You hear it all the time, teachers aren't paid enough. As a student, I'm constantly reminded that becoming a teacher will not bring any monetary rewards worth noting. I decided to take a closer look into this, wondering: 'Just how much does a teacher make? How does it compare to other professions?' Here's what I found:
According to the NEA, the average teacher in a K-12 environment makes 28,553$ annually (Colorado is actually lower than the national average by the way), and according to the United States Department of Labor, a teacher makes 30,377$ on average every year. Here's a list (provided by the US Dept. of Labor) of other professions and what they make on an average annual basis:
Dentist 110,160$
Lawyer 78,170$
Nuclear Engineer 71,310$
Physical Therapist 56,600$
Computer Systems Analyst 52,180$
Gov. Security Officer 48,090$
Psychologist 48,050$
Construction Worker 47,610$
Librarian 38,470$
Technical Writer 36,480$
Funeral Direcctor 35,040$
Postal Worker 34,840$
Fire Fighter 31,170$
Plumber 30,720$
Teacher (K-12) 30,377$
Retail Sales Worker 29,570$
News Reporter 26,470$
Home Appliance Repairman 26,010$
Bus Driver 23,070$
Vending Machine Repair 23,040$
Music Instrument Repair 23,010$
Dancer 21,430$
Personal Guard 16,240$
Janitor 15,340$
Cook / Chef 13,440$
Obviously there are a lot more jobs out there than I've listed here, but I was just trying to get a sample from a variety of salary ranges. What this shows me is that teachers aren't necessarily in the pits for pay (considering they have summers off and have pretty good health benefits), but they aren't much better than the bus drivers and vending machine repair people of the world. To put it in context, your average retail sales associate at JC Pennies or Macys is making just as much as a K-12 school teacher. Also, look at some of the jobs that pay better than a K-12 teacher: funeral direcctor, construction worker, postal worker, plumber, LIBRARIAN! Seriously...ask any K-12 school teacher if they'd rather be a librarian based on monetary value and they'd say 'yes'. However, perhaps this is where the attitude comes in that teachers don't do it for the pay. To a certain extent, perhaps they understand there are much better paying jobs that are A LOT easier to do, but they love working with kids and they won't choose anything else. I personally feel teachers are grossly underpaid considering what they have to deal with and the amount of time they spend with other people's children (on average - if you discount sleep - a child spends more time around educators than their own parents), but I'm definitely biased considering that I'm entering the field of education - of course I want better pay :) Perhaps some of you can shed some light on this subject with your own opinions. What do you think? Are teachers underpaid or not?
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3 comments:
It's easy to say that teachers are underpaid. However, you also have to look at the requirements to become a teacher. According to the United States Department of Education, you really only need to have a bachelor's degree from ANY college, in ANY field (although they prefer you are learned in the subject you are teaching). Also, you have to pass a state test. This state test (usually a PRAXIS exam) is passed by 92% of whites, 65% of Af-Ams and 47% of Hispanics. Plus, you can re-take the test as many times as you need to pass.
The point is, there are some pretty lax standards to becoming a teacher, so if it paid a whole lot more you would see more people becoming teachers for the money and not to teach. On top of that, you can't just raise the standards because teachers are one of the most demanded jobs in the nation. If you raise the standards, then you decrase the supply for that demand and you have a whole new problem for an education system that is already suffering.
No doubt that good teaching is arguably more important than good parenting, but I don't think you can simply pay teachers more money, because then you might actually be DEGRADING the value of teaching by attacting money-interested people to the field.
I think this juxtaposition does put the place of teachers in our society into greater context. Putting a teacher next to a retail associate (which requires little more than a high school education, if that) seems a little out of place. As a person preparing to enter the field of education, it is disconcerting to see that all the work that I put in to be the best teacher that I can is rewarded little more than the sales girl at JC Penny. There is always the point that teacher's shouldn't do what they do for the money, but at the same time, don't those who are truly devoted deserve a little respect for what they do? I mean, a vast majority of the individuals in our society pass through the hands of teachers; school is the place where the people that make up society experience their personal development. I think the work a teacher does to make sure those students are moving into meaningful adulthoods is worth some appreciation.
On a separate note, the fact that retail workers fall into the same financial bracket of people who devote their lives to the formation of society through the influence on young people says something about what we really value in this country.
Does increasing teacher pay really decrease teacher performance? I don't know, but perhaps if teaching became a desirable profession, the competition would actually improve the system. And maybe this would also decrease teacher burnout. We don't see people suggesting that we decrease the salaries of doctors to improve the health system or pay lawyers less to eliminate dishonesty, do we? I think if someone is in teaching for the money, they aren't going to stay long because it takes hard work and a big heart to find it fulfilling. What are the reasons that people say that most teachers quit after three years? Is it because of the pay? (I really don't know the answer to that question, but it just doesn't seem to be the major factor).
Similarly, perhaps if we made teaching a bit more financially rewarding, it would attract better experts to the field. Is it possible that teaching could be considered a noble profession for people who find it more financially rewarding to use their talents only for their own comfort rather than passing their knowledge on to others? Maybe. Maybe not.
I really don't know the answers to a lot of the questions I have posed here, but I do know that for people like myself who are working hard to be great teachers (regardless of the money) it becomes more a matter of respect than amounts. Pay sometimes has more to do with a communication of values than it does what we can afford to buy.
Amen, Heidi. I was going to respond to 'Bro C', but you've expressed my exact feelings regarding this topic. Thank you.
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