teachers gettting a living wage

mountainannie

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elizabetheames.blogspot.com
The agreement is aimed at ending the impasse that led to a nationwide teachers strike at public schools. This is affecting students at a time when the Medina administration has doubled funding available for public education. The teachers were seeking a 100% wage increase and the Ministry had offered a minimum of RD$15,000 per work shift. As a result of the agreement, the teachers have gone back to work while the discussions continue.
from the DR1 news


I am so happy about this. It represents a HUGE leap for the country and is a cause for dancing and celebration. So often the respect of a community is determined by how much they are paid and when teachers and police are paid such terrible wages, it is a reflection of the respect in which their professions are held.

Heretofor,the private schools here could pay US $1500 a month and be considered a good living. They get 13 months wages and only work for 10 monhs. So that indeed puts them in the middle class.

But the public school teachers would only get $700 a month if they worked TWO four hour shifts and they are working in much more difficult circumstances with kids who have much less support at home, whose parents are often illiterate.

Most educators.. and I dropped out twice of the masters in education programs!// say that a teacher can only effectively handle five hours of classroom and that for every hour of classroom, another hour of home prep is required in preparing for class and grading tests and homework.

Now, for instance, all these English teaching schools pay their teachers a maximum of 300 pesos an hour. That is less than $10/// ok.. now I have to do the math..

I pay $250 pesos for a pedicure.

All I know is that I cannot teach English at 300 pesos an hour since if i taught for two hoursk I would come home with 200 pesos in my pocket after i pay for the cab.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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But if you worked the aforementioned 5 hour day you would have over $30 USD after paying the cab. Or $150 a week, not too bad for this economy.
Der Fish
That's assuming all the students are in the same location. Private English teaching in SD often involves going to each student's home or workplace.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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oh please! this rise is paying idiots for not doing their job. better pay for teachers? i'm all for it. but so many teachers here are uneducated morons it is like throwing money away, practically. show me your worth and i'll show you the money.
and read this: http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2013/3/6/470281/Aumento-maestros-representaria-285incrementodel-4
this salary increase eats 28.54% of the additional monies received for the education (after applying 4%). there is much better use for this money. like educating teachers themselves....

and on an additional note: a cab? wtf? walk. take a moto. scrap some cash for a bike. but a cab? please!
(not MA in particular but an imaginary english teacher)
 

bob saunders

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dr1.com
The agreement is aimed at ending the impasse that led to a nationwide teachers strike at public schools. This is affecting students at a time when the Medina administration has doubled funding available for public education. The teachers were seeking a 100% wage increase and the Ministry had offered a minimum of RD$15,000 per work shift. As a result of the agreement, the teachers have gone back to work while the discussions continue.
from the DR1 news


I am so happy about this. It represents a HUGE leap for the country and is a cause for dancing and celebration. So often the respect of a community is determined by how much they are paid and when teachers and police are paid such terrible wages, it is a reflection of the respect in which their professions are held.

Heretofor,the private schools here could pay US $1500 a month and be considered a good living. They get 13 months wages and only work for 10 monhs. So that indeed puts them in the middle class.

But the public school teachers would only get $700 a month if they worked TWO four hour shifts and they are working in much more difficult circumstances with kids who have much less support at home, whose parents are often illiterate.

Most educators.. and I dropped out twice of the masters in education programs!// say that a teacher can only effectively handle five hours of classroom and that for every hour of classroom, another hour of home prep is required in preparing for class and grading tests and homework.

Now, for instance, all these English teaching schools pay their teachers a maximum of 300 pesos an hour. That is less than $10/// ok.. now I have to do the math..

I pay $250 pesos for a pedicure.

All I know is that I cannot teach English at 300 pesos an hour since if i taught for two hoursk I would come home with 200 pesos in my pocket after i pay for the cab.


Many of them are overpaid at 7000 per shift and now they are going to get 15000. I could say a lot more, but I won't get that negative. Hopefully getting more money will improve their attitude, but I doubt it.
 

dv8

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are you pointing my disregard for capital letters? :) licencia poetica. and i am not a teacher.
 

NotLurking

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oh please! this rise is paying idiots for not doing their job. better pay for teachers? i'm all for it. but so many teachers here are uneducated morons it is like throwing money away, practically.

