days off in a single month, and resorting to name-calling Christie on unrelated topics instead just makes him look even more sympathetic.
Wanting life but never knowing how
#36Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 2:30pmChristie 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.
#37Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 2:35pmExactly, Erik -- big bucks to AC. Also a point of clarification, the 100 hours of professional development that Violet mentioned are over a five year period and can be attained in a variety of ways. Districts approve each teachers professional development plan. The convention is NOT the only way to meet that requirement.
#38Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 4:20pm
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!
#39Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/9/10 at 7:38pm
" I can't IMAGINE 120,000 teachers descending on Atlantic City at once!"
I bet the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce can imagine it.
#40Governor Christie has gone too far
Posted: 11/10/10 at 9:19am
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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