EduShyster has a guest post written by a young college graduate who took a job as a teacher at a “no excuses” charter school in Boston. When you read it, you understand what it means to have no protections, no one to fight for you. The young people banded together, and the best they could get from their employer was minimum wage, barely covering their living expenses. The post exemplifies why many charters have high teacher turnover and still eke out enough to pay high executive salaries.

Categories Charter Schools, Teachers and Teaching

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2old2tch says:

November 22, 2013 at 11:49 am

I read this guest post when it came out a little over a week ago. I would love to see this post published as an op ed in a major newspaper. Certainly it should go viral on college campuses.

I wonder if the “teachers” were TFA. Furthermore, in what universe should a recent college graduate be filling jobs easily filled by community members? Is this what we laud as free market economics at work (to better education)? I don’t know who originally coined this thought, but the management of this school certainly demonstrates the principle: Unions are the result of a failure in management. Unfortunately, management continues to demonstrate the need for unions.

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memct says:

November 22, 2013 at 3:51 pm

These young people are being cheated more than they know. Their first year of post-college employment is not credited to social security. Educators who pay into state teacher retirement plans do not qualify for social security benefits. Plus, with only one year invested in the educational retirement system, they will not be vested for future benefits. Plus, I am sure few if any are withdrawing from the state fund, after they leave the charters, the 8% (+/-) that was deducted (mandatory) from their pay. In addition, people who have both industry and educational work histories are treated to a social security deduction when they retire called the “windfall provision.” Someone is really ripping off these young people and it is not “for the children.” Is it even legal to make them pay into the state teacher retirement funds when they are not certified?

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- Ellen T Klock says:
  
  November 22, 2013 at 9:03 pm
  
  I don’t know about MA, but I paid into the NYS retirement system and I still qualify for social security. As far as the 8% he paid into the MA retirement system, if he chooses not to teach in MA, he should be able to get that money back. That’s what my daughter did after teaching in the Buffalo Public Schools for a year and then deciding to go in a different career direction. (Ironically she is currently working as a nutritionist at Roswell, a cancer research hospital, which is a part of the NYS retirement system and she can now buy that first year back).
  
  My first year of teaching was as a library assistant for salary purposes, my real job was as the Library Media Specialist. I sympathize with the young man. Hopefully his experiences will help him get a real job. At least he is getting credit for this past years work. My generation worked at parochial schools for pittance and it added nothing to their pensions.
  
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Robert D. Shepherd says:

November 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm

This piece by this student is a little glimpse into what the whole of U.S. K-12 education will look like if the deformers get their way.

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.” –George Orwell, 1984

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- KrazyTA says:
  
  November 22, 2013 at 9:16 pm
  
  Robert D. Shepherd: your words, George Orwell’s words, so much said in just two sentences.
  
  “Much wisdom often goes with fewest words.” [Sophocles]
  
  😎
  
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Mr. Joshua says:

November 22, 2013 at 6:16 pm

This did not shock me at all. I worked at a charter school for a year and half. Teacher turnover was massive. The administration literally said, “That’s business”. As mentioned by one of the commenters above, this is what the future of education would look like if the ed-deformers have their way.

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Dee Dee says:

November 22, 2013 at 7:28 pm

Ahhh…. the land of charter schools where employees can barely make a living but the CEO has a job for life while making a fortune. It is pitiful that young people these days are getting used like this and the community is getting ripped off.

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