I had heard this for many years and i use to believe untill i work my current job. Now i see them as crying over small stuff and just want more benefits even though their as of right now are alot better then most places.
Cant really compare to other professions but as a teacher I say we deserve more, at least a little. I know every job is demanding but still teachers, especialy for children under 18, have to do a lot of things really. You have to take lots of work-related stuff home and do it at home. When you come from school its not over yet. You have to prepare for future classes, grade lots of student"s work etc. etc.
Cant really compare to other professions but as a teacher I say we deserve more, at least a little. I know every job is demanding but still teachers, especialy for children under 18, have to do a lot of things really. You have to take lots of work-related stuff home and do it at home. When you come from school its not over yet. You have to prepare for future classes, grade lots of student"s work etc. etc.
tommyas
I'm always curious about teachers with this viewpoint as pretty much everybody I know takes work home with them, prepares for tasks for their employees or themselves almost every day, and for those that work on the time clock often illegally work off the clock as there's no way that they could get it done in their allotted time. Sure teachers are underpaid, but then again so are most people not in high level positions.
As far as money made per hour they are actually being paid really well, in the US.
edinsftw
This is because they don't get paid for any of the prep work, one-on-one tutoring, board meetings, or so forth. There's also the misconception that they get "summers off," which is a load of baloney. If you're a teacher, you know what you're doing during that "break."
In my country they are. The nature of their work should require them to be some of the best paid workers in a society but, since we have all our priorities backwards, a guy who puts plastic boobs on some girl earns a lot more.
Its funny you bring that up, because where I live, the teachers may be going on strike hoping for a 12% raise. They already went on strike for one day and I hope that is it.
How not? The average salary for a teacher is around $40,000 in the US. The money isn't lucrative enough to attract many people, especialy those who have a better (paid) second option. Thus we are left with many incompetent graduates who don't have any other option teaching our children. The rest of the teachers are made up of those who have been raised to want to become a teacher "when they grow up" since childhood. Greater salaries would create greater incentives for those who have other options, and thus more qualified.
*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)
[QUOTE="rawsavon"]*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher) What grade or grades did you teach?
[QUOTE="rawsavon"]*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)mrmusicman247
*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)rawsavon
That would be true in a capitalist system. But schools are a public commodity.
[QUOTE="rawsavon"]*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)ShuLordLiuPei
That would be true in a capitalist system. But schools are a public commodity. funny how private schools out perform the public good, no?
[QUOTE="rawsavon"]*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)ShuLordLiuPei
That would be true in a capitalist system. But schools are a public commodity. It is a mix of the two: -that is why some teachers make more (math and science make more, HS pays more, etc b/c of demand)...like Capitalism -but all HS math teachers in District 'x' with 'y' years of service will make the same...not so much like Capitalism
The fact remains that if demand were higher for all teachers, districts would be forced to pay more (which would increase taxes) -see math teachers making more b/c they are a 'high need' for support
I think it depends on the district and state. I know a lot of teachers that work very hard and dont get paid a lot. Some have a lot of benefits, however, that take the place of salary. Such as pensions and medical benefits. Regardless, we should not be cutting teacher salaries as they have not been growing ata rate faster than the economy.
I'm teaching ESL as a guest teacher in a foreign country at the moment and I get payed too much for what I do. No complaints from me then. For the real teachers though, yeah they put up with a LOT of stress and aren't compensated proportionally.
[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="comp_atkins"]what they lack in salaray they make up for in benefits.comp_atkins
i think it should be their choice if they want the benefits or the money. yeah, that's not a bad idea.. doubt it would fly w/ the unions though... Benefits are not that great and getting worse -no SS (though I guess that will be true for everyone >_>)...they get their own type of retirement -raising retirement age and lowering benefits for retired teachers
[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="comp_atkins"]what they lack in salaray they make up for in benefits.comp_atkins
i think it should be their choice if they want the benefits or the money. yeah, that's not a bad idea.. doubt it would fly w/ the unions though... another issue i have with the current system.
[QUOTE="comp_atkins"][QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] i think it should be their choice if they want the benefits or the money.rawsavon
yeah, that's not a bad idea.. doubt it would fly w/ the unions though... Benefits are not that great and getting worse -no SS (though I guess that will be true for everyone >_>)...they get their own type of retirement -raising retirement age and lowering benefits for retired teachers hmm. didn't know that about SS. what's the retirement age? i thought it was like 30 years and you're eligible for full pension benefits.
[QUOTE="rawsavon"]*note, that I say this as a former teacher* NO, they are NOT underpaid. In life you are paid according to how easily replaceable you are (not how much work you do). Teachers, for the most part, are easy to replace. If they were not (and if, as a result, there was more competition for them), then they would be paid more. Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher) A really good teacher is not easy to replace but most good ones go to places where they actually get paid for their capacities. Hence education ends up filled with incapable and replaceable people that produce a mass of dumb individuals and society starts to collapse. As simple as that.
