Policies that Relate to Teachers with @TeacherpaywithK

00:00:03.977 --> 00:00:07.817
You are listening to The Balancing Act Podcast. Here's your hosts,

00:00:08.177 --> 00:00:09.997
Janie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

00:00:11.157 --> 00:00:17.597
Hey, and we are officially recording. Hello, and welcome back to The Balancing Act Podcast.

00:00:17.877 --> 00:00:22.717
Season three is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Teacher's Insurance Plan.

00:00:22.977 --> 00:00:26.737
Check out their website for more information and to get a quote,

00:00:27.697 --> 00:00:32.357
Teacher's Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings

00:00:32.357 --> 00:00:37.897
and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

00:00:38.757 --> 00:00:41.297
Man, that'll never get old, huh? Yeah.

00:00:42.257 --> 00:00:45.477
I mean, hey, I'm Jamie Wonka. I'm here with Mr. Joseph Vitale.

00:00:45.617 --> 00:00:49.117
And who are we with our official sponsorship here?

00:00:49.457 --> 00:00:52.737
Who are we? Who are we? I know, it's crazy. So yeah,

00:00:53.077 --> 00:00:55.857
again, we're super excited to partner up our season three with

00:00:55.857 --> 00:00:58.697
teacher's insurance plan uh as our sponsor so please

00:00:58.697 --> 00:01:03.257
check them out support uh support a business that supports our show we would

00:01:03.257 --> 00:01:08.017
love for you to do that um so what's been going on boss how we doing i mean

00:01:08.017 --> 00:01:14.237
you know and talk about big time our guests today is a returning guest from

00:01:14.237 --> 00:01:18.077
uh from last season we do love returning guests of course we do.

00:01:18.357 --> 00:01:27.777
And a teacher from New Jersey, an actual classroom teacher from New Jersey,

00:01:28.057 --> 00:01:31.657
not someone who used to teach, right? Because we hear that a lot.

00:01:31.837 --> 00:01:37.877
And has a really strong following on social media because her voice is clear,

00:01:38.397 --> 00:01:42.477
strong, and unwavering in support of our beloved profession.

00:01:42.797 --> 00:01:47.397
Yeah. Should we welcome her to the stage? That is an intro if there ever was one.

00:01:47.817 --> 00:01:51.937
Hey, what's up, big time? It's Kristen from many different places,

00:01:51.937 --> 00:01:55.217
but also at TeacherPayWithK on all the socials. Hello, how are you?

00:01:55.377 --> 00:01:56.277
Thanks for being with us again.

00:01:56.937 --> 00:02:00.977
Hi, it's so good to see you guys. Thank you, Jamie, for that introduction.

00:02:00.997 --> 00:02:04.097
And thanks for having me back because we had so much fun last time.

00:02:04.337 --> 00:02:09.077
Yes, and like we were talking about before we hopped on here, you're big time now.

00:02:09.257 --> 00:02:13.257
You're like interviewing gubernatorial candidates and going to things.

00:02:13.477 --> 00:02:16.277
And it's really awesome to see because we know how passionate you are about

00:02:16.277 --> 00:02:17.637
the profession. Not only that.

00:02:18.989 --> 00:02:22.169
The profession all over the United States, right? You've been highlighting a

00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:25.229
lot of different things and we're really excited to catch up with you and get

00:02:25.229 --> 00:02:28.289
some of your insight on some very important things that are happening,

00:02:28.509 --> 00:02:32.249
not only in the state of New Jersey, but in many states across the country with

00:02:32.249 --> 00:02:35.649
different political races and how that might affect our profession.

00:02:35.769 --> 00:02:38.529
So that's definitely what we are excited to talk to you about today.

00:02:39.349 --> 00:02:44.729
So, hey, tell us what's been going on at Teacher Pay with K-Land these days

00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:46.209
since last we spoke last season.

00:02:46.609 --> 00:02:52.329
Yeah, I mean, crazy, but I have gotten to interview some pretty notable people.

00:02:53.109 --> 00:02:57.689
Back in May, Mikey Sherrill's campaign reached out to me during the primary,

00:02:58.009 --> 00:03:01.869
even though obviously as an NJEA member and a local president,

00:03:01.869 --> 00:03:04.529
I was supporting Sean Spiller in the primary.

00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:08.209
But her campaign reached out, wanted me to have a chance to talk to her.

00:03:08.309 --> 00:03:10.729
And we met up and she was really great.

00:03:10.869 --> 00:03:14.889
You know, I got to ask her a lot of questions about school funding and our pensions

00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:17.089
and just education in general.

00:03:17.309 --> 00:03:21.729
And she's really, really supportive of educators, which was great to see back

00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:24.269
then, especially because then she won the primary.

00:03:24.989 --> 00:03:31.729
And I got a chance to talk to her again, right, I guess, Labor Day weekend. She was in my area.

00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:36.809
And we just got to catch up again about, you know, her plans for affordability

00:03:36.809 --> 00:03:40.089
in New Jersey and keeping utility prices down.

00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:44.209
And again, it's just been so great to get to talk to her. She is such a wonderful

00:03:44.209 --> 00:03:48.329
woman. And I am really excited that hopefully she's going to be the next governor

00:03:48.329 --> 00:03:52.549
of New Jersey, because we definitely need a governor that supports public education.

00:03:53.749 --> 00:04:00.269
Yeah, agreed. Absolutely. So what other things have you been up to since our last recording?

00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:03.929
Oh, man. I mean, what haven't I been up to?

00:04:03.929 --> 00:04:09.629
So in terms of social media, the same old stuff, just making a lot of content

00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:11.809
about teacher pay scales,

00:04:11.989 --> 00:04:17.629
but also just current events that are happening across the country that impact

00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:18.969
teachers and educators.

00:04:19.669 --> 00:04:23.469
Just this last week, actually, I was covering two different strikes.

00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:29.369
So teachers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, went out on a one day strike.

00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:36.629
They it's a weird situation out there not like New Jersey where we have our

00:04:36.629 --> 00:04:41.289
contracts and you know we kind of redo them every three to five years they had

00:04:41.289 --> 00:04:43.089
a master agreement with the district,

00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:49.409
and the board of ed is pretty right-wing they did away with it teachers now

00:04:49.409 --> 00:04:53.389
don't have you know the same kind of collective bargaining that they used to

00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:58.529
so they went out on that one day strike And the same week, teachers up in Alberta,

00:04:58.709 --> 00:05:04.289
Canada also have gone out on strike now over pay and working conditions and

00:05:04.289 --> 00:05:07.709
just, you know, something that we see all over, just not having enough staff.

00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:11.769
So that's something that they're pushing for up there right now.

00:05:15.271 --> 00:05:19.511
Yeah, I think a lot of what we're seeing in New Jersey are parallels to that,

00:05:19.531 --> 00:05:23.291
especially in regards to staffing.

00:05:23.611 --> 00:05:27.991
I know in the district that we work in, there's a number of jobs that have been

00:05:27.991 --> 00:05:30.611
unfilled since the start of the year.

00:05:30.691 --> 00:05:34.851
And that's not uncommon, where before it was hundreds of applicants for one position.

00:05:35.191 --> 00:05:38.631
Now we're lucky if we get any qualified applicants, right? Right.

00:05:38.751 --> 00:05:43.931
So I guess that kind of leads us into the first part of our conversation today

00:05:43.931 --> 00:05:48.271
is I know what you've been talking a lot on social media about the New Jersey

00:05:48.271 --> 00:05:52.711
pension system and pension reform and some things have happened over the last

00:05:52.711 --> 00:05:55.191
couple of couple of months.

