Why do people think teachers are underpaid?

Question

Don't get me wrong, I know there job is really hard and can be stressful. You always here about them being underpaid. They get all their weekends off, they get holidays off, about 2 weeks off for Christmas, plus Spring Break. Many even get most of the summer off. Are they really underpaid or is it a myth?

Answer 1

To say that teachers have all that time off isn't really fair. They end up working on lesson plans and grading papers until all hours of the night. They can't just take bathroom breaks when they'd like. If a kid has detention, they get no lunch. Keeping a classroom clean and in good order takes time, too. Janitors don't do it all. Teaching isn't a job that ends when the teacher leaves campus.

Teachers stay up nights preparing to teach our nation's children in the morning. Taking into consideration the cost of a teacher's education, they are not paid what they are worth.

Answer 2

Well, you have all those benefits as a teacher ONLY if you are a fulltime teacher, and when you come to think of it, regular job workers also get weekends, holidays and some days for Christmas. People really do not know what goes into teaching; they believe that the work is shorter than an 8-5 just because they don't stay in the office that many hours in a day. Teachers ALWAYS take their work home with them; grading and course planning take more hours when combined with classroom time than a regular 8-5 job. High school teaching is about 1/3 teaching and 2/3 administrative and "policing/babysitting" and it might look easy but it is one of the hardest jobs there is. You're lucky if you have time to teach in between all the special forms, interruptions, paperwork, constant grading and extracurricular requirements. A high school English teacher I know says he works about 60 hours a week average.

When you get to college level, full time teaching positions are like the Holy Grail, impossible to find; adjuncts abound, and they not only are underpaid, but they are uninsured and there is no job security whatsoever. Most adjuncts have "day jobs" that actually pay the bills; one has to love teaching in order to withstand the hardships brought on by the constant insecurity of the profession.

"Underpaid" is a relative term; high school teachers are usually fairly well paid, but their workload is crushing and the per hour rate usually comes out less than a look at a yearly salary might suggest. College teachers are usually not full time unless they are willing to not only teach but do constant research and writing to an extent that it takes away from the original purpose of being a teacher--teaching. (Plus, now that I have some experience in a community college setting--they pay twice a semester, and it ain't enough to afford beanie weenies AND the power bill! Plus full time at a community college is 5 classes, more than the 4 at universities--think of a class of 25 people and multiply that by 5, then multiply all the assignments each student does...that's a sea of work!)

I hope that gives a perspective to some folks out there!
Cheers!

Answer 3

Where I live, a teacher needs TWO undergraduate degrees to teach elementary or secondary school. The first degree has to four years in a subject recognized by the provincial Ministry of Education, and the second degree is two years. In any other area, you would complete a Master's degree after your first undergrad degree. But not in Education! Nope, teachers are stuck paying for two undergraduate degrees and not receiving a title that acknowledges the extra two years they put into their post-degree program.

Teaching today isn't the same as it was fifty years ago. I have a class of thirty-one eighth grade students. In the class, one student has a recognized behavioural problem, one has a mild form of autism, six have less than two years of ESL experience and one arrived in Canada last week. There is an aide in the classroom for only about ninety minutes each day. I have to prepare a general lesson plan for every class, as well as DAILY individual learning plans for the special-needs students. There is no recess at this school, so I go without a break from 7:30 to 12:00. At lunch, teachers are expected to help with supervision. I may end up eating my lunch outside in the rain or in the computer lab. After school, I am expected to lead extra-curricular activities like the debate team and the tennis club. The year has two semesters but I only receive a block of preparation time in one of those semesters. In the other semester, I have to take the marking and lesson prep work home to do on my own time. Typically, this equates to a work day starting at 7:15 am and going until about 6:00. That's almost twelve hours! Let's not forgot those nights that I have to stay even later and do parent-teacher interviews or supervise a school dance.

So I have six years of university education and work eleven-hour days, for the equivalent of $42,000 USD per year (before tax). Does that sound good to you?

(That being said, I knew that when I entered the profession. I won't complain until they throw something new at me.)

Answer 4

No, it is not a myth. Yes, teachers get weekends off and some of the other days that you mentioned. During that time, they must finish lesson plans, grade papers and projects, work on additional items as needed by the district and state and find time to keep up to date on new teaching methods. We are often not paid for duty time at schools or for extra time that we give freely to the students for clubs and organizations. We are only paid for a contractual obligation of 190 days in my district. We are not "paid" for summer time. Some teachers...myself included...work extra jobs and teach summer school during the off times. When one thinks of the amount of education required to be a teacher and the amount of time put into the job, then the amount paid is usually far below what most would assume. The average pay is under $30,000...way UNDER...for a first year teacher in most parts of the nation. Can you imagine receiving that pay for a degreed professional? Most states are now encouraging teachers to have master's degrees. Now, keep in mind that teachers are usually the ones who receive the anger of parents for any number of problems that children may have. We are required...and often this is by law....to watch what our students eat, how they are dressed, what they say, who they hang out with, how they interact with parents...and we are responsible for their social and emotional well being while we try to teach them about the subject area we selected to pursue as a major. We have in our rooms approximately 25 to 30 students per hour. Most people could not imagine being in a room with 25 teenagers...let alone think of instructing them for 52 minutes each day. I love being a teacher. I have done so for 19 years. Whenever my district gives us a raise, I am glad that they care about us enough to help me to provide for my family more fully. I would never think of leaving what I do or working anywhere else. Yet, when I see others who do not fully understand what we do or why some would think we are underpaid, I feel that it is my responsible to help them understand. In my opinion it is not a myth, but I also feel that if there are teachers who feel ill at ease about their pay and feel that it isn't worth it anymore, then they should seek another career and shelter the students from feeling the negative feedback that they often send out unintentionally. Hope this helps you to understand....

Answer 5

Just to give a little perspective. Last week, I logged 57 hours of work time in my second grade classroom. That does not include any of the time I put in at home and over the weekend. I got paid for 40 hours...not a minute more.