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I'm constantly perplexed by how much conservatives hate teachers.
If conservatives think teachers make so much, why not go teach?
I have several life long friends I knew from college who became teachers. I'm an engineer. I started out in the same pay grade as they were. It took me about 3 years to earn twice as much as they do. And I don't have to deal with annoying brats all day.
Also, when I'm done with my job, I can relax and do other things after my work hours. My teacher friends have to grade papers/homework and plan out their lessons late into the night.
2 of my friends ended up marrying each other. The guy wanted to surprise his wife with a trip to Hawaii. He managed to save up enough money by working extra hours and taking an extra job as a tutor. Took him all year to save up the money for that one trip. My husband and I travel 3 times a year.
So, yeah, I don't understand where all this conservative hate on teachers are coming from. It's not like they make bank while they sit around all day.
Not all conservatives.
I live in a conservative community. Nothing is too much for the schools and teachers so long as the state continues to kick in a percentage.
Damn socialists
I believe for the most part they are compensated fairly... In some states they are not and in others they are over-compensated. In key markets like SF they are struggling to pay teachers enough to live within a commutable range for public schools.
Most of my very close relatives teach. Some public school teachers in good districts have it easy.
Some decided to teach the kids who can't make it in a traditional public school. They make 25K a year. They do get matching funds fir the 401s. That's for 10 months regular school time. Plus one week a year taking the grade camping to learn about nature, etc. Then there are at least 3 long week ends a semester where she has to take them to other towns for regional competitions. That's no sleeping weekends, and then catching up on housework delayed while away.
That's her choice. She rather do that than throw away the kids public school teachers haven't the will or training to teach.
BTW, those kids have a future when they graduate.
Texas just increased starting pay to 55K a year. Ten years ago, an AP math teacher with 20 years and a masters made 65K. The benefits are iffy.
My grandson is a teacher, married to a teacher. They are both in their second year and will make a little over 85,000 in 2019.
They're doing better than most folks in our state - drive decent cars, take vacation, and just put a down payment on a house.
But there is not a salary figure that would entice me to do what they are doing. Secretly, they hate it, but you wouldn't be able to beat that truth out of them. They "put on a happy face" and just endure.
The various bureaucracies have meddled in the education system until it is now ruined.
LOL
My teacher friends are the same. The only reason they admit it to me is because we are life long friends and we live in different states. They won't even admit it to their families.
Some people might not understand why they won't just quit and do something else? There are 3 primary reasons:
(1) Pension. In my home country, there is a saying: when you eat chicken, the chicken breast is not tasty to eat, but too good to give up. It's hard to translate one of these to convey the point perfectly because of different cultural references. Anyway, I know how this feels because I used to be a cop. When I decided to leave the state police to pursue an engineering career, it was hard to let go because of the pension and all the benefits that I had to leave behind.
(2) Leaving any career is scary. I'm on my 3rd career path and now I'm on the path to leave this one to work full time on our business. Trust me, it never got less scary. Every time I left a career behind to pursue something else, it was always scary as hell.
(3) Self-doubt. When I left my programming career to pursue law enforcement, I always wondered if I had what it took to pass the academy program. When I left law enforcement to pursue an engineering career, I always wondered if I could actually become an engineer. And when my husband and I started up our business last year, we both were scared of the possibility of losing everything if the business failed.
I live in a conservative community. Nothing is too much for the schools and teachers so long as the state continues to kick in a percentage.
Damn socialists
I know not all conservatives think this way. But there must be enough conservatives who think this way for this hate on teachers to be so popular among the conservative movement. It's always a sure way to get elected on the conservative side to hate on teachers.
the DC area. VA and MD. the areas you speak of where teachers make less than $30k a year might have landscapers who make $15k per year. it's all relative.
The average starting salary for teachers in the DC metro area is ranging from the low/mid-40s (Prince George's) to a hair over $50K (Montgomery County). NOVA is at the higher end with DC having the highest Step 1.
You gotta be kidding me they make well over $100k including benefits and they’re underpaid. Not only that they only work 180 days a year and have a generous pension plan. And they’re complaining. Please!!!
That's not true (the actual pay is closer to $30-60k/yr), but it should be made true, because teaching is one of the most vital professions, unless you don't think it's important for citizens to be educated. Meanwhile university football and basketball coaches are the highest paid public employees in many states, some of them raking in millions of your tax dollars.
Teaching is the most underpaid profession. Look at all of the crap they have to deal with: terrible children/ parents, incompetent aloof politicians and administrators who have never taught a day in their life, etc.
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