00:05:55.431 --> 00:05:58.411
Right. I know that. And now the name escapes me.

00:05:58.551 --> 00:06:02.711
There's recently been something that was passed to allow for people that there

00:06:02.711 --> 00:06:06.491
was like a gap or that they left three years of service, break in service. Yes.

00:06:07.051 --> 00:06:11.471
If you maybe want to talk about that and how significant that is for,

00:06:11.491 --> 00:06:14.411
you know, our union members, but for teachers in general.

00:06:15.471 --> 00:06:20.231
Yeah. So, I mean, I am someone that is in tier five of the pension,

00:06:20.451 --> 00:06:22.431
which is the worst here in New Jersey.

00:06:22.871 --> 00:06:29.671
So people in tier one have that 55 and 25 where you can retire and collect your full pension.

00:06:29.911 --> 00:06:33.571
Once you turn 55 years old, if you have 25 years of service.

00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:38.149
For those of us in tier five, which is anyone that started teaching after,

00:06:38.429 --> 00:06:46.189
I believe, 2011, so a lot of people, we cannot collect our full pension until we turn 65.

00:06:46.349 --> 00:06:49.609
It does not matter how many years of service we have.

00:06:49.809 --> 00:06:53.969
So for most of us that started teaching at 22, we'll have, you know,

00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:57.869
40 years of service before we can collect our full pension.

00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:02.809
So I am really passionate about, you know, our pension justice fight in New Jersey.

00:07:02.809 --> 00:07:05.589
And it is actually a fight that we see

00:07:05.589 --> 00:07:09.269
happening in other states as well like Illinois also has

00:07:09.269 --> 00:07:12.149
a pension justice fight happening I believe New York

00:07:12.149 --> 00:07:15.709
State also has one as well trying to eliminate those lower

00:07:15.709 --> 00:07:20.949
class tiers for the newer employees that come in but Joe you mentioned that

00:07:20.949 --> 00:07:25.249
break in service bill that Governor Murphy finally signed just you know a week

00:07:25.249 --> 00:07:33.629
or two ago and that impacts people who started their profession in tier one and then took time off.

00:07:34.029 --> 00:07:40.489
In most cases, it's women taking time off to raise their kids or take care of older family members.

00:07:41.369 --> 00:07:44.469
And because they were out of the pension system for more than two years,

00:07:44.589 --> 00:07:50.529
when they came back to teaching, they lost their tier one status and they got knocked into tier five.

00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:57.069
So somebody taking just three years of unpaid time off from teaching cost them

00:07:57.069 --> 00:08:01.089
10 years of retirement, which is huge.

00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:06.369
So this is, you know, the first step in achieving pension justice for everyone in New Jersey.

00:08:06.429 --> 00:08:10.529
And it's so good to see the advocacy that NJEA put in behind this.

00:08:10.789 --> 00:08:14.569
And it started with rank and file members who were pushing for this change.

00:08:14.729 --> 00:08:20.569
And then, you know, the legislature passed it with bipartisan support and Governor Murphy then signed it.

00:08:20.669 --> 00:08:23.169
So this is like a huge win for so many of our members.

00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:31.569
The idea that someone would need to take care of their children or take care

00:08:31.569 --> 00:08:37.389
of their parents and then lose so many years is so unsettling.

00:08:37.589 --> 00:08:44.889
What would you say to, so we've had a lot of like even our union at school come

00:08:44.889 --> 00:08:49.069
in and ask us to sign and join in the tier one for everyone.

00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:53.709
What would you say to someone that is tier one.

00:08:54.656 --> 00:09:01.396
And doesn't want to sign because they believe that there'll be a movement to

00:09:01.396 --> 00:09:03.776
take away their tier one status,

00:09:03.776 --> 00:09:08.876
or there'll be an idea that there's going to be a meeting between like sort

00:09:08.876 --> 00:09:13.996
of tier five pushing and tier three and all the tier ones would get pushed into

00:09:13.996 --> 00:09:16.036
if everybody was sort of met in the middle.

00:09:16.496 --> 00:09:22.756
So what would you say to that? I mean, I just don't see something like that happening.

00:09:23.476 --> 00:09:29.296
Even when we had Chris Christie, who, you know, arguably one of the worst governors

00:09:29.296 --> 00:09:31.956
we've ever had when it comes to public education and teachers,

00:09:32.236 --> 00:09:36.996
even under Chris Christie, he still didn't take tier one status away from people.

00:09:37.276 --> 00:09:43.756
I don't think that the fight for tier one for everyone is going to impact tier one members.

00:09:43.836 --> 00:09:48.496
What I would say that they should be concerned about is the governor election,

00:09:48.496 --> 00:09:52.956
because I do think that there's a real possibility that Jack Cittarelli would

00:09:52.956 --> 00:09:57.076
make some changes to our pension, which, again, is why I'm so passionate about

00:09:57.076 --> 00:09:58.816
getting, you know, Mikey Sherrill elected.

00:09:59.576 --> 00:10:04.256
But I think in terms of the tier one for everyone push with NJEA,

00:10:04.416 --> 00:10:09.396
it's really about highlighting the inequities between our jobs.

00:10:09.536 --> 00:10:14.696
I mean, I have been teaching now since 2012, which, you know,

00:10:14.756 --> 00:10:17.876
I didn't start off in New Jersey, But had I started off in New Jersey,

00:10:18.036 --> 00:10:20.836
that would have been the year after Tier 5 got implemented.

00:10:21.236 --> 00:10:27.496
So the fact that I now can't collect my full pension until I turn 65,

00:10:27.496 --> 00:10:32.896
but I have friends that only started teaching a few years before me who get

00:10:32.896 --> 00:10:35.156
to retire at 55 with their full pension.

00:10:35.156 --> 00:10:40.076
We're doing the exact same job and they will get to collect their retirement

00:10:40.076 --> 00:10:44.936
a full decade before me just because they happened to, you know,

00:10:45.036 --> 00:10:49.036
graduate from college four years before I did. So what about.

00:10:50.551 --> 00:10:58.591
The rank and file person who is thinking about, OK, well, this is going to affect

00:10:58.591 --> 00:11:00.191
teachers. How is this going to affect me?

00:11:00.371 --> 00:11:03.231
Somebody that's not a teacher, that's not an educator, like the family member

00:11:03.231 --> 00:11:07.631
of an educator or, you know, friends of an educator, like why should they support

00:11:07.631 --> 00:11:14.231
or be vocal about the fact that this is something that should change for public school employees?

00:11:14.891 --> 00:11:18.291
Yeah, I think that's such a good question because we hear it all the time from

00:11:18.291 --> 00:11:19.831
people that don't work in education.

00:11:20.271 --> 00:11:22.971
But I think it goes back to, Joe, what you were saying before,

00:11:23.151 --> 00:11:27.851
like, in all of our districts right now, we see the reality of this teacher

00:11:27.851 --> 00:11:30.131
shortage. we're posting jobs.

00:11:30.311 --> 00:11:34.851
And you're lucky if you get one or two applicants, especially for some of these

00:11:34.851 --> 00:11:40.831
harder to find positions, you know, special education, ESL, high school math or high school science.

00:11:41.071 --> 00:11:45.391
They're really, really hard to find qualified candidates for right now.

