Why are teachers so underpaid?

Answer 1

those that can read this question should shut up and thank a teacher!! teachers are the most underpaid profession on the planet; they have to pay the same amount to obtain a college degree to teach, must take continuing education courses constantly, and now a 4 yr degree is not the norm; most educators have 5 ,6, or 7 year degrees; after the 7.5 hours teachers put in during class time they have to spend hours on lesson plans, grading papers, meetings with parents, PTA meetings, in service meetings and noooo, they don't get extra pay for that; their 30 minute lunch period is a "working lunch" because students must be supervised; untrained babysitters make more than teachers if you were to think about it- if they got $5.00 per student for 25-30 students a day, 180 days (the length of most school years) that comes to about $27,000; add to that the over time spent on all of the extras mentioned earlier and the extra 10-15 days worked that students do not attend- even if it is figured at minimum wage you are over $40,000; add to that salary increases paid for experience and time on the job (every other profession does) and you don't have to be very bright to figure out that teachers are WAY under payed!! some people on here need to think before typing or stay quiet when they have no clue about what is being discussed

Answer 2

Unlike the previous two answerers, I agree with you that teachers are underpaid. Only people who haven't taught would think that teachers are overpaid, I think. Although it's true that they get summers off, they have workdays that are much longer than those of other kinds of workers, because they work all day at the school and then go home and grade papers at night. I think I remember one of my high-school teachers remarking that he figured that his wage, after calculating how many hours he worked, was somewhere between 3 and 4 dollars an hour. Does that sound like overpaid to you?

Why they are underpaid, of course, is your question. The feminist in me says that maybe part of it is that teaching is a profession that is traditionally female, and people think they don't have to pay females as much as males. Another part of it might be the misunderstanding that the previous two answerers seem to be suffering from: they just don't understand how much skill it takes to be a good teacher. I think many people say to themselves, "I know about X; therefore I could be a good teacher of X." But good teaching is about so much more than knowing about something, or even being able to do it. People who weren't trained teachers wouldn't know that.

In the state where I live, the educational system is filled with bureaucracy that seems to capture a lot of the money funneled into the educational system before it makes it to the individual teacher or classroom. This is a real problem in our state because the state legislature literally does not have enough money to spend on education. So, who suffers when funds are tight? Naturally, the teachers, who are at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Sexism, ignorance, or bureaucracy. It's not pretty, is it?

Answer 3

Whadda you mean underpaid?? They just got approved for a starting wage of $40,000 a year in Wyoming!! For 9 months of work??? They are not worth $30,000 a year. "Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach"!
Stop and think a minute. How many teachers have contributed to you life in a positive manner. I've had about 60 teachers and maybe 3 were good ones.

Answer 4

UNDERPAID?????
They get summers off, and are INCREDIBLY overpaid.

And...what terrific role models. They strike when they want, disobeying court orders...teaching their students that it's all right to break the law.