Cant really compare to other professions but as a teacher I say we deserve more, at least a little. I know every job is demanding but still teachers, especialy for children under 18, have to do a lot of things really. You have to take lots of work-related stuff home and do it at home. When you come from school its not over yet. You have to prepare for future classes, grade lots of student"s work etc. etc.
tommyas
It's supply and demand, here in the UK there are 200 applicants for every primary teaching post
Teachers are some of the most important people in a country. If you would pay people for their value, I would pay a teacher more than a famous sportsman.
It all depends where they work, however it's important to realize that teachers actually only work 9 months a year. With a couple of months off in the summer, a few weeks for Christmas, Easter and Spring Break as well. However, they also have to work outside of the class room quite often but I still think for the amount of time they work over the course of a year they are making about as much if not more than your average worker.
As far as money made per hour they are actually being paid really well, in the US.
pianist
This is because they don't get paid for any of the prep work, one-on-one tutoring, board meetings, or so forth. There's also the misconception that they get "summers off," which is a load of baloney. If you're a teacher, you know what you're doing during that "break."
Techers get paid all year round here in the UK and get paid preperation time (though it's far from enough). Teachiing assistents and such don't get paid holidays though, they get paid by the hour. [QUOTE="rawsavon"] Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher) I doubt increasing the pay would be that efficient as most people don't avoid teaching simply because of the pay, usually it's due to having to deal with annoying kids who don't want to learn or the ammount of hours you need to plan and do admin.
[QUOTE="rawsavon"][QUOTE="comp_atkins"] yeah, that's not a bad idea.. doubt it would fly w/ the unions though...comp_atkins
Benefits are not that great and getting worse -no SS (though I guess that will be true for everyone >_>)...they get their own type of retirement -raising retirement age and lowering benefits for retired teachers hmm. didn't know that about SS. what's the retirement age? i thought it was like 30 years and you're eligible for full pension benefits. It is a combo of age + years spent teaching. The actual 'number' varies by state...but it keeps going up.
And yeah, no SS for them. Medical and other stuff is similar to any other professional job
[QUOTE="rawsavon"] Is the job worth the money though? ...that is a totally different question...and my answer is NO BTW (hence being a former teacher)markop2003
I doubt increasing the pay would be that efficient as most people don't avoid teaching simply because of the pay, usually it's due to having to deal with annoying kids who don't want to learn or the ammount of hours you need to plan and do admin. The low pay made my job 'not worth it'. Would have stayed if paid what I make now.
I'm torn on this issue. I have heard the teacher's side of it, and I have seen the reality of it.
They deal with a lot of crap, this is true. During the school year they work horrendous hours preparing lesson plans. They also have out of pocket expenses you wouldn't think about, like certain classroom or activity materials.
However, then you look at all the time they get off. All the breaks, all the vacations. And I think...yeah, they are getting exactly what they deserve.
To me, the thing that I wonder about when teachers complain about their salary is why they went into the profession in the first place? That is, it really isn't hard to do a little reasearch and find out what salaries are for almost all professions in all areas of the country. I don't fully understand why people go into a profession where they know what the salary range is, and then complain about said salary.
We're hoping to buy our first home in the next year or so. I know that I want to have my front and back yard fenced in. I wouldn't move into a community that restricts people from putting up fencing in the front of their house, and then start complaining that I can't have my fence. To me, it's a little common sense-ish.
Cant really compare to other professions but as a teacher I say we deserve more, at least a little. I know every job is demanding but still teachers, especialy for children under 18, have to do a lot of things really. You have to take lots of work-related stuff home and do it at home. When you come from school its not over yet. You have to prepare for future classes, grade lots of student"s work etc. etc.
tommyas
yeah i know what you mean, i have been a substitute teacher, and it's not as easy as people say it is
To me, the thing that I wonder about when teachers complain about their salary is why they went into the profession in the first place? That is, it really isn't hard to do a little reasearch and find out what salaries are for almost all professions in all areas of the country. I don't fully understand why people go into a profession where they know what the salary range is, and then complain about said salary.
We're hoping to buy our first home in the next year or so. I know that I want to have my front and back yard fenced in. I wouldn't move into a community that restricts people from putting up fencing in the front of their house, and then start complaining that I can't have my fence. To me, it's a little common sense-ish.
YellowOneKinobi
Maybe because they are people that care about their work and the people they are responsible for. They know that if salaries go up, best prepared people will be available for education so their complain is looking for better conditions for people with such a big responsibility and for a better society overall.
More to do with students and parents IMO (see value placed on education)rawsavon
I think that plays a part...but I can look at my sons' school and see that half of them are underqualified to teach a cat....and they are getting paid to the same amount as the teachers that bust their arse and do a great job......I'm willing to bet the farm that thier school is not abnormal either...
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