00:11:45.551 --> 00:11:50.911
Whereas we know, you know, 10, 15 years ago, you were truly getting hundreds

00:11:50.911 --> 00:11:53.471
and hundreds of applicants for single job opening.

00:11:53.871 --> 00:11:58.411
And that's just not happening anymore. So I think they're all tied together.

00:11:58.691 --> 00:12:04.691
It's, you know, the pension tiers, knowing that when you enter the profession

00:12:04.691 --> 00:12:08.151
right now, you're not able to collect your full pension until 65.

00:12:08.471 --> 00:12:12.171
It's the health insurance getting more and more expensive each year when,

00:12:12.351 --> 00:12:16.651
you know, that also used to be part of the benefits package where it was included.

00:12:17.211 --> 00:12:21.791
And all of that is kind of making this like perfect storm of a situation.

00:12:22.371 --> 00:12:25.391
Where now we can't find people for these positions.

00:12:25.751 --> 00:12:29.271
And that should concern everyone, even if you're not in public education,

00:12:29.811 --> 00:12:33.671
because our communities depend on having quality public schools.

00:12:33.951 --> 00:12:36.891
So what's going to happen when we can't find teachers?

00:12:37.091 --> 00:12:41.871
Are we okay with having kids taking online classes without a real instructor

00:12:41.871 --> 00:12:45.651
in the room? Because that's probably what's going to end up happening if nothing changes.

00:12:47.811 --> 00:12:53.811
Yeah, no, I'm not okay with that. No, I know. It's so difficult to even think about.

00:12:54.171 --> 00:12:57.811
Yeah, to wrap my head around. Absolutely. When I taught in North Carolina,

00:12:57.811 --> 00:13:00.171
I was in a really rural county.

00:13:00.271 --> 00:13:04.331
And it was very hard for us to find teachers. The pay was very low.

00:13:05.391 --> 00:13:10.951
Nobody wanted to move to the county. And we could not find high school math teachers.

00:13:11.151 --> 00:13:16.351
And that's what I teach. There was one year I was the only full-time math teacher

00:13:16.351 --> 00:13:19.931
in our building. And it was a small high school. It was maybe 400 or 500 students.

00:13:20.331 --> 00:13:27.011
But that meant that I would say at least half of our students did not have a math teacher.

00:13:27.291 --> 00:13:29.331
They took math online through the state.

00:13:29.811 --> 00:13:33.411
And like they weren't learning math. I'll tell you that.

00:13:33.691 --> 00:13:39.111
They learned how to do well in an online course setting. They were not learning critical thinking.

00:13:39.271 --> 00:13:42.131
They were not learning their math skills. And I just...

00:13:42.918 --> 00:13:46.938
I worry that that's the route we're going down, especially for some of these

00:13:46.938 --> 00:13:48.198
harder to find positions.

00:13:48.858 --> 00:13:54.058
Yeah. Is North Carolina a non-union state? Yeah, it's a right-to-work state.

00:13:54.638 --> 00:13:59.678
No collective bargaining. Our pay was dictated by the state level.

00:13:59.818 --> 00:14:03.858
So like each summer, state legislators would vote on whether or not we got a raise.

00:14:04.198 --> 00:14:07.078
Sometimes you wouldn't find out until like school had already started what your

00:14:07.078 --> 00:14:11.118
pay was going to be. So very, very different from New Jersey. Yeah.

00:14:11.378 --> 00:14:14.978
My sister recently moved to South Carolina from New Jersey.

00:14:15.918 --> 00:14:22.418
And, you know, she had done exactly what you described earlier with the taking a break.

00:14:22.438 --> 00:14:25.598
So she worked and she stayed home with the kids and she went back.

00:14:25.938 --> 00:14:31.298
But being tier five, you know, there wasn't a whole lot of reason for her to stay in New Jersey.

00:14:31.758 --> 00:14:35.798
So now she is teaching in South Carolina, but it's a non-union state as well.

00:14:35.978 --> 00:14:39.898
So, yeah. So what exactly does that mean for it to be a non-Union state?

00:14:40.178 --> 00:14:42.798
Is that just regarding collective bargaining or they're subjective?

00:14:42.798 --> 00:14:44.078
Targeting is the big one.

00:14:44.258 --> 00:14:48.178
There's also then like no real protections.

00:14:48.778 --> 00:14:52.898
So actually at my new teacher orientation now in my current district where I'm

00:14:52.898 --> 00:14:58.838
president, I bring a copy of my contract from North Carolina to show them because

00:14:58.838 --> 00:15:00.818
it is one single sheet of paper.

00:15:00.938 --> 00:15:05.298
And it basically just said you are employed by the school district and you could

00:15:05.298 --> 00:15:11.478
be terminated at any time for any reason, which is very, very different from how New Jersey is.

00:15:11.598 --> 00:15:15.638
Even non-tenured teachers still have protections. Like they can't just tell

00:15:15.638 --> 00:15:17.838
you, hey, don't show up tomorrow.

00:15:18.838 --> 00:15:21.818
That's just like unfathomable for a lot of people in New Jersey.

00:15:21.978 --> 00:15:24.118
And that was the reality in North Carolina.

00:15:25.018 --> 00:15:30.618
I also think that, you know, and granted kids that are coming out of college

00:15:30.618 --> 00:15:34.678
might not be able to be forward thinking enough to understand,

00:15:34.958 --> 00:15:40.718
well, here's where I think my retirement's going to be, right?

00:15:40.798 --> 00:15:44.078
They might be thinking about, oh, well, 65, I don't need to worry about that

00:15:44.078 --> 00:15:45.338
right now. I'll just start working.

00:15:46.818 --> 00:15:51.778
We're not going to attract high quality candidates to the profession in this,

00:15:51.938 --> 00:15:53.218
I'm talking about the state of New Jersey.

00:15:54.338 --> 00:15:57.358
And again, those of us, those of you that are going into the profession that

00:15:57.358 --> 00:15:59.838
you might be new teachers in the classroom.

00:16:00.941 --> 00:16:08.841
Please continue. But at the college level, it's very difficult for us to see

00:16:08.841 --> 00:16:12.681
less and less people are going into the major.

00:16:12.941 --> 00:16:17.401
How are you going to entice people to go into the profession?

00:16:17.401 --> 00:16:23.521
Now, in New Jersey, we are paid fairly well as compared to other states.

00:16:23.981 --> 00:16:27.261
At the same time, we have the highest standard of living in the nation.

00:16:27.641 --> 00:16:31.821
So now we're talking about people being priced out of communities and not able

00:16:31.821 --> 00:16:35.401
to live in like the communities that they're working in,

00:16:35.581 --> 00:16:41.121
where that's a huge, huge drawback where you don't have teachers that you see

00:16:41.121 --> 00:16:43.041
in the community that are volunteering at the events,

00:16:43.041 --> 00:16:48.501
that are coaching the teams because they just don't have the time or the bandwidth

00:16:48.501 --> 00:16:51.401
to be able to handle that extra responsibility, right?

00:16:51.701 --> 00:16:55.241
And I know like for yourself, and we've talked about this before,

00:16:55.341 --> 00:16:59.421
Kristen, it's something that you're open to on social media.

00:16:59.701 --> 00:17:05.261
Like you are a field hockey coach in the fall. You also work a second job.

00:17:06.181 --> 00:17:08.881
I think you sleep like 30 minutes a day.

