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Depends on where you live... the salaries widely vary throughout the country. Here in the Dallas area, first year teachers make 43-45k with a bachelor's. I think that's a good salary, matched with good benefits, especially for working 37 weeks out of the year.
However, I think that salaries should be based on performance, and the actual grade and subject. Some teachers I had shouldn't have been permitted to teach, others should have been paid 80-90k based upon their knowledge and ability to motivate us to learn. The one sized fits all model that the teachers unions promote simply doesn't do good teachers justice.
In Texas the average salary seems to be just above 40k. Refinery workers (most with only a HS diploma) make more than 100k. (Profits at the oil cos. are huge). It would seem that the un-educated but smart people would choose to work at a refinery.
I used to date a teacher and would help her correct and grade papers from 7-11 pm most nights. I was managing a bar, working half the hours and making three times as much as she. She wasn't a good teacher and it was irresponsible for her to teach, IMO. Good thing she went back to school and got a better job after she saw my tax returns.
I think that good teachers are under-paid while lousy teachers should get fired.
I don't get it...how much should we be paying teachers? 60k? 70k? 80k? Dear lord people not every job means you have to be rich. My friends mother is a teacher and she isn't in the school 24/7. She works like a normal 40 hour work week. She owns her own house, just bought a brand new truck and goes on vacation like 2-3 times a year. Plus her benefits like healthcare and pension are amazing. My hs science teacher used to actually laugh about teachers complaining about their pay.I don't get it how much do you want them to make? I've seen posts in this thread saying some teachers need to make 90-100k a year, are you effin kidding me?! Dear lord.
I am a teacher.. and i would have to say that there are teachers who are extremely underpaid.. and teachers who are overpaid... there is a balance of pay and benefits...
I think pay should be reflected upon performance.. and not just standardized tests... I work with many great people who are willing to make a low salary because they believe in what they are doing and love it.. they devote their professional lives to the developement of children.. with that being said.. i work with some people who, just like any other job.. are there for a paycheck.. and unfortunately you get what you pay for...
In a perfect world.. there would just be lines of people willing to devote their professional lives to the developement and learning of children for a low salary.. but that just isn't the case.. so for the sake of our kids future.. the issue certainly needs to be addressed... but it is also certainly not cut and dry.....
Teachers are meant to be held to one of the highest standards.. yet I have friends who wait tables and make more or comparable amounts of money to me... and I will admit that there are days when dealing with some of the little rays of sunshine in my classes that slinging grub at people to pay my bills doesn't sound too bad...
I think addressing the shortage will take making teaching a desireable profession. I also think that the beaurocracy surrounding the profession needs to change.. There are many knowlegable people with real life experience and a college education who are not permitted to teach because they haven't jumped through the hoops the states make people jump through to be considered a "certified teacher" I work with people who have never had a private sector job EVER!...
It is alot like nursing.... Why would someone who is a licensed nurse give up their 60k salary to teach nursing for 40k?
Then we all sit and wonder why there is a teacher and nursing shortage..
giving away the bank to pay good salaries opens the door for higher expectations... and like I said earlier.. you do get what you pay for...whether it be the kind of people attracted to the profession.. or the level of effort they put into their job...
I had a discussion yesterday with a state trooper friend of mine. His salary schedule mirrors our teacher's salary schedule. However, our schedule requires a master's degree plus 30 graduate credits (6 to 7 years of college at one's own expense) where all that is required for a state trooper is a high school diploma. He stated that he thought we were underpaid and also was aware of the high number of disrespectful students among the student body.
That being said if teachers' salaries were adjusted for the same number of work days teachers would probably make about 20% more.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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Depends on where they teach. If I had my way, a journeyman teacher with good evaluations would make about $50,000 a year- maybe more in high cost areas. BUT with that, it would be a year around job and school would be year around with only July off.
Depends on the local situation. In some areas the pay is good, in others it's very low. From what I've heard, the areas with low pay have chronic problems with turnover and low retention. So, they're always getting marginal candidates. It's like any other field. If the pay and benefits are good enough, it will attract well qualified hard working people. If the pay and benefits are not so good, it will attract plenty of people who are not so good.
Those who endlessly gripe about teachers and schools and make statements about teachers being overpaid should consider becoming teachers themselves and getting on that gravy train to easy street.
Teachers get paid TOO much...I'm fed up with teachers and their hefty
salary schedules. WHat we need here is a little perspective.
If I had my way, I'd pay these teachers myself-I'd pay them babysitting
wages. That's right-instead of paying these outragous taxes, I'd give them
$3 an hour out of my own pocket. And I'm only going to pay them for five
hours, not coffee breaks. That would be $15 a day. Each parent should pay
$15 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their child. Even if they have
more than one child, it's still a lot cheaper than private day care.
Now, how many children do they teach every day-maybe 20? THat's
$15x20=$300 a day. But remember, they only work 180 days a year! I am
not going to pay them for all those vacations! $300x180=$54,000. (Just a
minute, I think my calculator needs new batteries.)
I know now you teachers will say-what about those who have 10 years
experience and a master's degree? Well, maybe (to be fair) they could get
the minimum wage, and instead of just baby-sitting, they could read the
kids a story. We could round that off to about $5 an hour, times five
hours, times 20 children. That's $500 a day times 180 days. THat's
$90,000...HUH?!?
Underpaid. You can't really put a pricetag on a good teacher. I've been blessed throughout my life to have tough, dedicated teachers who probably topped out at 60K/year. For every so called bad teacher, there is an unsung hero who truly understands what their task is and performs it well. Those people in my opinion deserve whatever raises they get.
teachers should be paid based on performance. if they educate pay them well, if they don't terminate them. There are too many teachers that simply fail to perform. I find what I have seen of the kids getting the education that they are falling behind, and apparently surveys support this as we fall further behind other nations. When students can't find their own state on a map or perform the basic maths skills... we are in trouble. While I think teachers play a fundamental role I also blame parents and their lack of involvement.
Salaries for teachers need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Personally I think we need to attract people that are the best in their field to teaching to pass on this expertise. Healthy incomes would be essential to do so. Looking at what we have I can realize that we must not be attracting the best yet. To those great teachers you should be paid your weight in gold.
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I've seen posts in this thread saying some teachers need to make 90-100k a year, are you effin kidding me?! Dear lord.
are teachers underpaid?
