I?ve brought this issue up from time to time and I feel it needs revisiting. Teachers are inadequately paid. Plain and simple. Take a look at the starting salary from state to state and you?ll find that in most states teachers are starting off at a measley $27,000 a year. They max out in the mid $40,000 and the starting teacher?s salary that I just mentioned is for the mid-west and south. On the east and west coast teachers start off between $36,000-$42,000 We max out in the mid $60,000 Some of the wealthier districts even go as high as $80,000 Now you might think that this is great but you have to realize that NJ is an expensive state to live in. I?m talking $400,000 houses, $8,000 a year property taxes, $2,000 car insurance, etc? That $40,000 starting salary isn?t so hot after all. Also, to get up to the mid $60,000 range your talking 15+ years of teaching. I have buddies that have business degrees. Their starting salary was comparable to a teachers starting salary but they quickly shot up to the mid $60?s in a few years while a public school teacher's salary increases so much slower. I?m talking a few thousand every 3-5 years. Teachers do have a great benefits package though.
So what am I trying to say? It amazes me that I have to go to a 4 year college like everyone else and I?ll have to endure the low teachers pay while my peers will be making double my salary. The people that would make great teachers are driven out of the education field due to the low pay. For instance, my dads buddy was telling me that he has a cousin that graduated with her masters degree in education. She is a single mother with 2 children. She got a job last year as a 1st grade teacher at a public school in South Carolina. Her starting salary was $24,000 How the hell can you survive on this paltry salary in today?s society and especially when children are involved? It?s a damn shame because she left at the Christmas break and immediately got a job working with computers starting at $60,000 a year. The public schools in South Carolina lost another good teacher.
Now I know what most are thinking to themselves? Teachers get the summers off and leave at 3pm everyday. That?s not fully correct. For example, I had to teach a lesson on primary and secondary colors to kindergarteners. I spent $20 of my own money and 3+ hours working on this project. I made an interactive learning center, poems, worksheets and handouts, and the actual lesson plan. These activities take time to prepare. I loved setting up and constructing the activities. It was a lot of fun but imagine doing this 3-4 times a week? I only did one lesson and it took some time to complete. Of course, as time progresses and I get the experience I?ll spend less time on my lessons. Plus, I?ll be able to save my activities for future use so the time shaping my lesson will decrease. Summers also aren?t just a relaxing time for most teachers. There are some teachers that go back to college in the Summer and they take the recommended courses that their district say that they need to take. Some take on Summer jobs to supplement their incomes but why should they have to do this? Why should individuals with bachelor and master degrees have to take on a second job? Shouldn?t their main job be enough to support their lifestyle? Usually though this isn?t the case. Hell my father who has an 8th grade education makes more then most public school teachers. My father makes $100,000 plus a year.
You go into teaching to make a difference and you don?t go into it for the money. I know this and luckily I?ll have my parents business to run in the summer. I?ll have two incomes coming in but not everyone is as fortunate.
So what am I trying to say? It amazes me that I have to go to a 4 year college like everyone else and I?ll have to endure the low teachers pay while my peers will be making double my salary. The people that would make great teachers are driven out of the education field due to the low pay. For instance, my dads buddy was telling me that he has a cousin that graduated with her masters degree in education. She is a single mother with 2 children. She got a job last year as a 1st grade teacher at a public school in South Carolina. Her starting salary was $24,000 How the hell can you survive on this paltry salary in today?s society and especially when children are involved? It?s a damn shame because she left at the Christmas break and immediately got a job working with computers starting at $60,000 a year. The public schools in South Carolina lost another good teacher.
Now I know what most are thinking to themselves? Teachers get the summers off and leave at 3pm everyday. That?s not fully correct. For example, I had to teach a lesson on primary and secondary colors to kindergarteners. I spent $20 of my own money and 3+ hours working on this project. I made an interactive learning center, poems, worksheets and handouts, and the actual lesson plan. These activities take time to prepare. I loved setting up and constructing the activities. It was a lot of fun but imagine doing this 3-4 times a week? I only did one lesson and it took some time to complete. Of course, as time progresses and I get the experience I?ll spend less time on my lessons. Plus, I?ll be able to save my activities for future use so the time shaping my lesson will decrease. Summers also aren?t just a relaxing time for most teachers. There are some teachers that go back to college in the Summer and they take the recommended courses that their district say that they need to take. Some take on Summer jobs to supplement their incomes but why should they have to do this? Why should individuals with bachelor and master degrees have to take on a second job? Shouldn?t their main job be enough to support their lifestyle? Usually though this isn?t the case. Hell my father who has an 8th grade education makes more then most public school teachers. My father makes $100,000 plus a year.
You go into teaching to make a difference and you don?t go into it for the money. I know this and luckily I?ll have my parents business to run in the summer. I?ll have two incomes coming in but not everyone is as fortunate.