00:17:08.881 --> 00:17:15.181
Uh, and like that, that's a very challenging atmosphere to live in on top of

00:17:15.181 --> 00:17:19.081
the things that you're probably doing for your profession outside of the job,

00:17:19.221 --> 00:17:23.441
being a union president working and grading papers, doing lesson plans.

00:17:23.561 --> 00:17:27.061
Like those are all things that we don't necessarily have the time to do during

00:17:27.061 --> 00:17:28.241
the contractual school day.

00:17:29.101 --> 00:17:34.661
What would you want to see happen for us to entice more new teachers to go into

00:17:34.661 --> 00:17:37.341
the profession and major in this in college?

00:17:38.081 --> 00:17:43.361
Yeah, so I think in terms of recruiting new people like out of college to this

00:17:43.361 --> 00:17:49.341
profession, we do need I think we need to work on our starting pay.

00:17:49.561 --> 00:17:54.121
I know NJEA really has a push to get starting pays at $60,000.

00:17:54.781 --> 00:17:58.941
And then there are some districts who are already kind of pushing that up to $70,000.

00:17:59.752 --> 00:18:03.912
I think that's like the number one place to start. But then also the pension and the benefits.

00:18:03.912 --> 00:18:09.812
I do think there are, you know, a lot of college age kids that will go into

00:18:09.812 --> 00:18:14.972
a profession like this if they know like, OK, it's got decent hours, decent pay.

00:18:15.272 --> 00:18:19.952
And then like I'm set for, you know, I can retire at 55 with a full pension,

00:18:20.192 --> 00:18:23.672
whereas our friends in corporate America aren't necessarily doing that.

00:18:24.032 --> 00:18:30.492
But I also think there's, we really have to talk about how to retain teachers as well.

00:18:30.612 --> 00:18:34.752
And this is something that I'm personally affected by.

00:18:34.892 --> 00:18:39.512
I think people in my age group, so I'm 35, I think there's a lot of people in

00:18:39.512 --> 00:18:43.852
their 30s, even early 40s, who are in tier five.

00:18:44.112 --> 00:18:47.832
So at this point, you know, I've been teaching almost 15 years,

00:18:47.872 --> 00:18:53.272
and I still have 30 more years to go before I can collect my pension, which is crazy.

00:18:54.112 --> 00:18:57.832
And I think there's a lot of us in this age group that are questioning,

00:18:58.092 --> 00:19:03.492
you know, I love teaching, but do I love it enough to stay here for another three decades?

00:19:03.872 --> 00:19:07.252
And for a lot of people, that answer is no. Once you're vested in the pension,

00:19:07.792 --> 00:19:11.172
I think there are a lot of people in their 30s having those thoughts of,

00:19:11.312 --> 00:19:13.832
okay, is there something I can pivot to?

00:19:13.992 --> 00:19:17.352
Is there an educational tech company that's hiring? You know,

00:19:17.552 --> 00:19:20.292
is there something else where my skill set transfers?

00:19:20.992 --> 00:19:23.832
Because it's just it's a really exhausting job.

00:19:23.992 --> 00:19:29.572
Like we all know that as much as you can love teaching, you can still be really exhausted by it.

00:19:30.192 --> 00:19:35.572
So I think it's both of those conversations. How do we keep recruiting new people?

00:19:35.712 --> 00:19:42.812
But then also how do we retain the staff that we have who are tier one or tier five or tier four?

00:19:42.812 --> 00:19:46.152
Yeah, I think that that's the probably the

00:19:46.152 --> 00:19:55.612
key piece for people who don't teach is the really deep and true understanding

00:19:55.612 --> 00:20:03.212
and appreciation for how exhausting it can be,

00:20:03.392 --> 00:20:06.612
you know, so for all of the positive and really great things.

00:20:06.612 --> 00:20:10.372
And I really, and I do tell my students and I'll say to them,

00:20:10.512 --> 00:20:13.852
you know, I really like my job. And they're like, you do?

00:20:14.052 --> 00:20:17.192
I said, do you think I do? And they're like, well, yeah.

00:20:17.472 --> 00:20:22.212
Well, can you tell maybe sometimes if you have interaction with somebody that

00:20:22.212 --> 00:20:26.972
you're with that maybe doesn't love it or is maybe not as, yeah,

00:20:27.212 --> 00:20:29.552
as well, you know, you have to pick something.

00:20:29.672 --> 00:20:33.732
I said, I'm really lucky that I like the job that I'm doing. But at the same time,

00:20:33.952 --> 00:20:40.872
what I wouldn't say to them, what I'll say to you is I can't imagine at my age

00:20:40.872 --> 00:20:45.052
now still having another 20 years. Yeah.

00:20:45.432 --> 00:20:51.032
I mean, I have 10 and, you know, do I think I have the 10 to give? Absolutely.

00:20:51.332 --> 00:20:54.552
100%. Could I see even maybe dipping into 15?

00:20:54.892 --> 00:20:56.892
Yeah. I don't know. It depends on like.

00:20:57.124 --> 00:21:00.584
How many more times, you know, how many more six, seven trends are coming my way?

00:21:00.704 --> 00:21:04.764
You know, how many more, um, I mean, if they can ban water bottles,

00:21:04.944 --> 00:21:06.324
maybe I could do it for another.

00:21:06.604 --> 00:21:10.904
Hey girl, listen, listen, don't even start with the water bottles because you

00:21:10.904 --> 00:21:13.284
know that I recently posted, I got the garage girl.

00:21:13.544 --> 00:21:16.724
Just all you got to do is build just, so Kristen, I don't know if you have,

00:21:16.744 --> 00:21:19.504
I don't know if you saw this, but I have a water bottle garage,

00:21:19.984 --> 00:21:21.404
which means I have a little sign.

00:21:21.584 --> 00:21:23.944
It says park your water bottle in the garage. So the kids have to take their

00:21:23.944 --> 00:21:28.524
water bottles and put them in the garage because, and you teach high school, right?

00:21:28.824 --> 00:21:34.064
This is the most hydrated generation in human history. They are going to have

00:21:34.064 --> 00:21:35.644
fantastic skin when they get older.

00:21:37.104 --> 00:21:42.624
But as Jamie and I are the people who, you know, drank from the hose when we

00:21:42.624 --> 00:21:46.464
were in the backyard and never drank from a water bottle ever and sustained

00:21:46.464 --> 00:21:51.324
ourselves on one of those little like barrel drink sips things outside in the summertime.

00:21:51.324 --> 00:21:54.304
Time like they don't need it for the whole time and it's it's

00:21:54.304 --> 00:21:57.584
the flipping it's the crunching of the bottle it which is grinds

00:21:57.584 --> 00:22:00.424
my gears and it's the the metal bottle hitting the the

00:22:00.424 --> 00:22:03.184
floor and making the noises when you like walk it off the

00:22:03.184 --> 00:22:05.884
desk and i'm like which like jamie jamie is i

00:22:05.884 --> 00:22:08.824
could see i can't i can see her gears grinding

00:22:08.824 --> 00:22:11.884
so i am i implemented the garage which is basically you're

00:22:11.884 --> 00:22:15.164
going to park your bottle in the garage and you're not going to have it for the period because

00:22:15.164 --> 00:22:18.284
i'm not doing it anymore i said it's not and i

00:22:18.284 --> 00:22:21.684
started this this year and i said to my seventh graders and it's not you it's the

00:22:21.684 --> 00:22:24.344
experiences i have had before so this is what

00:22:24.344 --> 00:22:27.304
i'm going to do for my own sanity and for our school and for

00:22:27.304 --> 00:22:30.004
our environment this is what i'm asking you to do so take your

00:22:30.004 --> 00:22:32.844
sip park it in the garage you can get it at the end of the period

00:22:32.844 --> 00:22:35.824
and guess what as of the middle of october

00:22:35.824 --> 00:22:40.424
no one has died of thirst so my i think my experiment is going well so anyway

00:22:40.424 --> 00:22:48.104
i'm sorry yeah no so so if you have you know a bunch of 65 year olds oh god

00:22:48.104 --> 00:22:52.904
that have been with children for 40 years.