Damn dv8 you are so right it hurts. It would be funny, if it was so pathetically sad. Teachers shouldn't be getting a free ride to the bank with this bogus pay raise. They should be getting the education they didn't get originally and their pay should be adjusted according to their personal education efforts. Once re-education or should that be education is completed, a rigorous state certification should be part of the requirement to teach in public schools. Remuneration should be based on achievement both of personal education goals as well as effectiveness of educating our kids. Periodic testing for both student and teacher should be the normal and bonuses given to those teachers that do well. Let me wake up and stop dreaming, way I see it, ain't gonna happen, unfortunately.

NotLurking
 

dv8

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i think teaching is a difficult job and it deserves a great financial reward as well as respect. but many teachers here have little preparation for the job they perform. my silly dream is that half of this 4% goes to making teachers better. additional classes and courses are due. in just one year you could have them whipped to shape and ready to teach their respective subjects. the other half of 4% should be spent on classrooms, not much more that animal lairs, some of them.
then, the following year give a suitable rise to teachers and keep on working on infrastructure until you get to the point where education budget will be teachers pay and maintenance of the improved system.
 

NotLurking

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Can you imagine what a hoge top heavy burocracy it would take to reeducate all the teachers and evaluate them on that basis and on their results as well. Any government would be proud of such an organization.
Der Fish
We already have a administrative system in place, it's called Ministerio de Educaci?n Superior, Ciencia y Tecnolog?a. The education system to educate teachers is called La Universidad here in DR and I think we have several. I don't think the bureaucracy or red tape created by such a system would be that big of a deal, at least not enough to discourage or dissuade it implementation. The benefits would far outweigh any administrative inconvenience.

NotLurking
 

JuanDolioLiving

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Can anyone here name a country where anyone has gotten a 100% pay raise. These teachers first need to learn how to teach the student because the way that they are teaching instead of moving forward is moving backward, when I was in school back in the 80s I used to be able to do math on 4th grade and now we have kids on 8th grades that do not know how to do math. And forget about History, Culture or Spanish Language.
 

Koreano

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Maybe this pay raise will enlighten us and seriously think about paying extra for our future productivity. My workers has been asking all the time, some had been crying to supervisors. "PLEASE PAY ME MORE AND I WILL WORK MUCH BETTER/HARDER/FASTER!" While we were not smart enough to listen to their demands, the high official in DR government has listened to the people's voices and actually did something. Now that teachers got what they have wanted. Now let's see if these teachers are wiling to walk to walk. Let's all hold hands and rejoice as those same teachers will now work that much better/harder/faster for kids to get educated.

On a serious note.
From what I have seen and heard, they need to complete overhaul. They need whole new education system if they EVER want to see people of DR with better life. I applaud on paying teachers more. Now what? What's the next move?
 

Koreano

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Can anyone here name a country where anyone has gotten a 100% pay raise. These teachers first need to learn how to teach the student because the way that they are teaching instead of moving forward is moving backward, when I was in school back in the 80s I used to be able to do math on 4th grade and now we have kids on 8th grades that do not know how to do math. And forget about History, Culture or Spanish Language.
8th Grade??

When simple counting number becomes difficult for that can't do over time because he has goes to college, it says a lot. I have been on complete stress when I have 3-4 of so called high school graduates and college attendees comes with different counts every time.
 

suarezn

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I don't know about a 100% increase, but a teacher definitely needs to be paid better in The DR if they want to continue to attract candidates for these positions. A teacher working two shifts right now is not even making enough to pay for his/her basic needs. I know some would say "They're not forced to take that job..." and that's true, but if we want to hold on to those teachers that are good (and there are many) and attract new ones they must be paid a decent salary.

I agree with Dv8 on how the money should be spent, except that I would put A LOT more emphasis on early childhood education (Kindergarten through 5th grade for instance). Once the kids get to 6th grade and up without knowing how to read / spell properly or without some of the basic knowledge that their counterparts in the developed world are expected to have it is a huge uphill battle to get a well formed professional from that child.
 

dv8

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yes. early education is very important. a child who does not know the basics will not be able to keep up with others. this would discourage further learning. the more discouraged the kid is the less it will work and the gap will widen to such extend it will eventually drag behind the rest. then no matter how much work the child will do it will never make up for that initial loss...

i don't know about here, USA or europe but in poland early education takes a special, separate degree. not every teacher can teach how to read, write, and do basic 1+1 stuff. this is not an easy task. and requires a special set of mind too, because this is the point where a child can be easily influenced and sort of hoaxed into liking books or science. you gotta make if fun, exciting, inviting. you gotta make it interesting, fascinating, new.
 

