RE money management, teachers are like anyone else - some are good at managing money, some are not. When we (husband and I) first started teaching CEGEP, our salaries were by cheque - at the end of the school year, we got all the summer cheques at once. My DH would have spent it all, I made sure that the money came out gradually, so we still had rent/mortgage money at the end. When the Colleges switched to direct deposit, that ended.
Theoretically we worked 37.5 hours/week. In reality we worked 50-60 hours/week during the semester (i.e. until marks go in, not when the students are done), and 40-50 hours/week between semesters. We marked over our Christmas "vacations" - marks were due in January 2, exams ended December 23 or 23. Same thing in the spring, classes ended in April, exams ended in May, we were madly marking to get marks in by the deadline, then doing all the prep for the next fall. Exam time/marks due is for teachers like tax deadlines are for accountants, you are going all out.
We were teaching in the sciences, that meant making sure in May/June that all the fall labs were planned, lab materials ordered with delivery dates set, lab manuals in to the print shop, etc. - no way could that wait until we came back, even though we were back two weeks before classes started.
People with teachers in the family know the insane hours that they work, others only see the visible hours. Our DD at about age 8 said she was NEVER going to be a teacher - standing there after dinner looking at both parents doing schoolwork for another 3 hours. We had science people come in to teach one course, they thought it would be easy - they usually lasted one semester and we never saw them again.
Re salaries, here are the Canadian ones - some Provinces have more money than others, some have higher COLs, salaries reflect this. Remember right now the exchange rate is 0.91, so $50,000 C is about $45,000 US. Education years are AFTER high school.
From:
http://resource.educationcanada.com/salaries.html/Salaries
In six of the provinces and the two territories, basic salary scales and fringe benefits are established through negotiations between the teachers' association and representatives of the government. In some cases, supplementary negotiations take place at the school board level concerning additional fringe benefits and conditions of work. In British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, all negotiations take place at the local or regional level.
Average Teacher Salaries by Province
4 Years of Education 6 Years of Education
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Alberta (2003-04
simple average) $43,653 $68,967 $48,779 $74,126
British Columbia $37,908 $56,743 $45,506 $70,684
Saskatchewan $38,700 $59,500 $43,570 $66,103
Manitoba $37,948 $58,737 $42,887 $65,310
Ontario $37,043 $62,625 $42,258 $73,472
Quebec $36,196 $58,633 $41,982 $63,527
New Brunswick $33,776 $52,231 $40,482 $62,292
Nova Scotia $35,906 $57,376 $44,168 $67,978
Prince Edward Island $30,341 $46,871 $38,480 $59,657
Newfoundland
& Labrador $34,838 $45,264 $45,280 $60,212
Yukon $56,717 $83,428 $62,074 $90,663
Alberta teacher salaries are based on agreements in place as of September 2004 – 44 settlements
Ontario teacher salaries are based on the average of elementary and secondary figures
Teachers' salaries increased an average of 2.9% per year between 1999 and 2003, slightly above the 2.7% CPI average annual growth over the same period. These increases reflect a number of retroactive collective agreements. Teachers' salaries had increased by less than 1% per year from 1994 to 1998.
Fringe Benefits:
Fringe benefits provided for in collective agreements may, but do not necessarily, include the following:
compassionate leave
supplementary medical insurance
cumulative sick leave
longterm disability insurance
maternity leave
retirement gratuities
sabbatical and study leave
life insurance
dental insurance
General Social Security
As citizens of Canada, teachers are required to participate in the social security programs of the federal government. These include Unemployment Insurance and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan. The Unemployment Insurance plan provides benefits to persons who are unemployed through maternity or illness, as well as through general unavailability of suitable work. The Canada/Quebec Pension Plan provides a basic minimum retirement allowance and, in addition, some disability and survivors' benefits.
Teachers also participate in the provincial hospital and medical insurance plans. The costs of these plans are shared by the federal and provincial governments. The plans cover the basic expenses of hospital accommodation and physicians' services. Details of coverage vary from province to province.