00:22:53.284 --> 00:22:57.084
I just don't know how that really adds up or makes sense to people,

00:22:57.164 --> 00:23:04.764
especially because our job really is entrenched so much in change, new.

00:23:05.264 --> 00:23:08.484
Doing, responding, questioning, moving.

00:23:08.684 --> 00:23:14.804
And there's also a very distinct physicality to what we do that makes it a challenge.

00:23:15.104 --> 00:23:19.384
So, you know, so I don't know, I definitely was like the first person to line

00:23:19.384 --> 00:23:21.724
up to sign the, you know, tier one for everyone.

00:23:21.724 --> 00:23:25.584
And I think it's really significant for people like Joe and I to do that and

00:23:25.584 --> 00:23:30.164
to show other people because we are the senior teachers, even though,

00:23:30.344 --> 00:23:35.364
you know, in our age, in our 40s, we don't necessarily always feel that way about ourselves.

00:23:35.424 --> 00:23:39.864
But according to, you know, the tier one, 100% we are.

00:23:40.064 --> 00:23:43.904
And so I think it's important for us to to be able to you know kind of show

00:23:43.904 --> 00:23:46.644
that to everyone else like don't be scared and put your name down on this paper

00:23:46.644 --> 00:23:50.484
and let's go and let's do it yeah and we had i had a couple conversations with

00:23:50.484 --> 00:23:51.904
some co-workers about like.

00:23:52.686 --> 00:23:55.786
They were like, well, why should I sign this? Like people that have been teaching

00:23:55.786 --> 00:23:59.266
in the 20 year mark, I'm like, you know, this is politicians.

00:23:59.426 --> 00:24:03.506
This is, I'm like, I understand that we shouldn't have to sign this.

00:24:04.066 --> 00:24:07.886
I understand that, but that's not the way this works. And by the way,

00:24:07.946 --> 00:24:10.466
I teach civics and so did this other teacher as well.

00:24:10.626 --> 00:24:15.566
So we're talking about it. I'm like, you just, if we're going to fix this.

00:24:16.186 --> 00:24:19.206
You know, we need to fix it for the next group that's coming up, right?

00:24:19.326 --> 00:24:24.886
And I go back to our conversation that we had with, some younger teachers in

00:24:24.886 --> 00:24:30.426
the NJ, AEA pod squad, where we talked to them last year, and they were big

00:24:30.426 --> 00:24:32.086
advocates for like paid student teaching.

00:24:32.546 --> 00:24:35.506
And a lot of people, and Jamie actually said this, and it was like,

00:24:35.686 --> 00:24:40.066
well, they shouldn't get paid because I didn't get paid.

00:24:40.226 --> 00:24:43.226
I'm like, no, but it doesn't work that way. Like if we're going to make it better

00:24:43.226 --> 00:24:48.006
for the next generation, then we figure out a way to improve everybody's station.

00:24:48.126 --> 00:24:51.186
And by the way, Jamie's not the one that said that if that came across.

00:24:51.426 --> 00:24:54.566
Yeah, no, I know what you mean. Yeah, it was somebody else that like,

00:24:54.986 --> 00:24:56.926
like, no, like you have to make it better.

00:24:57.066 --> 00:25:00.426
Well, like they I didn't have to do that or I had to do it. So they should have

00:25:00.426 --> 00:25:02.426
to do it. It's like, OK, enough with the hazing.

00:25:02.866 --> 00:25:05.786
Well, and I also doesn't work that way. Yeah.

00:25:05.986 --> 00:25:12.286
We also have to talk about how much the cost of college has risen in the last 15 years as well.

00:25:12.406 --> 00:25:17.686
I mean, it's $11 billion. Yeah, it's so much more expensive than even when I

00:25:17.686 --> 00:25:20.146
was going to school and when you guys were in college.

00:25:20.446 --> 00:25:24.566
So it does make it a lot harder. You can't just pay for college with,

00:25:24.566 --> 00:25:26.746
you know, a part-time job or a summer job now.

00:25:27.086 --> 00:25:30.086
So yeah, like student teachers should be getting paid.

00:25:30.586 --> 00:25:35.086
I actually just posted a video, Joe, I think you saw it, that in Pennsylvania,

00:25:35.086 --> 00:25:37.826
they do now have a stipend for student teachers.

00:25:38.086 --> 00:25:40.566
And there's like a catch to it.

00:25:40.646 --> 00:25:44.266
I think you have to teach in the state of Pennsylvania for three years.

00:25:44.606 --> 00:25:49.126
But it's like a $10,000 stipend. And if you, I'm sorry to interrupt you,

00:25:49.186 --> 00:25:53.386
and if you teach in a needs district in Pennsylvania, like an inner city district

00:25:53.386 --> 00:25:57.566
or one that's tier one or however they classify it, it's $15,000.

00:25:58.006 --> 00:26:01.726
Oh, wow. So imagine, imagine being someone that's like, you know what,

00:26:01.826 --> 00:26:05.006
maybe I'll try this out as a career and it gives you the opportunity.

00:26:05.886 --> 00:26:10.966
I know also in New Jersey, there is talk of that. I think the NJA did just post something.

00:26:12.006 --> 00:26:18.646
Recently about it, where it's like a $7,500 stipend, which I don't know the

00:26:18.646 --> 00:26:22.546
exact parameters around it, but like the talk is starting and it needs to start

00:26:22.546 --> 00:26:23.926
because if we're going to make it,

00:26:24.806 --> 00:26:29.046
a quantifiable profession for everybody, and we talked about this on previous episodes,

00:26:29.866 --> 00:26:35.586
my son in a class where they're like mirroring teachers in our district and

00:26:35.586 --> 00:26:39.326
there's 15 kids in the class, but, but 10 years ago, there were a hundred,

00:26:39.666 --> 00:26:43.786
like it, the numbers aren't there, you know, and they're dropping and dropping

00:26:43.786 --> 00:26:45.226
and dropping. And how are we going to do it?

00:26:45.286 --> 00:26:49.346
We need to retain the ones that we have, but we also need to make sure that

00:26:49.346 --> 00:26:54.046
we're encouraging people that have passion to do this into the profession.

00:26:55.046 --> 00:26:58.226
So they don't also go bankrupt and don't have to live in their parents' basement

00:26:58.226 --> 00:26:59.246
until they're in their thirties.

00:26:59.566 --> 00:27:02.226
And I'm not trying to say anything negative for people that do that,

00:27:02.266 --> 00:27:08.686
but that's the nature of certain things based on societal pressure and the way

00:27:08.686 --> 00:27:10.326
things are set up right now. It's challenging.

00:27:11.386 --> 00:27:16.666
Kristen, what would you tell someone who was heading to college or midway through

00:27:16.666 --> 00:27:21.006
college trying to decide whether or not they wanted to go into the field of education?

00:27:21.526 --> 00:27:23.646
Oh, I think that's a great question.

