Why do people say teachers make so little? (counselor, complain, class)

[socrates]

Please note that this thread was started in 2008 and reopened a couple of times- Mod

lets say they start at 30k but they only work 180 days thats half the year so really teachers start off making 60k. Experienced teachers make 50k thats six figures. Am I missing something?

[Moth]

You are correct.

I suppose its that being a teacher is looked at as a very honorable position, which it is of course. But the fact that athletes, actors and investment bankers make substantially more inspires irony.

A couple of friends of mine are teachers and they used to work a second job during the summer. Not so much out of necessity. Rather its a golden opportunity to make some extra bucks. Kind of like Football and Baseball players did until around the late 70s.

But there is that irony again....

[tgbwc]

Contracts in our district are 194 days. My brother and his wife have 200 day contracts. Those are standard, not extra days. You get paid for the days you work. It would be nice if 30K = 60K, but it doesn't.

Now, the math is flawed if you say teachers only work for half a year. Half a year would be 26 weeks. Most people don't work a 7 day work week. So let's go with a 5 day work week and a 194 days contract. That person would be under contract to work for 39 weeks out of the year.

[tgbwc]

At $32,000, 200 days, 7.5 hours a day, it would be about $21 an hour.

[asugraduate]

Originally Posted by socrates

lets say they start at 30k but they only work 180 days thats half the year so really teachers start off making 60k. Experienced teachers make 50k thats six figures. Am I missing something?

Most people also assume that teachers work only 8:30-3:30 or whatever time the kids are at school. I know I typically work 10 hour days as well as bringing work home evenings and weekends. The pay wouldn't seem so low if my job responsibilities were a little more reasonable. Teachers do a lot of work on their own time in order to make things run more smoothly for them and their students in the classroom. It would be great to make overtime for this, but that is not the reality of our payscale.

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by socrates

lets say they start at 30k but they only work 180 days thats half the year so really teachers start off making 60k. Experienced teachers make 50k thats six figures. Am I missing something?

This is a crazy statement as a PP pointed out as well. I will not reiterate what he/she said but you do realize that teachers do not work on the weekends, right? Also, I have never seen a contract for a teacher shorted than 190 days, more like 194.
30K does NOT equal 60K, as if the money magically doubles in the summer. Teachers work, depending on the state until late May, going back in early August or until late June, going back in mid-August. So, you are talking maybe they have two months off in the summer.
What a lot of people do not realize is that teachers do a lot of their planning in the summer, or attend workshops, etc. As a guidanc counselor, I have a 204 day contract but also worked at least 5 days in the summer for registration which were NOT paid.
Many teachers do get second jobs in the summer but it is hard to get a job when you only hae 7-8 weeks to work.

[Uconn97]

Its amazing to me - this mentality that teachers are overpaid. Aside from all the points made above already...people these days expect schools to teach, counsel, break up fights, be aware of abuse, be aware of potential abusers, discipline (but God forbid don't discipline too hard of you'll get fired!) and people still complain that teachers are overpaid. My wife works for a school district (she is not a classroom teacher however) and let me assure you that she is not overpaid. She works her butt off working with a bunch of ungracious parents who expect their kids to come to school and magically become geniuses. these are the same people who always have their ear attached to a cell phone and can't take 30 seconds to ask their kids how their day was. Not to mention the hours she spends at home doing work after hours because there aren't enough working hours to do it all in. Anyone who thinks teachers are overpaid clearly has no concept of what the job entails.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by socrates

lets say they start at 30k but they only work 180 days thats half the year so really teachers start off making 60k. Experienced teachers make 50k thats six figures. Am I missing something?

Yes. You're only looking at the days when they are presenting the material in front of the students. You're missing the time that it takes to prepare the material (lesson planning), grading the papers, following up with students, dealing with parents, helping out your colleagues, filling in for your colleagues, etc..... Just because the kids aren't in class doesn't mean the teachers are not working.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by Uconn97

Its amazing to me - this mentality that teachers are overpaid. Aside from all the points made above already...people these days expect schools to teach, counsel, break up fights, be aware of abuse, be aware of potential abusers, discipline (but God forbid don't discipline too hard of you'll get fired!) and people still complain that teachers are overpaid. My wife works for a school district (she is not a classroom teacher however) and let me assure you that she is not overpaid. She works her butt off working with a bunch of ungracious parents who expect their kids to come to school and magically become geniuses. these are the same people who always have their ear attached to a cell phone and can't take 30 seconds to ask their kids how their day was. Not to mention the hours she spends at home doing work after hours because there aren't enough working hours to do it all in. Anyone who thinks teachers are overpaid clearly has no concept of what the job entails.

Might be the post of the year. Well said.

[Uconn97]

moth - THANK YOU!