Are people in the teaching field underpaid?

Answer 1

Teachers have been getting paid too much on the "high end" of seniority for quite a while now. Starting Teachers are making anywhere from 27-34K plus full benefits, not cheap ones either, for working just over 1/2 of a year. Many Teachers also work second jobs, not so much for the need to earn more money than the want, and are mostly in Professional type jobs making top wages there also. There are actual College Professors, I am sure not too many though, that make less than School District Teachers. The Teachers, through their Union Representatives, have informed the School Districts that within a certain amount of years they want to be making almost double the salary that they are now and do not want to pay towards their health coverage. Teachers are already , in many areas, getting "extra pay" for Parent / Teacher meetings which had always been a part of their regular job description. Where else can a person work 1/2 of a year, get vacation and sick time, an excellent pension, repayment and then raises for taking required College courses to keep up to date or to advance in thier careers, full and complete healthcare benefits with zero copays and zero contributions, practically guaranteed raises every year...one way or another, and don't have to work that hard usually? I won't even mention what some of the Teachers do instead of Teaching their students many times. So, are Teachers underpaid? Not at all. You cannot compare State to State or even different areas of the same State because of so many differences in demographics and wage disparagy, and to anyone who turns in another Professional career to make less and work harder as a Teacher, I have no sorrow for them as it was their choice, they can choose to return to their old job if they want! Must be some reason why they don't! Taxpayers do not have a quarter of the benefits nor half of the pay as Teachers in most cases, and surely do not get 1/2 a year off either. Many places do not have sick days anymore and certainly do not offer many vacation days. Health insurance in the real world usually costs the employee $60.00 or more per week just for themselves and doesn't cover much, and to insure a family would cost one worker in the family their entire pay each week at least if not more, to have insurance that doesn't cover everything! Teachers make plenty, don't fall for their crying.

Answer 2

As an inner city teacher, I'd have to say no, we are not underpaid. Our salaries are more than a living wage, they are middle class salaries - and our city salaries are thousands and thousands less than suburban teachers, who are also not underpaid.
Teachers serve the public. It is a profession, but not one a person should enter thinking they will get rich. It is a public profession, and our salaries come from public dollars. Teachers in the cities make less because cities have less money. The parents of students I teach don't even make half of what I do, for example. In the suburbs, there is more money spent per child, more money coming in from taxes, etc., so they make more.
No teacher will make what those in private practice fields make, just like social workers and clinicians and others who serve the public experience. We teach because we love to and I don't like hearing educators complain about the pay. We do mostly get summers off and great benefits as a perk that almost no other profession gets.

Answer 3

I am a high school teacher. I spend about 95% of my waking hours during the week working. I used to be an attorney, and I actually work longer hours now. Not only that, but my current work is more important. I used to spend 12 hours a day arguing to make the rich richer. Now I am teaching students and (hopefully) influencing their lives. But how does my pay compare? I am being paid about 1/6 of what I would be paid if I stuck with law. Yes, teachers are underpaid!

Answer 4

Some are. Teachers have gone on strike so many times though (at least in Ontario) that they probably make better money than most people. I remember hearing a college professor complain that she "only" made $30, 000 Cdn. a year for teaching six hours a week. Any teacher who thinks they are underpaid should go teach English in Japan or Korea--they pay teachers really good money.

Answer 5

High school English teachers are WAY underpaid...we work 60+ hours a week and are held on high accountability! Why are we getting paid the same as a Gym teacher?

Answer 6

To teach is not only getting to a classroom and just talk about something. A teacher needs to plan what he/she is going to teach, develop a lesson in a way that the students can identify with it and find a connection to their lives so it would have a purpose, the lesson needs to address every learning style which is also called differentiation because we all do not learn the same way (visual, auditory, kinesthetic,...), with many accommodations as needed (re-teach a concept, re-direct the lesson, scaffold the lesson), plan an assessment either formal or informal but you have to assess each one of your lessons to see if your kids are learning. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT! And we have to do this for every content area, every day.

In addition we have lots of paperwork. Cumulative records, grades (3 per week per class), when you have to refer students for special education or counseling, parent conferences, everything needs to be documented,... it is a lot in a short period of time., 8-3 is not enough to teach children all they need and be in compliance with all your teacher duties and responsibilities besides the ones of teaching itself.

And finally, many teachers like me, work at inner city schools where most of the time there is not too much parental involvement or support to work with the kids at home and give them that extra little help they need.

There is no salary that will compensate enough every good teacher who does all of this, who loves, listens, and respects every one of his/her students.

I do it every day, and I love it. But teachers are definitely underpaid. We help to create the base of our society, we help to create responsible and productive citizens, and we prepare our kids to go to college, be successful, and contribute in a positive way to our country and make it a better place to live in. You put the price.... and I guarantee you that there is no teacher making that kind of money.

Oh! and I forgot state testing, which is very stressful, and our superiors put us under a lot of preasure.

Answer 7

You're kidding, right? Athletes are paid millions to bounce, toss, or hit a ball, does that make the world a better place? Doctors earn in the hundreds of thousands even if they're not terribly good at it. Lawyers, well, they make 40% of everything. But teachers? The people who taught us to read, write, calculate, think, appreciate art and music, learn from the experience of others (history), where Iraq is (geography), how to deal with society (social studies), budget our checkbooks, plan for our futures, even taught us how to get a job!!!! How much do we pay them? Not nearly enough. We can never pay them enough.

Answer 8

YES! These are the people who taught us to read, write, work in groups, calculate, and much more! Celebrities are paid millions to act, sing, play sports or whatever they do and they don't do anything important for anyone's future. They just entertain the population. Teachers are much more important in our lives than actors and athletes.

Answer 9

Absolutely. For people that enter a profession that helps to shape the lives of future leaders of our country, you would think that they are entitled to more of a salary than they actually receive. Unfortunately our country glorifies people in the entertainment industry and professional athletes not actually the people that help them get there.

Answer 10

considering the cost of education to become a teacher probably the answer is YES!!! On the other side of the coin, if you want to be a teacher you probably already know that you're not going to get rich in that profession.