00:27:24.626 --> 00:27:29.346
I think if you love it, it's still a good profession.

00:27:30.746 --> 00:27:34.606
The hours are good. You know, you can pick up like, you know,

00:27:34.686 --> 00:27:39.426
I coach a club or coach a sport because I love it. You could run a club.

00:27:39.706 --> 00:27:43.986
You could work a second job. You know, not that I think we should have to.

00:27:45.126 --> 00:27:50.866
But I think that teaching is a job where like you really have to want to be

00:27:50.866 --> 00:27:56.346
a teacher because otherwise it's the amount of work we put in is not worth it

00:27:56.346 --> 00:27:57.726
if you don't love what you're doing.

00:27:58.386 --> 00:28:02.146
Yeah, for sure. And there's something to be said about the energy level,

00:28:02.266 --> 00:28:05.366
right? What's the expression? Youth is wasted on the young, right? Yes.

00:28:06.766 --> 00:28:08.426
And honestly, like...

00:28:09.044 --> 00:28:13.324
I think of like, oh, okay, so let's have a 65 year old teach kindergarten,

00:28:13.344 --> 00:28:18.064
you know, and, and not, not that 65 year olds can't teach kindergarten,

00:28:18.204 --> 00:28:21.304
but I'm just saying like, there's, there, they are a high energy group.

00:28:21.684 --> 00:28:26.264
There's a reason why, you know, that, that you have certain people of certain

00:28:26.264 --> 00:28:29.664
ages teaching certain age groups because they can handle that.

00:28:31.164 --> 00:28:34.464
It's, it's a challenging thing to, to wrap your head around,

00:28:34.604 --> 00:28:37.684
to like, think about like, wow, I'm going to be 65 before I can retire.

00:28:38.804 --> 00:28:41.844
I don't know how many people would stay in the profession if that were the case.

00:28:42.424 --> 00:28:48.384
I know. And I mean, we all know this, but people outside of education just don't

00:28:48.384 --> 00:28:51.684
understand, Jamie, you said this before, like how exhausting it is.

00:28:51.784 --> 00:28:57.764
And, you know, they've done articles that say teachers make more decisions in a day than surgeons do.

00:28:57.764 --> 00:29:03.184
And I think a lot of people who work in a corporate job or a desk job just aren't

00:29:03.184 --> 00:29:08.924
understanding that like in a single class period, you have a million different

00:29:08.924 --> 00:29:10.144
things happening at once.

00:29:10.144 --> 00:29:12.544
You're teaching, you're answering the phone, you're checking your email,

00:29:12.804 --> 00:29:15.844
you're stopping this kid from doing that, you're helping this kid with a question.

00:29:15.844 --> 00:29:18.564
And it's just constant and never ending.

00:29:18.844 --> 00:29:24.144
And that kind of, you know, mental capacity does take a toll on you.

00:29:24.284 --> 00:29:25.824
Like it is an exhausting job.

00:29:25.984 --> 00:29:30.104
How many teachers come home on a Friday night and just like sit on the couch

00:29:30.104 --> 00:29:33.564
because you just don't have the energy to do anything? Yeah, definitely.

00:29:34.184 --> 00:29:39.924
What do you think is, what are some questions that voters, as we approach the

00:29:39.924 --> 00:29:43.604
election in New Jersey, what do you think are some questions that voters should

00:29:43.604 --> 00:29:46.444
ask when trying to decide,

00:29:46.804 --> 00:29:51.884
especially when it comes to teachers' pensions funding and just the two, you know,

00:29:52.417 --> 00:29:57.017
Yeah. So I'm talking about like the governor election.

00:29:57.197 --> 00:30:02.877
I think the biggest question as educators, anyone that works in public schools

00:30:02.877 --> 00:30:09.757
or public employees in general should be asking is which person is going to fully fund our pension?

00:30:09.757 --> 00:30:15.357
Because we know Governor Phil Murphy, you know, people can say whatever they want about him.

00:30:15.497 --> 00:30:19.537
He was the first governor to make multiple full pension payments.

00:30:19.857 --> 00:30:24.297
He is setting not just us up individually, but that also helps the state.

00:30:24.897 --> 00:30:29.257
It's not good to be defaulting on, you know, your mandated pension payments.

00:30:29.817 --> 00:30:34.137
So we need someone that's going to continue that. We know that Chris Christie,

00:30:34.417 --> 00:30:38.157
the last Republican governor we had, was not making full pension payments.

00:30:39.437 --> 00:30:42.437
And it you know got to the point where

00:30:42.437 --> 00:30:45.517
when the pension is not fully funded that's not

00:30:45.517 --> 00:30:50.757
just impacting people in tier five like me that could potentially impact people

00:30:50.757 --> 00:30:55.897
in tier one or people that are already retired if the state's not fully funding

00:30:55.897 --> 00:31:00.337
the pension what happens then you know if the money runs out or there's not

00:31:00.337 --> 00:31:04.177
enough money for the people that are already collecting a pension.

00:31:04.577 --> 00:31:07.977
So I think that would be, you know, my very first question, are they going to

00:31:07.977 --> 00:31:09.097
fully fund the pensions?

00:31:09.857 --> 00:31:14.337
And then I also am really, really concerned about school vouchers.

00:31:14.957 --> 00:31:18.697
That's something that Jack Cittarelli has been pushing really hard this election

00:31:18.697 --> 00:31:22.937
cycle. And it's something that Mikey Sherrill has come out opposed to.

00:31:23.337 --> 00:31:28.037
And school vouchers essentially take like the public tax money meant for public

00:31:28.037 --> 00:31:32.597
schools and sends it to private schools of a parent's choice.

00:31:33.157 --> 00:31:36.157
So, you know, Republicans talk about it as school choice.

00:31:36.157 --> 00:31:41.517
But what we've seen in states like Arizona that implement school vouchers is

00:31:41.517 --> 00:31:48.917
that one, the school voucher money almost always goes to students who already

00:31:48.917 --> 00:31:50.657
attend private schools and,

00:31:51.103 --> 00:31:55.303
It gets pitched as this like, oh, you know, if you're not happy with the quality

00:31:55.303 --> 00:31:58.023
of your public school, this gives parents and families a choice.

00:31:58.203 --> 00:32:03.383
It really doesn't. In reality, it just makes private schools cheaper for the

00:32:03.383 --> 00:32:05.403
kids that were already going to private schools.

00:32:05.703 --> 00:32:11.443
I think in states like Arizona, 85% of the students who get the school voucher

00:32:11.443 --> 00:32:14.563
money already were attending private schools.

00:32:14.723 --> 00:32:18.523
And there are some kids that have never stepped foot in a public school that

00:32:18.523 --> 00:32:21.183
are now getting that money for their private school tuition.

00:32:21.923 --> 00:32:26.463
And school vouchers also just like completely wreck a state budget.

00:32:27.123 --> 00:32:31.263
They turn out to be so much more expensive than estimated.

00:32:31.543 --> 00:32:36.923
And we're seeing that in Arizona again right now where they're closing schools

00:32:36.923 --> 00:32:41.243
down because there just isn't the money because of the school voucher program.

00:32:41.443 --> 00:32:44.523
So like those are my top two concerns going into this election.

00:32:45.023 --> 00:32:47.983
As someone that cares about public education, are you going to fully fund her

00:32:47.983 --> 00:32:51.023
pensions? And are you going to say no to school vouchers?

