are teachers underpaid? (salaries, holidays, education, dollar)

[jmarquise]

are teachers underpaid, or do they make enough money. can't wait to see what kind of responses this gets.

[doc1]

They're not underpaid in NJ.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by jmarquise

are teachers underpaid, or do they make enough money. can't wait to see what kind of responses this gets.

Depends where you go I guess & what type of teachers. I think professors are probably paid well, but I think lower education teachers are not. My friend is a teacher, I think 2nd grade or something, & she's constantly talking about how little she makes & how much work she does. I don't remember exactly what her salary is but I do think that most teachers are definitely NOT paid for what they do & the crap they have to deal with.

[paullySC]

Good teachers deserve more than bad teachers.
And there are plenty of bad teachers.

[Miss Martha]

Well, here we go. My take on this is that teachers are not underpaid for the most part. Once they get their bonus and they stay with one school for a long enough time they get a pretty nice deal. I mean, after all, we are paying their salary as most of the money we pour into these schools goes towards paying the teachers.

That being said, I DO think that we should really evaluate the way that we do things. Celebrities are making millions and millions of dollars to ACT like others and to entertain, but teachers are making the same types of salaries as other college graduates. It doesn't make much sense. Unfortunately we as a society keep pouring money into the entertainment industry and not towards the hardworking people who really deserve to be making that money. It's pretty sad!

[GregW]

Considering the investment in required education, initial and post grad, the "out of classroom time", the hassle of cheapskate school boards, being used as a babysitter and the public’s general attitude, I think a CEO's salary would be too little. When I was deciding on a career I looked at high school teaching and decided that the pay was definitely not worth the cost. Even having June, July and August did not make up for the low pay.

Most teachers in most districts are underpaid and some very much so.

[LLLL98]

I think it depends on the area, a teacher making $50k in Baltimore is obviously better off than a teacher making $50k in San Fransisco. Overall, I think they are paid a fair amount, they usually get extra perks if they live within the city limits as far as housing costs and that's a plus.

I watched a show on HBO the other day about Douglass High in Baltimore City, the teachers were there everyday trying to teach, but the kids have absolutely no respect or discipline. This is not supposed to be the teachers job, it's the parents job, until parents get their acts together and raise their kids and show an interest in what happens at their school, then our future is looking very grim.

I also think that the recomended curriculum needs to be adjusted for the needs of today, more math, more science, more critical thinking, and yes, arts, music and physical education should be part of the school curriculum as well.

[breeze823]

Most definately underpaid for what they do and celebrities and pro athletes are way overpaid for what they do. Boy do we have our priorities effed up or what???

[tangodoodles]

Most of the teachers I have met are only teachers because they couldn't figure out what else to do with themselves. Don't jump all over me for this, I know that some teachers clearly do their work because they love the children but I think they're in the minority. Another thing is, almost every teacher I know complains A LOT about their compensation. When you consider that a teacher only has to go through an undergraduate program and get a teaching certification for work and that's nowhere near as long as MD's, JD's, PhD's, MBA's their compensation starts looking more fair. Also, consider this, a typical teacher is clocked in five days a week for about eight hours a day and for only eight months out of the year (if you include all of the summer, winter, spring, and National holidays). I think their compensation is fair based on how much schooling they've had and the hours and dates they work.

My aunt is a teacher and she does workshops and summer school over the summer for more income which is smart. But if you want to take the whole summer off without working then I really don't care if you don't think your salary is enough. If you don't have a high enough salary then supplement it over the summer like my aunt does. Also, I went to a private Catholic school for around $5,000 a year from pre-school to high school and compared to my cousins I got a much better education (although that may be because some of my cousins are idiots, lol) and the teachers at private religious schools are generally paid less than public school teachers which tells me that most of them are there for a love of teaching. If we can improve the public school system and cut the waste of teachers who shouldn't be teaching then maybe I'll begin to say that public school teachers are underpaid.

[jmarquise]

where I live, the starting salary for a teacher is $34k, and the starting salary for a certified fireman is $9.50 an hour. that comes out to $19k. I also don't think that firemen discuss where they are going for spring break, or what they are doing over summer vacation. instead of looking at a teachers salary, break it down to what they make per hour and you will be quite shocked. my mom, brother, and sister in law are teachers. bro and sister in law were making mid $40k's for doing a part time job, which they admitted. plus bro did summer school and tutored so he was pulling down significantly more.