Koreano

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to get pay well you need to perform well it is rule of common laws and logicts.
I find it comical that many of my current and former workers in DR believe it's the other way around. They have an ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound and strength to move a mountains but we are pay too little, so he decides to not work hard and talk to everyone and sitting in bathroom for hours.
 

Mauricio

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yes. early education is very important. a child who does not know the basics will not be able to keep up with others. this would discourage further learning. the more discouraged the kid is the less it will work and the gap will widen to such extend it will eventually drag behind the rest. then no matter how much work the child will do it will never make up for that initial loss...

i don't know about here, USA or europe but in poland early education takes a special, separate degree. not every teacher can teach how to read, write, and do basic 1+1 stuff. this is not an easy task. and requires a special set of mind too, because this is the point where a child can be easily influenced and sort of hoaxed into liking books or science. you gotta make if fun, exciting, inviting. you gotta make it interesting, fascinating, new.

That's one of my worries. Our oldest son is in a private school, but not a very good one. He is in first grade, reading goes very well, math (calculations, better said) not so much. I THINK he is a bright kid (but I'm wondering if that's my blind spot). It seems he can't grasp the retracting thing. Does everything on his fingers, obviously doesn't like it a lot either. I really don't remember how I did it in first grade, I know I didn't have any problems, but it's difficult for me to evaluate if he is at a normal stage for his age or if he is behind. And if he is behind, I wonder if he just has difficulties with math or that his teacher doesn't know how to teach him.

If I just would be in Holland, the teacher would probably to be able to make that evaluation, but here I am clueless. I think I will have to work a little harder and send him to a better school.
 

dv8

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mauricio, goethe famously wrote: if all kids grew accordingly to their early expectations the world would be full of geniuses.
:) of course you think your kid is bright, this is your job as a father :) i am also sure he is damn bright because at this early stage of learning it is not the time to judge child abilities. i am an idiot when it comes to math, that's a fact. but i did not start to drag behind others in my class at the point of finger counting. it was much later when it was more important to sleep late or leave school early to get sloshed rather than to go to math classes.

and yes, you should not be the one evaluating your child, a teacher should. maybe your kid's mind wanders off to the world of cars and toys and imaginary friends so he misses bits and pieces of information? maybe he should be brought back to reality by an occasional oye? all kids switch off their attention from the teacher. this is why the teacher should keep them in check and make sure his classes, at this early stage, are fun and interesting, so the kids WANT to learn.

what you can do, however, is to push and poke your son gently into good direction. make counting fun. how many coconuts can you see on that truck? how many did this lady just buy? so how many are left? great! good answer! now let us get five coconuts for us! how many cookies are on the table? how many will you eat? no, not all, i want to eat two cookies too! and mom wants a cookie. so if i eat two and mum eats one, how many cookies will be left for you?

heck, possibilities are endless :) and yes, you gotta bribe them sometime :)
 

windeguy

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National tests fail 98.6% of all students

National tests fail 98.6% of all students


Santo Domingo.- 98.6 percent of the students in the elementary and high school levels who took the national tests during the 2011-2012 period failed all four subjects in the first round, by not reaching the required 65 points.
Of the 220,348 students evaluated, only 3,129 (1.4%) scored 65 or higher.
Grade school students had the most difficulties, as only 801 passed the four subjects, or 0.6 percent, while in the high school, it was between 3 and 3.3 percent, in the median overall technical- professional area.
The students? performance evaluation with the national testing was introduced by the Think and Grow Foundation, chaired by former Education minister Melanio Paredes.
The organization released its second report yesterday on Classification of Educational Institutions (CLACE 2011).
The ?school ranking? spanned 5,466 public and private schools, of which 3,587 are elementary, 1,677 medium level, and 202 professional- technical level.

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Source: DT
Category: DR News |
 

Criss Colon

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Nothing Will EVER Change!
If the population were educated, they would demand more from their government!
We can't have that now, can we???
An uneducated populace is easy to manipulate.
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