00:32:51.983 --> 00:32:57.423
I know the answer to this question, but which candidate would you want educators

00:32:57.423 --> 00:33:00.303
to vote for in the upcoming election in November?

00:33:01.083 --> 00:33:07.003
Oh, Mikey Sherrill, hands down. I mean, there's a reason that NJEA is endorsing her now.

00:33:07.803 --> 00:33:10.403
There's a reason that I personally have come out to endorse her.

00:33:10.623 --> 00:33:15.603
She is the only candidate between the two that respects public educators,

00:33:15.883 --> 00:33:17.143
respects public education.

00:33:17.943 --> 00:33:22.983
I fully believe that she will continue to fully fund our pensions.

00:33:23.203 --> 00:33:27.203
I think she's open to conversations about learning more about pension justice.

00:33:27.643 --> 00:33:32.763
She's talked openly about needing to reform the school funding system and putting

00:33:32.763 --> 00:33:37.503
kind of those guardrails on so you don't have school districts that are losing,

00:33:37.503 --> 00:33:42.783
you know 20 or 30 or 40 percent of their state funding in a given year and then

00:33:42.783 --> 00:33:47.063
not being able to do anything about it whereas Jack Cittarelli then like,

00:33:47.970 --> 00:33:54.190
I don't know. He's made weird comments about the pension this cycle, but also in the past.

00:33:54.310 --> 00:33:57.830
I mean, he's been running for governor for almost a decade, so he's said a lot.

00:33:58.590 --> 00:34:02.870
I don't think he would fully fund our pensions. He has said in the past he does

00:34:02.870 --> 00:34:05.950
not think we should have pensions in the same system that we do.

00:34:06.150 --> 00:34:10.350
He thinks it should be more like a 401k versus what, you know,

00:34:10.450 --> 00:34:11.950
kind of we've all signed up for.

00:34:14.910 --> 00:34:17.670
Yeah i it's hard it's hard to

00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:20.270
remain impartial on this subject uh you know

00:34:20.270 --> 00:34:23.230
in the classroom we're going to be looking at the governor's election and

00:34:23.230 --> 00:34:28.690
i try to you know have my students keep an open mind um for me personally i

00:34:28.690 --> 00:34:32.710
know you know who i'm voting for in the election and that's the candidate that's

00:34:32.710 --> 00:34:36.730
going to support teachers the most i don't think that jack citarelli has a plan

00:34:36.730 --> 00:34:41.150
when asked like oh i'm going to fully fund the fund the pension and when you say how,

00:34:42.350 --> 00:34:46.190
I mean, yes, it's not that simple, but like, there's no real definable answer.

00:34:47.110 --> 00:34:54.250
And I think that any educator, please do your homework and understand that decisions

00:34:54.250 --> 00:35:02.490
that you will make at the ballot box could directly impact your classroom and also your pocketbook.

00:35:02.770 --> 00:35:07.710
Yeah. That's something that everybody needs to keep in mind as we move into

00:35:07.710 --> 00:35:09.170
the election cycle. Yeah.

00:35:09.290 --> 00:35:13.190
And we also have a lot of parents that are listeners that are not necessarily

00:35:13.190 --> 00:35:18.250
in the education space that, you know, the vote, the vote matters for your children

00:35:18.250 --> 00:35:22.470
and for your children's children and your neighborhood, your schools.

00:35:22.550 --> 00:35:27.610
It's such an important, you know, to look at it, not just from the perspective

00:35:27.610 --> 00:35:30.570
of an educator, but just as a citizen.

00:35:31.740 --> 00:35:35.000
100 percent. And why has he been running for so long?

00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:41.920
I it beats me. I don't know. After losing twice, I probably would have thought

00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:43.700
about getting a different job.

00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:46.440
But this seems to be what he's committed to.

00:35:46.740 --> 00:35:53.600
And here he is again running on kind of the same the same platform in essence.

00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:57.540
And I would say maybe a bit more radical this time because he thinks that that

00:35:57.540 --> 00:36:00.260
might be a ticket to winning. Okay.

00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:07.300
Yeah. Especially with today's political climate, right? I know we want to focus on what's positive,

00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:12.500
but it's kind of hard to teach civics these days because there's a lot of negativity

00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:16.600
and things that are happening in society that make it very challenging to do so.

00:36:17.340 --> 00:36:19.180
I've never been so happy to talk

00:36:19.180 --> 00:36:23.160
about Hammurabi, which is what I've been teaching. Yes. It's good stuff.

00:36:24.160 --> 00:36:28.860
Sometimes my students will come in and be like, Hey, like you were saying that

00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:32.880
like, this is supposed to happen, but like this guy said something else.

00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:34.880
And I was like, Oh, is it raining outside?

00:36:35.020 --> 00:36:39.420
And I just changed the subject, uh, to try and not talk about it.

00:36:39.640 --> 00:36:43.360
Um, you know, anyway, it's, it's definitely something that, you know,

00:36:43.720 --> 00:36:49.060
with people like yourself who are, you know, I understand you're in a position

00:36:49.060 --> 00:36:50.940
and somebody could easily say to you, Chris, I'm like, well,

00:36:51.040 --> 00:36:53.540
you're tier five and you probably want to be with the tier one people.

00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:57.080
So that's probably why you're claiming sour grapes and you knew what you were

00:36:57.080 --> 00:36:58.520
getting into from the very beginning.

00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:02.520
And, but I don't see that in you at all. I really don't.

00:37:02.560 --> 00:37:05.980
I see you as someone who's an advocate, who's a strong voice for our profession,

00:37:05.980 --> 00:37:10.320
who wants, uh, you know, the next generation of teachers, just like we do to

00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:15.120
go into the profession because they're passionate about it and an incentive, which there are,

00:37:15.878 --> 00:37:20.318
few in our profession is, you know, especially in the state of New Jersey,

00:37:20.558 --> 00:37:27.238
for them to have a pension that is fully funded and one that is accessible before we get too old.

00:37:28.178 --> 00:37:31.918
Yeah. And I mean, that's something I talk about a lot in my videos on TikTok

00:37:31.918 --> 00:37:34.998
and Instagram, but teaching used to be a trade-off.

00:37:35.158 --> 00:37:38.978
We knew we were signing up for pay that wasn't as high as corporate America,

00:37:39.198 --> 00:37:42.438
even though we still have bachelor's degrees and master's and all the,

00:37:42.438 --> 00:37:43.938
you know, the continuing education.

00:37:44.218 --> 00:37:49.378
But with that lower pay was, you know, the better working hours,

00:37:49.558 --> 00:37:53.858
but also a great pension and great health benefits.

00:37:54.118 --> 00:37:58.578
And those two things over the last, you know, 10 years have really been eroded,

00:37:58.598 --> 00:38:00.478
but our pay hasn't gotten better.

00:38:00.718 --> 00:38:07.298
So teaching has kind of stopped being that trade off. And now it's just, okay, the pay is lower.

00:38:07.518 --> 00:38:11.478
The pay is continuing to be even lower and lower when, you know,

00:38:11.618 --> 00:38:15.078
comparison to other college educated professions.

00:38:15.458 --> 00:38:18.458
And now our benefits also aren't there.

00:38:18.678 --> 00:38:23.058
Well, that was the trade off that like made it easy to attract people into this

00:38:23.058 --> 00:38:24.498
field. And now it's gone.

00:38:24.558 --> 00:38:29.238
And I do just think that people really underestimate what, you know,

00:38:29.458 --> 00:38:34.698
public schools do for their community and how important having quality public schools are.

