George wrote:
> 
> "Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ben9fc$79he3$1@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > Jason Cormier wrote:
> > > On 7/10/03 20:52, in article
> > > bel1pq$6erpl$1@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de, "Kevin Gowen"
> > > <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> I hasten to add that grading papers can be done during work hours.
> > >
> > > A teacher's job is not only teaching classes and grading papers.
> > > There are other things that must also be done during work hours, or
> > > outside of them.
> 
> Sorry to lump multiple thoughts in one post. I am an engineer and I have
> family members who are teachers.
> 
> As far as work hours there is no comparison. If you work as an engineer 10
> hour minimun days are common and it is not unusual to work on Saturdays. 

That's funny.  When I worked at as a microelectronics process engineer,
ten hour minimum days were uncommon and it was unusual to work on
Saturdays.

> And
> it is very usual to take work home. 

Where I worked it was against company policy to take most kinds of work
home.

>Most teachers do grading etc during
> study periods. In my state if a teacher is involved with an outside school
> activity they get a minimum of $100 for the first 3 hours for their time.

For their first 3 hrs in a week?  Great.  Try finding a teacher who
spends only 3 hr/week on extracurriculars.
 
> Teaching can not be beat for a job guarantee. It is almost impossible to
> fire a teacher and certainly not because of bad performance. In the private
> sector it is not unusual to be out of a job because of commercial
> considerations.

This part I agree more with.  When I was in high school we had one
teacher who wound up in a torid affair with a very beautiful, and very
17, student of his.  She was named Kreis.  Shortly after it became
common to walk past this guy in the hallway and say "Hey, Mr. X, do you
need an iron?  'Cause you got a Kreis in your pants...", he got fired.

Later in the local papers it became apparent that the police and the
school had known about his affair for some months.  But it was not until
it became common knowledge among the student body that they had to fire
him.

> If you are a teacher and decide things are too stressful you can take a one
> year sabbatical at 1/2 pay. I am not aware of another job where that is
> possible.
> 
> My family members readily admit they have a great job in private but cannot
> say so in public because union members must stand up for the cause.  In my
> opinion someone who is a union member is not a professional.
 
> My brother-in-law just retired at age 55. His pension will be the same as
> his full salary and he will also keep the ultra deluxe health insurance plan
> at no cost to him.
> 
> Teachers do not have a bad deal...

True, but your black-and-white comparison to engineers was pretty
flawed.  Try not to use so many absolutes.

-- 
Curt Fischer