How much should Teachers be paid?

[wrobert]

Every year and it seems every election cycle I constantly hear that teachers are not paid enough. I have spoken to school board members and they all seem to be in agreement that teacher salaries are too low. Yet I have been unable to find anyone that can tell me what a teacher should be paid. Without knowing this, I do not see how we can come up with a plan to accomplish the goal of paying teachers enough. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[hnooe]

Every year and it seems every election cycle I constantly hear that teachers are not paid enough. I have spoken to school board members and they all seem to be in agreement that teacher salaries are too low. Yet I have been unable to find anyone that can tell me what a teacher should be paid. Without knowing this, I do not see how we can come up with a plan to accomplish the goal of paying teachers enough. Anyone have any thoughts?

I wished people paid enough attention to the education of children as they do to proffessional athletics...maybe then, the very well paid athletes could exist on millions of dollars less salary, and the teached pay could increase hundreds of dollars more.

 

[wrobert]

I wished people paid enough attention to the education of children as they do to proffessional athletics...maybe then, the very well paid athletes could exist on millions of dollars less salary, and the teached pay could increase hundreds of dollars more.

So true. Amazing to me that teachers are suppose to prepare children to make a good wage in their future, yet no one seems to want to pay teachers a good wage to start with.

 

[Teresa]

I don't know, but I think Obama intends to find out if he gets the chance. Not only does public education need to be revamped from the bottom up, but teacher education programs at Universities and Colleges need a serious boost as well, IMO. We should expect as much out of our teachers as far as ability to teach, as we do from nurses, physicians, engineers, physical therapists, lawyers, etc, in their ability to perform their services.

It is a professional level field. But has never really been treated as such by govt, the public nor by some (not all) parents (who sometimes believe the teacher is a second class citizen).

If we expect and demand our teachers to operate on a professional educator level, then they will truly be able to demand the salary they so deserve. (I'm not saying that teachers don't deserve a greater salary now). I'm saying that in order to be paid as professionals, they will need to raise their own education standards to that of a professional (some teachers have done so on their own / some are born teachers with amazing talent). and just because the school year is only 9 months, why does this mean the Professional Teacher only works 9 months? It makes me feel that many teachers are in it for the convenient work schedule. teachers have been treated in such a way that they have become clock watchers. not professionals. (again, this does not speak to all teachers... ). Our own expectations of teachers is not what it needs to be, if you think about what a professional educator's job ought to entail, in the ideal world. they are not babysitters. they should not have more paperwork to prepare than lesson plans. they should serve as consultants to parents, not their servants. they are much more than test monitors. much of the motivation for learning, knowledge and wisdom they impart can never be measured.

Sorry, but I've known some teachers that I wonder how they became teachers. I've also known some great teachers who have moved on to other careers because they are talented enough to earn much better in those other careers.

We cannot expect to attract and retain the best of the best. salary is really very important to quality education in the long run. But, how to determine and justify the right salary level? It is going to take a lot more than a discussion on money. It's going to take fundamental changes to the profession as a whole.

at this point, if all you want to do is to be competitive with other cities/counties, you must do the survey work to determine how our salaries compare. that's about it. sad, but that's all there is.

 

[Minnie]

I taught school for 10 years and would have gladly worked year round if I had gotten paid. As it was I worked 10 months and got laid off for 2 without pay.

Also I would have gladly taken an per hour wage, as I worked 60 hours per week at school and at home.

In addition to increase pay I think all schools need to be run similar to a business. No other professional is expected to the perform the service they are trained for and be the secretary too.

I loved working with the kids I taught, I hated the hours and hours of paper work that the government required me to do. It finally got so bad I either had to take away from time spent with the kids to get it done or spend 4-5 hours daily after school getting it done, during my family time.

I gave it up.

 

[Allifunn]

It has always astounded me how this country pays professional athletes millions of dollars, yet pay a pennance to the people that are teaching the future of our country...it just does not make sense to me. I have always thought the education system is totally fd up.
And actors...don't even get me started....

 

[John R]

we should pay educators as much as we can. we entrust our children to them, yet pay the babysitter a higher hourly wage

 

[rapunzel]

I taught. I lasted for four months.

I did a long term substitute for a teacher who went on maternity leave. It was the hardest job I ever had -- physically, mentally, emotionally. I was always exhausted. It required more from me than jobs that paid three times as much.

I think an excellent way of figuring out how much is enough to pay them would be to work backwards. What sort of standard of living would you want for them to have in return for educating our children? How much would it cost for them to live that sort of lifestyle?

What really hit me about this area is that we are paying teachers so little that they can't afford to be part of the community where they teach, and that is a fundamental problem that must be addressed. Teachers are professionals and should be respected members of the community, not day labor.

 

[scooterbug44]

It was pretty easy to see why we are lacking teachers in this country during the last semester of college. People going into the business world had signing bonus 10K more than a fellow student's starting salary!

IMO teachers should make $50K a year w/ additional pay for extracurriculars/coaching based on the time required for those activities.

Also think they should have their student loans deferred if they go into teaching and then paid for by the government/grants after 10 years of full-time teaching. I know a lot of people who would like to be teachers but couldn't swing it financially.

 

[iwishiwasthere]

I taught. I lasted for four months.

I did a long term substitute for a teacher who went on maternity leave. It was the hardest job I ever had -- physically, mentally, emotionally. I was always exhausted. It required more from me than jobs that paid three times as much.

I think an excellent way of figuring out how much is enough to pay them would be to work backwards. What sort of standard of living would you want for them to have in return for educating our children? How much would it cost for them to live that sort of lifestyle?

What really hit me about this area is that we are paying teachers so little that they can't afford to be part of the community where they teach, and that is a fundamental problem that must be addressed. Teachers are professionals and should be respected members of the community, not day labor.

Good comments. If I moved to Okaloosa County, I would get about a $18,000 year raise. It may happen one day in the future, but not for the money. You are so right about the difficulty. Everyone knows what a teacher should be doing and how to do it, expecially the lawmakers who create laws that are ridiculous.When it comes to long days, you can work all day, after school, and weekends. It just depends how much of your family you are willing to sacrifice.


As for a 9 month contract, I would love to have 3 months off. I have to attend 10 days of professional inservice and spend 4-5 days preparing to get my room ready for the new school year. In addition, I teach 2 different summer schools. Both provide me with different teaching opportunites than I have during the regular year. I also serve on committees that require me to attend meetings during the summer. My real vacation is the 9 days I spend in SoWal in August.

However, I knew all of this when I took the job. To complain about it for me is moot point. I love what I do and when I do not enjoy it anymore, I will move on to another career.