Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Being a high school science teacher, I think you should be pay alot more than say a high school history or art teacher. And that goes for high school math and english teachers too, they should be paid alot more. Just as in a private sector job a teacher should be paid for what they do and not for just how many years they went to college or how many years they have on the job.
In the school district I work math and science teachers receive a 2000 dollar a year stipend.
Also the fact that a 1st or 2nd grade teacher receives the same basic salary as a high school math or science teacher is one of the many discrepancies in education.
It really gets out of had when with high school principles making 80 and 90 thousand a year, and cabinet members and superintendents pulling in 150 to 250 thousand a year.
Back to subject being more important than others... THAT is in the eye of the beholder, and if you are saying HISTORY is not important, and ART, then why is English held at a much higher standard? Why Scienc? Math? What are the specific reasons these educators, who work the same amount as those in other areas, deserve more... specifics please.... backing up the argument might help...becaue one individual feels history and art are dumb doesn't make them unimportant in the education process of our youth... how can culture and an understanding of how we came to be where we are today not important? It is more important to read novels than to paint or learn the history of the various art movements of our past and why they changed history? It is more important to learn formulas you will never use again in most individuls daily lives than to appreciate the fact that we went through heck and back to abolish slavery? It is more important to understand osmosis than to appreciate the architecture of a monumental building? Again, the division of pay does not add up... teachers of all subject matters are paid based on the hours they work... they all work the same number of hours...despite the subject matter.
In the state of Texas, where I teach, math and science teachers are required to take a composite test. In science the test includes the subject areas of geology, astronomy, ecology, biology, chemistry and physics.
In math it covers from basic algebra through to advanced calculus.
These tests are hard to pass. Many prospect teachers, those with basic education degrees, take it 3 and 4 times and never pass it. The people with the highest success rate are those who have degrees in math and science, and later became teachers through alternative teaching certification.
The bottom line is supply and demand. There are not as many qualified prospected math and science teachers as there are english and history teachers. That being said, a 2000 dollar a year stipend is not very much to pull people with math and science degrees out of private industry.
So would you work a year round schedule with a 25% increase in pay if it meant fewer hours per day spend on the job and 8 weeks in the summer spent doing lesson prep for the following year and other administrative tasks? Or would you rather have that time off every year?
YOU BET! I am off for 2/12 months... that is 1/6 of the year...you are suggesting I get paid 1/4 more for those two months? Sounds good to me!
Someone else posted a comment that a good STARTING pay for teachers would be $50K... if that were the case I am sure more teachers would zip the lip and be satisfied... however they start around $30K here.
About TX teachers... do you need a masters to teach in TX? Also, in NYS you must pass 2 teaching exams... regardless of your subject area in order to teach- anyone coming in from out of state has to take them prior to teaching in a school as well....
In the school district I work math and science teachers receive a 2000 dollar a year stipend.
Also the fact that a 1st or 2nd grade teacher receives the same basic salary as a high school math or science teacher is one of the many discrepancies in education.
It really gets out of had when with high school principles making 80 and 90 thousand a year, and cabinet members and superintendents pulling in 150 to 250 thousand a year.
Why should elementary make more than high school teachers? I don't know why one would be different than another.
I haven't even begun to read this whole thread, but the title caught my eye.
Teachers in some areas are definitely underpaid. And, I believe teachers are underpaid almost everywhere when you consider what the "adminstrators" make (note I didn't say earn).
It seems that some school districts have become top-heavy with high-paid administrators, but they cry when it comes time to negotiate with the teachers. This is definitely the case at the Clark County School District in Nevada (believe me, I know first-hand from a teacher AND someone in administration who happens to be a former teacher and is paid VERY WELL).
I bet this is the case on Long Island, NY as well. Sure, the teachers make a good living. But they are also continually furthering their own education to advance in their careers. Meanwhile, I've read in NY Newsday on more than one occasion of someone within administration at a district who has been caught embezzling. The residents are paying HUGE amouns of school taxes, while the districts are complaining there's never enough money...sure, the crooks are pocketing it!