00:38:37.240 --> 00:38:41.340
I agree. And we both, you know, did start and watched it.

00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:45.680
We started when it was the benefits and the, you know, and even,

00:38:45.940 --> 00:38:48.760
I mean, my first year salary was $32,000.

00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:54.000
And I remember thinking like, wow, that's really great. you know,

00:38:54.080 --> 00:38:57.900
which was, but it's funny now to look back on that and, and,

00:38:58.060 --> 00:39:01.420
and see how quickly things changed.

00:39:01.800 --> 00:39:07.600
And for me, I, you know, I live in a home, we're both in a, I'm married to a teacher.

00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:12.500
So, you know, so it impacted both of us. And when I talked to some of the younger

00:39:12.500 --> 00:39:16.420
teachers, you know, I try trying to explain to them, like how this happened

00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:20.020
and what happened. And like we did fight at the time.

00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:24.500
We went to Trenton. We were out there. We were trying.

00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:30.120
And it just sort of turned so quickly in a way that no one could have ever,

00:39:30.120 --> 00:39:35.880
you know, anticipated. So keeping on top of it and really trying to continue that.

00:39:36.020 --> 00:39:40.340
What do you think would be a reasonable compromise? So if we're going to try

00:39:40.340 --> 00:39:45.380
to meet somewhere and they're not going to back off with 65 and people are living

00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:49.860
longer and longer, What's reasonable, do you think?

00:39:50.140 --> 00:39:55.920
Yeah, I mean, in terms of the pension, honestly, I would be happy in like tier

00:39:55.920 --> 00:40:00.980
three because the problem right now with tier five isn't necessarily that you

00:40:00.980 --> 00:40:03.100
can't collect your full pension until you're 65.

00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:06.780
It's the penalty they have for collecting it early.

00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:11.680
We lose 3% of our pension for every

00:40:11.680 --> 00:40:17.260
year under 65. We are when we try and collect, which is a massive hit.

00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:23.800
So to try and collect it at 55, you would be losing 30% of your pension, which is crazy.

00:40:24.781 --> 00:40:27.961
I'm under, I don't have the, all the details pulled up in front of me,

00:40:28.041 --> 00:40:32.341
but I believe tier three, you could retire at 60.

00:40:32.701 --> 00:40:37.221
And for each year under 60, you are, it's only a 1% penalty.

00:40:37.541 --> 00:40:41.601
So now we're talking about like, okay, well, it is realistic that you could

00:40:41.601 --> 00:40:46.141
retire at 57 or 58, which isn't nearly as crazy as 65.

00:40:46.641 --> 00:40:51.261
If you're okay with a two or 3% deduction in your pension, which for some people

00:40:51.261 --> 00:40:52.561
that trade-off is worth it.

00:40:53.141 --> 00:40:56.621
Others would say, okay, I'll teach till 60. You know, it's not a big deal.

00:40:56.821 --> 00:41:01.901
But I think that penalty is the part that a lot of people aren't thinking about either.

00:41:02.361 --> 00:41:06.141
It's the fact that like, we really don't have a choice. You have to wait until

00:41:06.141 --> 00:41:09.461
you're 65, regardless of your life circumstances.

00:41:10.181 --> 00:41:14.281
Right. And that's, yeah, I would like to see that too.

00:41:14.421 --> 00:41:18.181
I think that that's something that is a fair compromise for both sides.

00:41:19.081 --> 00:41:24.581
Um you know maybe we should just all run for office and uh you know no thanks um.

00:41:25.541 --> 00:41:28.361
Yeah it's it's and people like yourself that are

00:41:28.361 --> 00:41:31.841
having this conversation and being vocal about it on social media uh if you're

00:41:31.841 --> 00:41:36.001
not following uh kristin on social media at teacher pay with k please make sure

00:41:36.001 --> 00:41:40.101
that you are especially if you're interested in all things you know regarding

00:41:40.101 --> 00:41:43.881
our profession but being up she is a person that is up to date and on the pulse

00:41:43.881 --> 00:41:47.381
which you know i sometimes can't be, you know, life.

00:41:47.681 --> 00:41:50.401
And then I see your stuff and I'm like, yep, something new I got to look into,

00:41:50.401 --> 00:41:55.101
which I appreciate because I think that, you know, someone like yourself that's

00:41:55.101 --> 00:41:57.321
keeping people informed is even more powerful.

00:41:57.321 --> 00:42:01.341
So thanks for what you do on social media, especially not just for teachers

00:42:01.341 --> 00:42:03.421
in New Jersey, but for all over the country. So.

00:42:03.977 --> 00:42:08.277
Thanks. Yeah. Maybe, maybe I'll get to take a nap on one of these weekends in

00:42:08.277 --> 00:42:14.297
between all of your Easter could not have come at the more perfect time because

00:42:14.297 --> 00:42:18.497
things got canceled this weekend. We were supposed to have a field hockey game tomorrow.

00:42:18.817 --> 00:42:21.937
That's not happening. So I'm like, oh my gosh, I really need it days to just

00:42:21.937 --> 00:42:26.077
like stay inside on the couch and not do anything. Good for you.

00:42:26.237 --> 00:42:32.717
I will also email you my water bottle garage picture in case you want to hop Hop on the bandwagon.

00:42:34.017 --> 00:42:37.957
So we also want to thank our, oh, I don't have my read in front of me,

00:42:38.017 --> 00:42:40.857
but I'm going to pull it up right now. We want to thank our season three sponsor.

00:42:41.237 --> 00:42:45.037
Season three is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Teacher's Insurance

00:42:45.037 --> 00:42:47.757
Plan. Check out their website for more information.

00:42:48.077 --> 00:42:52.677
And to get a quote, Teacher's Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive

00:42:52.677 --> 00:42:56.837
educator savings and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania

00:42:56.837 --> 00:42:58.577
educational employees.

00:42:59.297 --> 00:43:02.917
So please support a business that supports our show. Kristen,

00:43:03.057 --> 00:43:04.597
thank you very much for joining us today.

00:43:04.837 --> 00:43:07.317
I appreciate you. Jamie, I appreciate you as always.

00:43:08.457 --> 00:43:11.517
Kristen, Joe, I appreciate both of you.

00:43:11.677 --> 00:43:16.677
Kristen, if you have not, if you're in the market for some car insurance,

00:43:16.917 --> 00:43:18.637
give them a call. They're fantastic. I am.

00:43:19.057 --> 00:43:21.117
And as you guys were reading that, I was like, you know what?

00:43:21.177 --> 00:43:25.717
I do need to look them up because car insurance keeps getting higher and higher.

00:43:25.997 --> 00:43:29.457
Well, that might be a conversation for another show because like between that

00:43:29.457 --> 00:43:31.937
and my electric bill, which was $11 billion.

00:43:32.477 --> 00:43:39.257
I'm using that number again. Yes, I recently saved 50% with teacher's insurance plan. So I'm, yeah.

00:43:39.737 --> 00:43:43.717
She's not only sponsored, she's also a client. Yeah, I love that.

00:43:44.977 --> 00:43:48.097
All right, we'll see everybody next time on the Balancing Act podcast.

00:43:48.837 --> 00:43:53.417
Thank you guys. Great to see you again. Bye. Bye. Bye.

00:44:04.177 --> 00:44:08.877
Look for the balancing act podcast every week on your favorite podcast platform

00:44:08.877 --> 00:44:12.357
new episodes drop every tuesday thank you for being.