Author Topic: Teacher Salaries (Read 1131 times)

Shuckins · « **on:** March 14, 2005, 09:13:08 PM »

In the Parade section of Sunday's newspaper (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) there was an article about the salaries earned by people in various occupations around the United States.

Considering the levels of criticism being leveled at our educational system in the United States, I think it is significant that starting salaries for teachers in many areas are less than $25 thousand a year.

If these criticisms are valid, can it not be said that we're getting what we pay for? How can the educational system attract the best and the brightest with such low salaries? How can a teacher's family make ends meet with such a salary as the main source of income?

One would have to possess a real sense of self-sacrifice and duty to adopt a career with such little monetary reward.

How many of you seriously considered a career as a teacher, but changed your mind because of the opportunity to earn more money elsewhere?

AKS\/\/ulfe · « **Reply #1 on:** March 14, 2005, 09:17:00 PM »

I saw passionate teachers that knew their line of work get **** on daily in school. I had no desire to become a teacher.

There are good teachers that like their line of work and don't mind their pay, then there are the rest which pretty much constitute 65% of the system... and I think I'm being a little low on the percentage.

But yes, I think the pay is screwed up... but if the pay were higher would we see higher standards of education from the teachers? With the current crop, no.
-SW

moose · « **Reply #2 on:** March 14, 2005, 09:35:44 PM »

my father retired from teaching a few years ago here in massachusetts

in this state it's becoming sad how the veteran staff is being bought out to retire so they can put new guys fresh out of college in at half the cost...

the turnover my last few years in high school and after is amazing. if i went back there now 5 years later i dont think i'd know more then a 3rd of the staff

lasersailor184 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 14, 2005, 09:41:27 PM »

Counter logic.

Those schools are not hiring people because of the low salary, but because of the location. Because of the location and the types of people around those locations, it will steadily decline and become worse and worse. There is no remedy for this other then moving away.

Say that you put a very nice school in the dead center of the worst neighborhood of philadelphia. The starting salary is 100k a year. How many good teachers do you think you'll attract?

I could never be a teacher myself. Apparently saying, "Shut the **** up" and chucking erasers is a no no these days.

rabbidrabbit · « **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:08:49 PM »

If you think teachers get poor pay try the military.

Maverick · « **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:12:37 PM »

The teacher is only one part of 3 that are needed to insure learning happens. I'm not just talking about the physical facilities either.

The teacher is the first part, the second is the student and the third are the parents. If all 3 are not involved don't expect much from the kid by the time they graduate. Too many parents view school as a place to dump their kids and forget about them for 7 or 8 hours. They expect the school to raise their kids for them. If the parents don't care about their kids education the kid certainly won't. The teacher can't handle it alone.

With mandatory passing of the lil' darlings there is no reason for the kid to produce up and through high school. They learn fast that they get promoted whether they work or not. It doesn't catch up until they get out and find out they have to really work to get paid or that the college prof won't pass them just for showing up.

The kids who have a parent(s) who is actively involved in their kids education really perform and behave differently. They know mom and dad will hear from the teacher if they don't.

The teachers who stay do it not for the money but because they love teaching. The lack of a really decent salary does eliminate a lot of folks from the profession. When you can't provide for the family or own a home on what you get paid it takes little thought to start taking care of yourself by moving to another career field. It's a shame as many of the brightest new teachers are leaving quickly. On the average most leave the job in the first 5 years, just when they would be getting the most effective in the classroom.

Don't forget the requirement for continuing education for teachers which they have to pay for out of their own pocket in most districts. The are required to take 6 units or more a year of graduate classes. Those hours aren't cheap. In Arizona if you do not get the minimum hours of continuing education the state pulls your teaching certificate.

With the crap that teachers have to put up with in the classroom (particularly middle school and high school), the lack of a decent wage, lack of funding for supplies needed in the classroom and lack of support from parents, why would anyone stay there?

eskimo2 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:21:49 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by AKS\/\/ulfe

There are good teachers that like their line of work and don't mind their pay, then there are the rest which pretty much constitute 65% of the system... and I think I'm being a little low on the percentage.

A lot of good teacher do mind their pay. I have 11 years of college under my belt; I paid for it all myself. I make less than the average white guy of my age who only has high school diploma. I mind that very much. I have a wife (stay at home) and three kids; we scrape by and do without. I often contemplate leaving my profession for a job with a reasonable pay. I am considered to be an excellent and innovative teacher.