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION. They deserve more respect.
P.S. I'm not a teacher, but a mother of a student.
starting salaries for teachers are usually decent in most places. i think the problem is how much you make after 10-15 years of teaching. the pay scale moves up very slowly. i could start off making 35k and in 15 years if the district itself doesn't give many raises i could be making around 40k. most jobs give raises every year don't they? my wife is in accounting and got a raise bigger than i have gotten in 8 years after only 6 months.
Just for a comparison...My husband and I graduated from college on the same day about 6 1/2 years ago. I am a teacher, and he's a software engineer. He started out making about $50,000. I started out making $29,000. I knew going into my career that I wouldn't make very much, but I also didn't realize how many hours I would have to put in. My husband has no further education and now makes about $81,000. I have 30 graduate credits and make around $39,000. It wouldn't even be that much if the district I switched to hadn't raised beginning teacher salary in order to compete with nearby districts. Because they raised the starting salary, they had to raise all salaries. Teachers who had been teaching for longer than 5 years didn't see as much of an increase as those who had been teaching fewer years.
So, in 6 years my salary has increased $10,000. This is not so bad, however, in order to earn that much I've had to pay around $8,000 for graduate classes. Eventually the classes will pay for themselves, and the educational value has been well worth the cost.
In my area the median HOUSEHOLD income is just over $34k. Teachers making $35k+ are obviously doing better than the average Joe.
In my brief lifetime (less than 30 years), I've found it's hard to get ahead working only a 40 hour week. I'm not a teacher, and my typical work week is 60 hours, and I'm fortunate to afford myself 2 weeks off in a 52 week work year. My wife (masters degree in social work) works a full time job of 50 hours per week (of which her salary is for 40). She also works a second job on weekends for "fun money".
I'm not stating that teachers are overpaid... rather that they're not underpaid either. The average teaching salary is between $48k - $52k. Thats well above the average median HOUSEHOLD income for the US, which is around $41k. A four year degree isn't a guaranteed ticket to fortune, but it does give you certain freedom to try something different if you think that you're underpaid and underappreciated.
Yes, in many smaller cities, teachers do make more than the median salary. Take economically depressed upstate NY cities. In these areas, its understandable that people who make less, don't have the job security that teachers do, and don't have 2 months off would be upset that their city taxes are going towards what they see as an unfairly inflated wage.
Then there are those growing, pricey areas where a teacher's salary is barely enough to pay the rent. Since teacher's salaries don't fluctuate that much across the country, it makes sense that teachers would feel more undervalued in a more expensive area than in a less expensive one.
In my area the median HOUSEHOLD income is just over $34k. Teachers making $35k+ are obviously doing better than the average Joe.
In my brief lifetime (less than 30 years), I've found it's hard to get ahead working only a 40 hour week. I'm not a teacher, and my typical work week is 60 hours, and I'm fortunate to afford myself 2 weeks off in a 52 week work year. My wife (masters degree in social work) works a full time job of 50 hours per week (of which her salary is for 40). She also works a second job on weekends for "fun money".
I'm not stating that teachers are overpaid... rather that they're not underpaid either. The average teaching salary is between $48k - $52k. Thats well above the average median HOUSEHOLD income for the US, which is around $41k. A four year degree isn't a guaranteed ticket to fortune, but it does give you certain freedom to try something different if you think that you're underpaid and underappreciated.
yeah but i'm sure most people in your area don't have a college education to only make that kind of HOUSEHOLD income.
YOU BET! I am off for 2/12 months... that is 1/6 of the year...you are suggesting I get paid 1/4 more for those two months? Sounds good to me!
I'm assuming a 204 day schedule, which is about 40 weeks. 40 weeks is close to 3/4 of 52 weeks. Don't forget that you get two weeks off around the Non-Specific Winter Holiday and one or two weeks between then and the end of school, too. I'd be generous - you pay would be based on 52 weeks, just like it is for typical full time workers.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