In my school there are three single women who get by on their salary; the rest are all married women whose husbands earn a good income. Combined they do OK to well. Teaching isn’t a real career; it’s a supplemental job that now generally requires a master’s degree and a heck of a lot of responsibility. I don’t know many teachers who truly earn a living by teaching.

eskimo

LePaul · « **Reply #7 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:26:24 PM »

Oh, this would be a good thread for Kieren to chime in on.

Shuckins · « **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:28:41 PM »

A teacher's salary provides a family with a fair, and only fair, secondary income.

Sandman · « **Reply #9 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:31:19 PM »

It seems to me that it's just too hard to become a school teacher. My next-door neighbor is one. She busted her butt getting her degree and then, she had to do all the course work to get her teaching credential.

I don't know why anyone would do it. Hell, it takes five to six years to become a teacher, maybe a year less, if you fast-track on your degree. It's not worth it. By the time they finish all the schooling, it seems that the teachers are just a wee-bit overqualified to be instucting six-year olds on how to fingerpaint.

Rafe35 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:34:32 PM »

I was planning to becoming a History Teacher, until I drop out most of the College Classes that required for becoming a teacher and I really don't know what kind of career what i want, but i guess aviation is final.

rpm · « **Reply #11 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:42:44 PM »

30K seem's to be an average salary for a starting teacher. In today's economy that's not too bad for a starting salary.

EN4CER · « **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2005, 10:54:41 PM »

A grade school teacher has to go through a gauntlet of certifications to become licensed to teach including a masters degree and nerve racking session called student teaching – usually varies depending on the state. My heart goes out to them because at an even higher level of education is the college professor who - again depending on the college usually requires either a masters degree or doctorate but no student teaching or other certifications are required. In other words grade school teachers are far more certified than college professors to teach yet often less paid in my humble opinion. Just because you are incredibly smart regarding a given subject does not mean you have the ability to teach it to others. The system is just not quite right. If you’re not sure than let me sum it up in two words for you – Ward Churchill – who I don’t consider too smart.

Golfer · « **Reply #13 on:** March 14, 2005, 11:06:33 PM »

My mother is a year and a half from retirement. She's an 8th grade algebra and advanced math teacher with 23-1/2 years experience. Care to take a guess what she makes working in a public school system near Columbus, OH. She'll retire and in her last year will make a whopping $60,000. She also lives in a different school district (where my younger brother and I are both finished) paying a stupid sum of money into that system so they can buy their new computers and hire airhead teachers. She also has to continue her education and has minimum requirements for college credits she must take every number of years to keep her teaching certificate.

Some of the things that the schools are doing now are a joke. The different tests for this and that. I completely disagree with the new SAT essay's because there is no way (it is impossible) for them to be graded with any standard. You can't question the reliability or validity of the SAT's of old. Everyone took the same test to the same standard and by god the tests measured what they were supposed to measure. Now an essay? Please! I recieved a 4 (out of a possible 5) on my AP U.S. History exam in High School. I am convinced the only reason I scored that high is I provided an entertaining essay to the poor teacher who was stuck in a room wearing his or her winter coat while 55º Air Conditioning is pumped into the room. The best part is, I didn't realize I wrote about the wrong thing until I was proofreading the essay with about 5 minutes left to finish the test. I had written three pages about JFK, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the early 60's cold war climate. I went back to read the question which started off with "Excluding President Kennedy's..."

"Ruh Ro" I said. I wrote a blurb which I can hardly claim to be a paragraph on the back of the paper while saying something about the Interstate Highway System and saying how great Eisenhower was. I did the essay on the wrong damn thing and got a good grade. Who's to say that someone else won't be graded the opposite (or the same for that matter) completely bogus if you ask me.

Back to the SAT. My 1450 (out of 1600) wasn't bad. ACT I scored 28 (I think) and fell asleep during a riveting reading portion which talked about the life habits of crows. I didn't need to write an essay...if I had. Who's to say that either my handwriting isn't perfect or that the teacher grading is just having a bad day? Anytime you add people in the mix for STANDARDIZED tests...you're just throwing a giant monkey wrench into the works. I'm glad I'm done and only have one semester to go until I have my 4 year degree. I don't envy today's kids who are getting a mediocre education at best and are taking more pills for more attention, stress, antisocial and self esteem than who knows what.

(Was there even a point to any of this...maybe I'm just sleepy)

Gunslinger · « **Reply #14 on:** March 15, 2005, 01:02:34 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
If you think teachers get poor pay try the military.

Good point but flawed. Teaching requires a 4 year college degree in most cases. Their equivilant in the military would be a comissioned officer who makes ALOT more than most teachers.

It's sad but true people don't want to teach becaues of the money.

it's because they want their summers off.